SMYRNA, Tenn.- The 19th ranked Monmouth University bowling team went 8-7 over the weekend at the Music City Classic, one of the year's top regular season events host by Vanderbilt University.

The match served as a final tune up for next weekend's NEC Championships held in Reading, Pa. Nebraska won the event, which featured eight of the top 10 teams in the country, for the second straight year.

"The tournament was a grind and we did just that to end the event with a winning record," said Head Coach Karen Grygiel. "It was a great way to finish our regular season and gear us up for our post-season play at the NEC Championships this weekend. The team worked hard and made several big shots when they were needed."

Monmouth recorded 3-3 in day one's quad baker matches, with wins over Alabama A&M, Vanderbilt and Alabama-Birmingham.  The Hawks went 3-3 in the NCAA head to head matches, with win over Louisiana Tech, Stephen F. Austin and Central Missouri.  The Hawks also were a mere 16 pins away from a win over Wisconsin Whitewater on day two as well.

On the final day, Monmouth went 2-1 in the tournament bracket, downing Louisiana Tech and Alabama A&M before falling to Saint Francis University.

Individually, Holly Zink (Port Jefferson, N.Y./Earl Vandermuelen) finished 11th in team games with a 198.7 average while the lefty duo of Lauren Lella (Marlboro, N.J./Marlboro) and Rikki Del Donno (Fairless Hills, Pa./Pennsbury [FDU]) helped secure two day three victories with strikes.

The Hawks will compete at the 2012 Northeast Conference Championships this weekend, March 23-25 in Reading, Pa.