Commodores ousted from NCAA tourney

April 10, 2015

ST LOUIS – Vanderbilt lost heart-breaking games to Fairleigh Dickinson and Wisconsin-Whitewater as double-elimination play began at the NCAA Bowling Championship and as a result, was ousted from tournament play Friday.

The Commodores battled FDU down to the second ball in the tenth frame of Game 7 before All-American Robyn Renslow’s attempt resulted in a difficult 3-pin split while the Knights’ anchor knocked down just six pins but the four standing were in an easy cluster. It became a 232-229 defeat and knocked Vandy into the loser’s bracket to face Wisconsin-Whitewater.

Vanderbilt jumped out to a 2-0 lead before the Warhawks tied it at 2-2 and from there on the scores were generally high and close. The sixth game, which could have resulted in a Commodore victory, ended in a 224-224 deadlock and Whitewater proceeded to take the seventh game and the 5-frame tie-breaker by a 128-96 margin to advance.

A look at the game scores reveals that nearly all were played at an elite level with runs of strikes the rule and not the exception.

The Commodores used a baker rotation of Amanda Fry, Nicole Powell, Giselle Poss, Katie Stark and Renslow. All return next season, although that is a distant thought on this cool spring evening.

Earlier in the day, Vandy had been crisp in the final two round-robin seeding games, defeating Nebraska and this same Whitewater team to end the seeding round with a 4-3 worksheet. Poss was especially strong in those contests with 259 and 243 scores.

Bowling is an exciting, sometimes frustrating and very misunderstood college sport. Many in the sporting public don’t have a clue how exhilarating it can be to have your team see a teetering 7-pin fall for a strike in a tight game or how exasperating it is to see an opponent’s weak shot produce a crazy domino effect resulting in a key strike. Outsiders have little idea how hard top bowlers work to prepare.

It seems to be a crazy game of equal parts skill and mental focus with a significant percentage of sheer luck in these elite tournaments. Not only can the pins topple or stand steadfast on a whim, catching a foe in a slump or red-hot is not unlike roulette. As in golf, no defense can be played so in theory one could bowl 299 and be helpless if the opponent cashes in with a 300. When things fall your team’s way, all is good in the world and when your favorites come up shy, it is a hard pill to swallow.

It will take some time for this gallant Commodore team to shake off the disappointment of a goal not attained.

There are five graduating seniors on the roster – Nicole Chanin, Liz Saffold, Rebeca Reguero, Nicole Mosesso and Natalie Goodman. All have had admirable collegiate careers on the lanes and in the classroom. They have been appreciated and will be missed and remembered.

The tournament continues Saturday with live streaming of the morning contests on NCAA.com and the title game on ESPNU at 7:00 Central.

Vandy’s Bracket Results

FDU 4 VU 3
FDU 212-201
FDU 232-198
VU 184-167
VU 268-174
VU 223-188
FDU 248-198
FDU 232-229

Wisconsin-Whitewater 4.0 VU 3.5
VU 209-178
VU 206-191
WW 229-196
WW236-225
VU 257-152
224-224 tie
WW 204-180
5-frame tiebreaker WW 128-96