Florida A&M Rattlers were in Arlington, Texas to attend the 2023 Southwestern Atlantic Conference bowling tournament. The three-day event featured the league’s top six teams at the end of the regular season. The matches were played on a best-of-three basis until the championship game, which was formatted as the best of seven. Florida A&M ended the regular season with a record of (14-14) claiming the 5th seed.
The Rattlers came in as underdogs, tied for the worst record in the tournament with Jackson State. Despite this, the team came out strong in their first match, claiming a win over the fourth-seeded team, Texas Southern with a score of 897-857. The Rattlers continued to amaze the crowd on Friday as they pulled off a blowout win against the highest-ranked team, Southern University. FAMU won by a landslide with outstanding plays from all members, and a score of 868-730.
These two wins left FAMU undefeated as they elevated the bracket, leading them to face Alabama State, the only other undefeated team in the tournament. The Rattlers came ready and won the first match with a score of 936-847. Alabama State then began to get their momentum after a close match with a score of 876-865, advancing them to the championship round.
The team then faced Prairie View A&M next in the loser’s bracket, but underwent a defeat, resulting in a score of 966-843, and a 2-0 series loss. Prairie View went on to win the whole tournament as they swept past Alabama State ending the series with the Panthers winning four rounds and the Hornets one.
FAMU finished third place overall, with sophomore Jordan Shipp making the SWAC All-Tournament Team. Shipp finished with the weekend’s third-best average of all competitors with an average score of 205.5 and recorded the high for the weekend with a score of 228.
This tournament has brought the FAMU bowling season to an end, but fans can look forward to what they will do next year as the team searches to identify the next head coach for the 2023-2024 season.