Oct. 2, 2012
Senior bowlers Lauren Rhein, Courtney Morgan, Jessica Earnest, Sarah O’Brien and Kim Carper smile for the cameras at the Commodores’ preseason photo shoot.
National Ranking: The National Ten Pin Coaches Association has issued its preseason poll and Vanderbilt is ranked fourth behind NCAA champion Maryland-Eastern Shore, Arkansas State and Fairleigh Dickinson. Typically the preseason rankings place considerable weight upon how the programs were viewed at the end of the prior season– a year when Vanderbilt was a national semifinalist. 
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Practice begins: The Commodores begin team practice Tuesday with their season-opening action on the horizon.
Drifting South: Prior to the 2011-12 season, Vanderbilt had only had one left-handed bowler (Mandy Keily on the 2007 NCAA championship team). Last year the program added lefties Natalie Goodman and Rebeca Reguero and this year Californian Amanda Fry becomes the third southpaw.
Striking Gold: Last July’s Junior Gold tournament had a distinctly gold tint. Natalie Goodman led the national tournament after four days and was the top seed in the championship bracket. She was knocked out of the bracket by Robyn Renslow of Brentwood, Calif., who just happens to have transferred to Vanderbilt this fall.
Developing Leaders: Coach John Williamson purchased a handful of copies of an outstanding leadership book last summer and assigned them to his upperclassmen to read and then teach to his younger players. The lessons are being taught in installments, the third of four occurring this past week.
Popular bowling states: Vanderbilt’s roster has four bowlers from Illinois, and two each from New Jersey, California and Michigan. While Tennessee’s high school program is rapidly improving, there has never been a native Tennessean on Vanderbilt’s roster.
Junior Team USA: Three members of the team either have been or are on Junior Team USA. Jessica Earnest won a Gold Medal on the team last summer in Thailand while Robyn Renslow and Natalie Goodman made the coveted unit with their Junior Gold performance.
Carper the Communicator: Last spring Kim Carper earned kudos for her video blog that was run on NCAA.org. This fall Carper is interning in Vanderbilt’s communications and marketing offices, earning required credit in exchange for 32 hours per week of work. Among her major tasks so far have been post football game video clips, co-editorship of a major department print publication and several team specialty videos.
