HUNTINGDON, Pa. – Courtney Reinhold had 16 kills to lead the third seeded Eastern University Eagles to a 3-1 win over the sixth seeded Frostburg State University Bobcats in the opening round of the 2009 NCAA Tournament, Thursday afternoon on the campus of Juniata College.
The Bobcats end their season with a 30-5 overall record. The loss is the third-straight in the opening round for FSU which has a 3-8 all-time record in the NCAA Tournament.
Bobcat senior
Brooke Winterling (Glenelg, Md./Glenelg) posted a double-double in her final collegiate match. She had a match-high 24 kills and 12 digs. Junior
Sarah Stephens (Oakland, Md./Southern Garrett) had 15 kills and a team-high 14 digs and sophomore
Kylie Carrington (New Freedom, Pa./Susquehannock) handed out 53 assists.
With game one tied at 18 apiece late in the contest, the Eagles (31-4) used a 7-3 run to earn the win. After EU jumped out to an early 7-2, The Bobcats rallied to within a point at 8-7. Neither team led by more the four points the rest of the game until the final Eastern run.
Frostburg State rebounded in game two for a 25-23 win. The Bobcats broke a 10-10 tie with three-straight points, forcing an Eastern timeout. FSU later used another 3-0 spurt for an 18-15 edge. Eastern brought the score within one point on several occasions late in the game until Winterling and Stephens connected on back-to-back kills to close out the contest.
Eastern took control of game three midway through the contest with a 7-0 run that broke an 11-11 tie. FSU narrowed the gap to six points on two occasions but the Eagles used a 4-0 run to close out the game for a 25-16 win.
Eastern tried to run away with game four early on, using a 5-0 run, but FSU hung tough, closing the deficit to 13-11. However, Eastern kept the Bobcats from making a charge and slowly inched out to a 25-19 win.
Eastern advances to the second round and will play the winner of the Haverford/Richard Stockton match.
The Bobcats lead the all-time series over the Eagles 4-3, but FSU had dropped the last two matches.