March 29, 2017
The NCAA Committee has selected Vanderbilt to participate in the 2017 NCAA Bowling Championship April 13-15 in Baton Rouge, La. The berth in the eight-team championship field marks the 12th consecutive year the Commodores have earned an invitation.
“We are excited to be invited to compete in the championship and are looking forward to the competition,” said head coach John Williamson. “Every year it seems the résumés of the eight teams gets stronger. Our team has worked hard all year and it is nice to see them get rewarded for their season.”
The other seven teams receiving invitations include Nebraska, McKendree, Arkansas State, Sam Houston State, Fairleigh Dickinson, Stephen F. Austin and Maryland-Eastern Shore.
The Commodores, 78-34 on the season, are fresh from winning the Southland Bowling League Championship, their second conference title in three years. Junior Katie Stark was named the Most Valuable Player at that event.
“When I was a freshman I was just excited to be at the NCAA’s,” Stark said, “and now that I’ve been to two finals, it is easier to understand and focus on what needs to be done to make the most of it. This year I feel the most confident about our team’s chances and I can just feel something is going to go well. We had a tough fall and faced some adversity and now we are peaking at the right time.”
Kristin Quah, a second-team All-American last season, has a vivid memory of her first NCAA Championship event.
“It’s a pretty different environment from the regular season.,” the Singapore sophomore recalls. “The thing I took away from last year’s tournament that I didn’t expect was the feeling of finality when it ended, of not being on the team with the same set of girls again. That was pretty emotional for me. Giselle [Poss, one of three seniors on the team] has become one of my best friends. Remembering last year makes me want it more; this is our last chance with this group that we won’t ever get back.”
Maria Bulanova will be making her NCAA debut and isn’t exactly sure what to expect.
“I was pretty sure we’d make the nationals,” says the freshman from Moscow, Russia. “I look at this format like the conference tournament with eight teams but there will be differences. It will be louder. It is hard for me to imagine how big the crowd will be; I’ve bowled before some big crowds before.”
Stephen F. Austin is the defending national champion. Vanderbilt won the title in 2007.
