Commodores Climb to Second

SMYRNA, Tenn. – No. 3 Vanderbilt bowling climbed the Music City Classic leaderboard from 11th to second place Friday at the Smyrna Bowling Center.

“I felt like the last four rounds today were more what I expected,” head coach John Williamson said. “In the first round, I thought we were tight coming out. I always think the home tournament is a little different. There are more people they know. It’s just a different environment, and I felt like we played differently to start. In Game 5, we made a run, and then UMES made a big split pickup to beat us by 10. Other than that, I feel like we played pretty well today.”

Vandy used a rotation of Isabel Allen, Kailee Channell, Kaylee Hitt, Victoria Varano and Sydney Bohn for the majority of the day.

After a low-scoring first round, the Commodores found themselves in 11th place on the event’s 31-team leaderboard, having fallen to No. 22 UMES, 935-925.

The Dores won their second and third-round matches over No. 25 Emmanuel, 1,049-920, and Howard, 1,077-803. Scores of 242, 265 and 236 highlighted Vanderbilt’s victory over the Bisons.

In Match 4, the Commodores defeated 12th-ranked Sacred Heart in a 1,121-979 decision. The Dores jumped from eighth to second place in the team standings after bowling the highest-scoring five-game Baker set of the day. Vandy bowled games of 259, 205, 229, 244 and 184 in the win.

Vanderbilt ended its day with a bye, in which the team totaled 1,020 pins, registering scores of 233, 226, 182, 203 and 176.

Fourth-ranked Youngstown State leads the field with 5,282 pins. The Commodores sit 90 pins out of the lead with 5,192. No. 8 North Carolina A&T and No. 2 Jacksonville State are ranked third and fourth, respectively.

The Music City Classic continues Saturday at the Smyrna Bowling Center with action beginning at 9:25 a.m. All of Vanderbilt’s matches will be streamed on YouTube. Additionally, BowlTV will be streaming the event on eight of the 16 pairs. Fans can watch for free on either platform. Fans can also follow Vanderbilt bowling on X at @VandyBowling for updates.