April 7, 2010
Live Coverage | Guide to Following Tournament
NORTH BRUNSWICK, N.J.–Vanderbilt’s bowling team today joined the seven other finalists at the Brunswick Zone Carolier Lanes, site of this week’s NCAA Championship.
Today’s agenda is light. Each team has a designated one hour of practice, upon which each bowler must select and then get certification for the five balls they plan to use during the tournament. (Vandy bowlers carried more than five balls to the tourney and will make their selection based upon expected lane conditions. Each ball is weighed and inspected to verify it conforms to NCAA standards).
One of the highlights of the day and tournament is the tournament banquet, held at the Hyatt Regency New Brunswick, which also serves as tournament headquarters. It is here that the National Ten Pin Coaches Association reveals the 2010 All-America team and the divisional Players and Rookies of the Year. We plan to carry news of those awards on this site as soon as the banquet ends; it begins at 5:30 CT.
For those interested parties, it seems a long time since the regular season ended with a victory at the Music City Columbia 300 Classic. In actuality, it was March 14 with the NCAA announcement of the Elite Eight field coming March two weeks ago.
Coach John Williamson was asked if the long lay-off was difficult for the teams.
“I don’t really think so,” Williamson explained. “Our entire season is one of starts and stops. We were off nine weeks between our fall schedule and the start of the spring so it doesn’t seem so unusual to us. We gave the team much of that first week off so they could focus on academics and these past two weeks have more or less been our normal practice routine.”
Williamson says the date of the tournament and the selection show are determined by the NCAA, noting the 2011 tournament will come one week later in April.
All 12 members of the Commodore roster are on this trip with nine to be in uniform, ready for competition. They are seniors Brittany Garcia, Ashley Belden and Josie Earnest, junior Amanda Halter, sophomores Brittni Hamilton and Kayla Rhoades and freshmen Jessica Earnest, Kim Carper and Sarah O’Brien, making her varsity dress debut.
Thursday’s team games will merely establish Friday’s championship bracket with won-loss records, not total pin fall, the key factor.
Thursday’s schedule (all times CENTRAL):
8:00 – 8:30: Open Practice
8:30 – 12:30: Qualifying Round – Block 1 (four traditional team games)
2:10 – 2:30: Open Practice
2:30– 6:30: Qualifying Round – Block 2 (three traditional team games)
Friday’s double-elimination Baker play starts at 8:30 with four rounds scattered over the day. If a fifth round is necessary, it will be played Saturday at 11:30 a.m. with the championship match at 7:30 (CT) on ESPN2.
