April 9, 2010
Friday’s NCAA Recap | Tournament Stats and More
NORTH BRUNSWICK, N.J. — While many Commodore fans considered the pros and cons of A.J. Ogilvy declaring for the NBA draft or wondering if Sonny Gray can throw enough heat to stymie the South Carolina Gamecocks, another Vanderbilt varsity team had its heart broken in Frank Sinatra’s home state.
The bowlers finished a stellar year, one that produced 67 wins against 25 defeats playing the nation’s highest strength of schedule, placing fifth at the NCAA Championship. Fifth place might sound good to you and there are many teams that would like to trade places but fifth place wasn’t what this dozen high achievers had in mind.
Bowling to outsiders is what fourth graders do for birthday parties. Bowling for the informed is fascinating, combining the tension-filled moments of a 10-foot putt at Augusta with the precision of a clean-up batter and the randomness of a lottery.
It’s a sport where skill meets good fortune and without either, you are sent packing. To be a champion, you must be able to master tricked-up lanes that are oiled to make control of the ball difficult. Think greens at Augusta. You must be able to employ a variety of shots and balls, depending on the conditions. No, at this level all balls are not alike. Far from it. Mechanics must be sound; there is footwork, arm rotation, follow-through and tempo to polish.
Like many other sports, there is a need for luck. Why does one pin teeter and refuse to drop while another roll nearly produces a fatal 7-10 split before both pins magically topple? Why does it seem your team always seemed to be paired against a foe enjoying its best game of the tournament? It’s not only who you play but when you play them and what the conditions are when you meet. That’s why it’s called a game.
It is a sport that gets into your DNA if you let it. There was a Commodore dad that drove 15 hours overnight, one-third of it through a storm, to watch his Commodores. Other friends and families came from all around the United States to offer support. Vanderbilt Vice Chancellor David Williams broke from his hectic schedule to be on hand, as were several members of the school’s Senior Management Team.
It was a team worthy of this support and admiration. Coach John Williamson has said this unit was his best at understanding the true sense of teamwork and camaraderie. It was a team where a freshman not dressing with the varsity penned a note of encouragement and slipped it under a senior’s door the night before the big match.
For this corps of Commodore faithful, it will be hard to imagine next year’s lineup minus the personalities and talents of its three seniors.
Four-time All-American Josie Earnest leaves huge shoes to fill. Josie Kay as she’s sometimes called on this team could have gone anywhere to bowl but she took a chance on a fledgling program that was two years old when she announced she would come to Nashville. Her addition immediately made the Commodores a bona-fide national contender, well ahead of schedule. She was and is a warrior.
That same year Ashley Belden also took a chance. The New Mexico Player-of-the-Year refused to be intimidated by a roster with five strong sophomores and Earnest as the nation’s No. 1 prospect. Not only did she make meaningful contributions at several NCAA Tournaments, her gifts of personality and team-building are impossible to measure. She will always be a winner.
Brittany Garcia transferred in before her sophomore year as what would be called in other sports as a walk-on. She picked Vanderbilt for academics first – she’s carries a 3.638 grade point in Medicine, Health and Society. She also brought some bowling game with her as she was a 2008 NCAA all-tournament member and an honorable mention All-Am Erica this year.
In time this group of talented women will look back and realize the many things they have accomplished over these past years, both on and away from the lanes. For the moment, they can’t help think about what might have been.
That’s the way they are hard-wired and that’s the reason they are so special. They will be missed.
