March 3, 2007
BESSEMER, AL—Vanderbilt received a big boost from Kaitlin Reynolds and strong performances from Karen Grygiel and Michelle Peloquin and as a result found itself leading Alabama A&M’s Holiday Classic Saturday.
Reynolds was inserted into the lineup to spell Mandy Keily, who has been slowed with a bout of the flu and the Loves Park, Ill, sophomore responded with four strong games, capped by a closing 234 against Arkansas State. She is in fourth place individually, training Central Missouri’s Bryanna Caldwell and teammates rygiel and Peloquin as the No.2 Commodores placed three bowlers among the top four on the leaderboard.
“I got a chance and I tried to take advantage of it,” said a smiling Reynolds after the final game of the day. “The last game I got a bit lucky on a couple of balls, getting some very good carry. I’ve worked very hard this semester, especially on my spare conversion and it paid off today.”
Coach John Williamson was naturally pleased with Reynolds’ big day. “She was steady all afternoon and gave us an exceptional finish in a game in which we needed it. From a team standpoint, we had our ups and downs with some missed opportunities. However, on a day when everything wasn’t clicking we put ourselves in a good position for tomorrow.”
Grygiel had three of the day’s best games with 234, 214 and 237 efforts but struggled in the other two and those were on her mind later.
“The lane conditions changed quickly and I didn’t adjust as quickly as I should have,” lamented the Brick, N.J. product. “I think I learned from that and hopefully the next time out I will not lose an entire game in transition.”
Peloquin began her day with a sterling 246 against Bethune-Cookman, closing with seven straight strikes. While her 157 the next game against Grambling won’t gain any second glances, she converted a split in the tenth frame and finished with a strike to help insure a hard-fought, 871-835 win.
On the day, Vanderbilt went 3-1, losing a close battle with a good Sacred Heart team and topping Bethune-Cookman, Grambling and Arkansas State. Nebraska, one of the meet favorites, was snowbound in a Denver airport and unable to make it to the tournament, which concludes Sunday. Eleven teams are competing.
Top Five Teams
Vanderbilt 4765
Central Missouri 4761
Arkansas State 4613
Alabama A&M 4536
Sacred Heart 4459
Individual Leaders
Bryanna Caldwell, Central Missouri 227 average
Karen Grygiel, Vanderbilt 198.8 average
Michelle Peloquin, Vanderbilt 197.8 average
Kaitlin Reynolds Vanderbilt, 194.75 average
Tiffany Clark, Alabama A&M 196.67 average
Saturday’s Vanderbilt Results
Vanderbilt 1,105 Bethune-Cookman 815
Michelle Peloquin 246
Mandy Keily 179
Karen Grygiel 234
Tara Kane 208
Josie Earnest 148
Vanderbilt 871 Grambling 835
Peloquin 157
Kaitlin Reynolds 183
Grygiel 214
Kane 148
Earnest 169
Vanderbilt 981 Sacred Heart 992
Peloquin 215
Keily 219
Reynolds 191
Grygiel 141
Earnest 169
Bye 954
Peloquin 190
Reynolds 171
Grygiel 237
Kane 173
Earnest 185
Vanderbilt 944 Arkansas State 897
Peloquin 181
Reynolds 234
Grygiel 168
Keily 172
Earnest 189
