Feb. 1, 2018
Fourth-ranked Vanderbilt is in Arlington, Texas this weekend for the annual Prairie View Invitational, an event held at the sport’s famous International Training and Research Center.
Tourney format: A standard format starting with the five, 5-Game Bakers Friday at 12:15 pm Central Standard Time. The six team games Saturday begin at 9:30 a.m. Sunday’s play (8:25 a.m.) consists of the last round-robin team game with two rounds of Baker bracket play to follow.
Competing teams (12): Arkansas State, Fairleigh Dickinson, Louisiana Tech, Maryland-Eastern Shore, McKendree, Nebraska, North Carolina A & T, Prairie View, Sacred Heart, Sam Houston, Stephen F. Austin, Vanderbilt.
About this tournament: The Prairie View Invitational is a coveted event for the quality of its field and the peerless host facility, the International Training and Research Center in Arlington. The Commodores have been fortunate to attend for years; a year ago they earned the top seed in the bracket before finishing second.
Following the tournament: The Commodores’ livestream of their YouTube channel, although on occasion the streams may switch to the Vanderbilt Bowling Facebook Live page if facility WIFI conditions dictate. Facebook and Twitter accounts @Vandy Bowling have score updates.
SBL season stat leaders: We’ve attached an interesting PDF document showing how teams and individuals rank among the eight members of the powerful Southland Bowling League.
Last outing: The Commodores were 10-3 and finished second at the Kutztown Invitational. Vandy’s season record is now 51-26.
Travel squad capsules
Kelsey Abrahamsen– was in the second spot of the rotation nearly the entire Kutztown Invitational two weeks ago. She was part of the program’s fifth 300 Baker game.
Maria Bulanova – Two uncharacteristically low games in Kutztown knocked her well below her normally high individual finishes in the Keystone State. The sophomore anchor continues to be one of the most explosive bowlers in the NCAA as evidenced by her first-place conference ranking in key stat categories such as Baker doubles, 10th frame scoring and 10th frame doubles.
Samantha Gainor – a welcome addition to the travel roster after missing the spring’s first two events. The Michigan native had proven herself to be one of the NCAA’s top freshmen during the fall campaign.
Bryanna Leyen – with Gainor out, she acquitted herself well in her first significant opportunities at the Mid-Winter and Kutztown events. Got her niche in school history as part of the 300 Baker game. Her 276 at the Mid-Winter ranks in a 13th place tie in Vandy’s record book.
Jordan Newham– continues to draw praise from the coaching staff for her leadership and versatility, which includes sliding into the No. 4 hole and setting the table for the All-American anchor Bulanova.
Kristin Quah– almost without fail is among the top individuals in every tournament with her outstanding spare shooting and knack of getting dialed in on the lanes. Has already made three all-tournament teams this season. Her 295 in last fall’s Hawk Classic ranks third-best on VU books.
Adel Wahner– after making her first all-tournament team at the Mid-Winter, she wasn’t at home in Kutztown and bowled less but came in late and performed well in the championship game with McKendree. “Sneaky steady” is how staff characterizes her play.
