Nov. 11, 2017
KENOSHA, WI–As many of the top teams in the country jockeyed for position, Vanderbilt maintained its grip on third place Saturday at the Wisconsin-Whitewater Warhawk Classic.
The Commodores have won seven of 10 matches while averaging 205.8 pins per game, trailing just Nebraska (208.8)and Arkansas State while leading 15 others including a handful of highly rated programs. Vandy defeated St. Francis (Pa.), Lincoln and No. 9 ranked Sacred Heart, losing to Arkansas State and McKendree in traditional team play.
The Black and Gold will square off Sunday morning at 8:30 CST in a rematch with fourth-seeded McKendree with the winner meeting the loser of the Nebraska-Arkansas State contest. Vandy was edged by ASU for the No. 2 seed by a mere four pins.
“Overall I thought it was another pretty good day,” Coach John Williamson said. “Had we performed better in our first game, where we essentially gave away about 100 pins, the leader board would look a little different. We did a better job dealing with success today and we’re looking forward to tomorrow. This will be the first time this team has had this fall to compete for a championship.”
Williamson pointed out the obvious monster day enjoyed by Commodore anchor Maria Bulanova, who won the individual title for the first time this season. The sophomore averaged 235.80 with games of 192-249-256-234-248.
Vandy began the day with a rotation of Emily Rigney, Samantha Gainor, Kristin Quah, Jordan Newham and Maria Bulanova. Freshman Kelsey Abrahamsen was inserted for a few frames late in the first game, replacing Quah. Adel Wahner replaced Abrahamsen to start the second and Katie Stark was subbed in for Wahner in the second and the lineup remained steady the rest of the way.
The day got off to a stumbling start, knocking down just 917 pins in a loss to Arkansas State, who recorded 1,030. Only Emily Rigney cracked the code with a strong 231 game. The Commodores bounced back quickly against St. Francis (Pa) with all five bowlers over 200 in a 1,099-934 victory.
An interesting match in the third contest with McKendree shaped up just like that for nine closely contested frames. However, The Commodores suffered a split to open in the ninth and then saw a 15-pin lead evaporate due to a combination of three opens in the 10th combined with McKendree’s torrid finish of 13 strikes in 15 opportunities. Sarah Willie’s 300 outdualed Bulanova, who began with the front eight and had a 249.
The day concluded with a win over Lincoln, narrowly missing the 1,000 pin plateau. The season`s first meeting against pre-season Top 10 Sacred Heart was a high-water pin count with 1,102 pins.
