Nov. 23, 2008
MILLSBORO, Del. – One can understand if Vanderbilt’s bowlers have a special feeling for the Hawk Classic. After winning their third straight Hawk championship, this large northeastern tournament is beginning to feel like home.
The Commodores (28-5) swept past six Baker opponents Sunday to win by a hefty 257 pins over Kutztown and 545 pins ahead of third place Delaware State in the 20-team field. In the process, Michelle Peloquin and Josie Earnest were on the five-woman all-tournament team.
“We were sharper today than our first two days,” said the veteran Earnest. “It was a grind-out tournament – a spare making contest where you just tried to stay out of trouble.”
Coach John Williamson agreed that lane conditions were not conducive to spectacular scoring.
“We were pleased that we executed better today,” he said, “and that gave us separation from the field. We will be off until after Thanksgiving and when we get back home we’re going to work on our spare shooting. If we converted spares like we should have our margin of victory would have been even more substantial.”
Today’s Baker lineup was primarily Brittany Garcia, Brittni Hamilton, Tara Kane, Michelle Peloquin and Josie Earnest with Amanda Halter rotating in with effectiveness. On a dominating day, the Commodores won 20 of 24 Baker games with six totals over 220.
The Hawk Classic, hosted by Maryland-Eastern Shore, was the scene of the program’s first title back in 2006. The win today was also the first time the Commodores have opened a season with two straight victories; they had won Farleigh Dickinson’s event earlier in the month.
The team resumes competition Dec. 6 at the Jeanette Lee Invitational in Lawrenceville, Virginia.
Team Leader Board (20 teams)
Vanderbilt – 16,366
Kutztown – 16,009
Delaware St. – 15,821
MES – 15,810
All-Tournament Team
Sara Pelatier, Sacred Heart – 1,251
Michelle Peloquin, VU – 1,233
Kayla Jones, Kutztown – 1,227
Josie Earnest, VU – 1,219
Kayla Smamm, Kutztown – 1,212
Sunday’s Vanderbilt Results
VU 764, Delaware State 702
DS 178-168
VU 179-172
VU 226-171
VU 193-182
VU 789, North Carolina Central 571
VU 200-130
VU 198-139
VU 202-258
VU 189-144
VU 748, St Peters 618
VU 225-130
VU 166-120
SP 211-181
VU 176-157
VU 816, Kutztown 697
KU 199-189
VU 234-164
VU 170-155
VU 223-179
VU 749, St Francis 658
VU 196-173
VU 186-152
SF 155-151
VU 216-168
VU 844, Elizabeth City State 543
VU 212-122
VU 173-125
VU 223-143
VU 236-153
