Oct. 25, 2009
View Final Stats | Bracket Results
SPRINGFIELD, Mo. – For anyone wondering if Vanderbilt Bowling Coach John Williamson was exaggerating when he said it was difficult figuring out who would be among his “top six” at the Greater Ozark Invitational, the weekend returns could be used as Exhibit A.
The Commodores won a very competitive NCAA Division but what may have raised some knowledgeable eyebrows in collegiate bowling circles was the “Commodore Gold” unit, which breezed to the tournament’s Open Division title by a whopping 750 pins after posting nearly mirror-image scores to their teammates.
The `Dores NCAA-side entry won a wild shootout against a pesky Arkansas State team, taking the championship Baker match by winning the last four games after being down 3-0.
The championship, Vanderbilt’s first in six tries here, was a confidence builder for an inexperienced sextet of which four were either new to or lightly tested in NCAA battle.
To keep it clear with two winning units, the official title was captured by the entry of Ashley Belden, Josie and Jessica Earnest, Brittni Hamilton, Amanda Halter, Kim Carper and Kayla Rhoades. Hamilton narrowly missed winning individual honors.
Vanderbilt’s impressive depth was on display as its Open Division team posted some eye-popping scores. Commodore bowlers took four of the Open’s top five individual spots with freshman Courtney Morgan running off games of 235-204-190-279-225 for a 226.60 average to top teammate Ellen Morrison’s strong performance by just a three pin average. Veteran Brittany Garcia was fourth (204) and freshman Sarah O’Brien was fifth (199.4). Another freshman, Lauren Rhein (173), rounded out the Open squad, which competed against a variety of teams not entered on the NCAA side.
“It was a tremendous learning experience for many on our team,” Williamson said. “We had highs and lows, getting knocked into the loser’s bracket after letting a potential win slip away and then coming back two hours later and turning the tables with a huge rally.”
Williamson obviously had much to like but he was pleased with what he saw in freshmen Carper and Earnest – “they grew a lot and showed excellent potential.”
The sixth-year Commodore coach thought that the lane conditions allowed for some parity over the weekend although an inspection of the scores would show Vanderbilt was the only school consistently scoring game after game.
Vandy used virtually the same Baker lineup all Sunday with Jessica Earnest leading off and followed by Rhoades, Carper, Hamilton and Josie Earnest. The `Dores narrowly missed the program’s second ever perfect 300 game, getting a 289 effort against Elmhurst.
Natalie Cortese of Valparaiso was voted the tournament MVP with Saturday scores of 185-235-214-290-200 (224.8) while Hamilton and Josie Earnest were also on the six-woman NCAA side unit.
Vanderbilt dominated the Open Division all-tournament team with Morgan the MVP and joined by Morrison, Garcia and O’Brien.
The second-rated `Dores will next be in action in two weeks at Nebraska’s invitational in Lincoln.
Final Team Standings
1 Vanderbilt
2 Arkansas State
3 Louisiana Tech
4 Stephen F. Austin
5 Minnesota-Mankato
6 Valparaiso
7 Nebraska
8 Central Missouri
9 Elmhurst
Sunday’s Baker Results (Best four of seven format)
Vanderbilt beat Arkansas State, 4-0
V 211-154
V 206-192
V 222-173
V 205-178
Vanderbilt beat Elmhurst, 4-1
V 289-162
E 196-191
V 233-182
V 193-172
V 212-177
Start of bracket play
Arkansas State beat Vanderbilt, 4-3
V 258-211
V 234-221
V 232-193
A 216-191
A 205-185
A 204-181
A 215-207
Vanderbilt beat Louisiana Tech, 4-1 (semi-finals)
V 200-171
V 194-179
L 211-210
V 235-182
V 237-222
Vanderbilt beat Arkansas State, 4-3 (championship)
A 248-244
A 209-199
A 228-183
V 225-171
V 212-198
V 235-212
V 194-168
