KENOSHA, Wis. – The Commodores ended their run at the Stephen F. Austin Ladyjack Classic Sunday in fifth place among 14 of the NCAA’s top 25 teams.
“I thought we competed very well this weekend in some difficult matches against some high-end competition,” head coach John Williamson said. “We got better from tournament one to tournament two. We just need to continue to improve. We feel pretty good about where we are in the season.”
Vanderbilt won its first of two matchups with Wichita State Sunday morning, defeating the Shockers 4-2. Vandy recorded four games over 240 and averaged 226 over the six-game set. The Dores faced Youngstown State next and traded wins through the first four games but eventually fell 4-2. Vandy ended its time in Kenosha sweeping the Shockers 4-0 to finish fifth.
Jacksonville State won the tournament by a score of 4-2 in the championship match with Maryville.
On Friday and Saturday, Vanderbilt collected wins over Lewis, Arkansas State, Wisconsin-Whitewater, McKendree, Stephen F. Austin and Nebraska on its way to the No. 5 seed.
Though losses at the end of Day 1 and beginning of Day 2 kept Vandy from qualifying for the championship bracket, the Dores were still able to come together to set a school record and place one bowler on the all-tournament team. In a third-round bye on Saturday, the Commodores’ lineup consisting of Isabel Allen, Alyssa Ballard, Kailee Channell, Natalie Kent and Haley Lindley bowled the best traditional game in program history, totaling 1,237 pins.
Allen posted scores of 216, 259, 247, 213 and 195 on Saturday, finishing second and earning a spot on the all-tournament team, her second this fall.
Next up
Vanderbilt will head south to New Orleans, Louisiana, for Tulane’s Colonial Lanes Classic Friday through Sunday.
