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Northeast Conference (NEC) tournament champion Sacred Heart and regular season co-champ Duquesne will continue to dance after opening day of the 2023 NCAA Women's Bowling Championship. 

Both teams remain alive in Regional Round play after going 1-1 on Friday. 

Sacred Heart bounced back from a 2-0 loss to third-seeded Arkansas State in the first match of the Rochester Regional and defeated Medaille College, 2-to-0, in an elimination match. 

Behind a 212 from Nancy Kohut and a 200 from Molly Chiesa, the Pioneers cruised to a 941-885 victory in the traditional format. Sacred Heart claimed a spot in the regional semifinal with a 1016-933 victory in the quint baker match.

Over in Pittsburgh, Duquesne, which is making its second NCAA Tournament appearance, defeated Stephen F. Austin, 2-to-0, in the morning session. The Dukes went on to fall to top seeded Nebraska, 0-to-2, in the afternoon session of the double-elimination mega match format event. 

Playing on their home lanes at AMF Mt. Lebanon Lanes, the Dukes came out strong in the traditional round, defeating the Lumberjacks by a 982-854 score. Shannon Small led the way with a 226 while Ranelle Ulanday, who opened the day with four straight strikes, rolled a 203. 

In the first two baker games, Duquesne fell behind by a 34-pin margin. Slashing the deficit down to five heading into the final game, the Dukes put dominated and marked in every frame to take the fifth, 226-174, and seal the match with a 919-872 victory.

With the win, Duquesne moved on to face the region's top seed, Nebraska, in the winners' bracket. The Huskers claimed a 1040-882 victory in the traditional round before they posted a 939-899 triumph in quint baker match play.

Sacred Heart will take on North Carolina A&T, while Duquesne will look to duplicate Friday morning's mega match sweep when it faces Stephen F. Austin. Both matches are set for 9 am on Saturday.