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Hamilton Township, NJ -- Opening day of the NEC Women's Bowling Championship delivered plenty of drama - and a bracket shake-up - as No. 2 Duquesne and No. 4 Mercyhurst came away victorious at Hamilton Lanes & Entertainment Center in Hamilton Township, NJ.

Fourth-seeded Mercyhurst pulled off a stunner in its opening match against top-seeded Niagara, winning 2-0. 

The Lakers convincingly defeated the NEC co-regular season champions in the traditional leg in a 1152-994 result to take a 1-0 lead.

Niagara attempted to set the tone in the quint Baker leg by flying out to a 36-pin advantage after the first game. The Purple Eagles fell by one in the second game, but still maintained a 35-pin lead.

Over the final three quint Baker games, the Lakers chipped away at the lead, outscoring Niagara by 71 pins in that span. The tide truly turned in the fourth game, which Mercyhurst won by a 228-198 final margin to take a 27-pin lead into the final round. The Lakers closed things out, besting Niagara 1031-995 in the quint Baker leg.

Duquesne and No. 3 Monmouth was a barnburner from start to finish that had both legs come down to the wire.

The Dukes escaped the traditional match with a narrow 1107-1081 win, giving the co-regular season champions Dukes a 1-0 lead entering the quint Baker leg.

The Dukes jumped out to a 38-pin advantage to start quint Baker play. That lead was immediately turned on its head after Monmouth soared to a 228-160 win in the second game, granting them a 30-pin lead. The Hawks more than doubled their advantage over the next two games, building their lead to 65 pins.

With the Mega-Match looking almost certain to head to a best-of-seven, Duquesne caught fire in game five and rallied to a 227-160 win. Maribeth Baker completed the mammoth comeback with three consecutive strikes as the anchor bowler, clinching the 992-990 victory for the Dukes before Monmouth even bowled its final frame.

Duquesne and Mercyhurst will face off in the winner's bracket tomorrow, while Niagara and Monmouth will fight for their championship lives in an elimination match. Both matches will take place at 9:00 am on Saturday morning.

The elimination match winner will take on the non-advancing team from the winner's bracket match in a second elimination bout at 2:00 pm.

This marks the seventh straight year the NEC Championship is being contested at Hamilton Lanes.

All NEC Bowling Championship matches this weekend will be streamed live on NEC Front Row.