The Wichita State University women, trying to successfully defend their national title, and the William Paterson University men claimed the top seeds after qualifying Thursday at the 2008 United States Bowling Congress Intercollegiate Team Championships, presented by Storm.

The USBC Intercollegiate Team Championships, featuring the top 16 men's and top 16 women's college bowling teams in the country vying for national titles, is being held at Northrock Lanes and runs through Saturday.

The hometown Shockers (pictured right), ranked No. 1 in the National Collegiate Bowling Coaches Association Top 20, paced the women's field with a 203.3 average over 32 Baker system games, totaling 6,507 to lead second-place Lindenwood by 180 pins. Pikeville was third at 6,282.

"We're going to use all the information we got today and feed it into tomorrow," said Wichita State junior Melissa Hurst, whose Shockers will face 16th-seeded Florida State in the first round of the best-of-7, double-elimination match play beginning Friday at 10 a.m. CDT. "We try to do what do in practice and stay in the moment. We are just trying to make good shots and get a good read on the lanes."

Newman, also located in Wichita, finished 10th with 5,938 and will face No. 7 Maryland-Eastern Shore, which won the NCAA title last week.

On the men's side, William Paterson (pictured left) closed with 944 over the final four games - including 278 in Game 32 - to jump both Wichita State and two-time defending champion Saginaw Valley State to earn the top seed for match play with 6,757 (211.2 average).

"Winning for Dave is our fuel for the fire. We want to do this for him," said William Paterson sophomore and first-team All-American Matt O'Grady, referring to the Pioneers' coach Dave Nagelhout, the 2007-08 Kerm Helmer Coach of the Year who is missing the championships for the second straight year due to a death in the family. "We wanted to put ourselves in a good position, knowing that every pin counted."

The Pioneers will meet 16th-seeded Arizona State in the first round of best-of-7, double-elimination match play Friday.

Wichita State earned the No. 2 seed with 6,737 (210.5 average) and will face No. 15 seed Mohawk Valley Community College in the first round. Top-ranked Saginaw Valley State finished third with 6,709 and has a first-round match-up with No. 14 seed Indiana.

All teams advanced to the double-elimination, match-play bracket Friday, where the field will be cut to the top four men's and women's teams by the end of the day. The semifinals will be conducted Saturday morning with the top two men's and women's teams advancing to the nationally televised finals, which will be shown on a tape-delayed basis on CBS College Sports (formerly CSTV).

Northrock Lanes in Wichita, Kan. (April 16-19, 2008)

MEN
1. William Paterson, 6,757 (211.2 avg.); 2. Wichita State, 6,737; 3. Saginaw Valley State, 6,709; 4. Central Florida, 6,680; 5. UNLV, 6,513; 6. Lindenwood, 6,489; 7. Calumet College of St Joseph, 6,417; 8. Purdue, 6,412; 9. Pikeville, 6,355; 10. Wisconsin-Whitewater, 6,334; 11. Fresno State, 6,310; 12. Vincennes, 6,276; 13. Michigan State, 6,229; 14. Indiana, 6,135; 15. Mohawk Valley CC, 5,974; 16. Arizona State, 5,940.

WOMEN
1. Wichita State, 6,507 (203.3 avg.); 2. Lindenwood, 6,327; 3. Pikeville, 6,282; 4. Morehead State, 6,252; 5. *Purdue, 6,216, 6. Central Florida, 6,216; 7. Maryland-Eastern Shore, 6,160; 8. Martin Methodist, 6,056; 9. Robert Morris (Ill.), 6,003; 10. Newman, 5,938; 11. Fresno State, 5,883; 12. McKendree, 5,813; 13. Shippensburg, 5,797; 14. Calumet College of St. Joseph, 5,746; 15. Bellarmine, 5,605; 16. Florida State, 5,510.

*Purdue earned No. 5 seed by virtue of a higher score over the final 16 games, 3,135-3,049. Central Florida is the No. 6 seed.