'Dores big rally comes up just short

Nov. 16, 2014

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MILLSBORO,DE—Like a thoroughbred in a high stakes race, Vanderbilt’s bowling team came from way back in staging a valiant stretch run only to come up just shy, finishing second at Maryland-Eastern Shore’s Hawk Classic Sunday.

The Commodores looked anything but a title contender on the opening day but put themselves in contention Saturday, earning the second-place seed and match with top-seeded Fairleigh Dickinson to begin Sunday’s best of four Baker games.

Sticking with the same Saturday lineup of Tori Ferris, Natalie Goodman, Nicole Mosesso, Giselle Poss and Robyn Renslow, the `Dores came out strong and steady and put away FDU in four straight. It was a quality showing with four games over 200 and not an open frame to be found.

The win earned Vandy an automatic spot in the championship match and in one of the quirks of the sport, a second round game against the lowest seeded team in the field. The concept is that it does the winning team no favors to sit 90 minutes waiting for a key game while the opponent keeps fresh with competitive games but it also inevitably puts the winning team in an odd spot: how to keep momentum against an obviously weaker foe?

“Our goal was to keep the same lineup and continue the focus and momentum we had built up,” Coach John Williamson said, “but it became quickly apparent that we had already lost the edge against New Jersey City so I substituted looking for another spark.”

Vandy easily got by NJC, 4-0, while Fairleigh Dickinson was emerging from a 4-1 win over Sam Houston State.

In the championship game, FDU won the first Baker only to see Vanderbilt run off a string of eight straight strikes (268 game) to even the match at 1-1. Williamson thought a turning point came in Game 3, where All-American Robyn Renslow could have struck in the 10th to salvage a thrilling win, only to leave the 10 pin standing, allowing the Knights to eke out a 231-222 victory.

FDU had two long runs of strikes in the fourth game to go up 3-1 and Vandy had its weakest game of the day in the fifth, losing 192-179. Sam Houston bested host UMES for third place.

Giselle Poss earned her first all-tournament team honor with her third place finish in Saturday’s team games. The diminutive Montgomery, Ill., sophomore finished third with a 213.33 average over six games. Nicolette Sarin of FDU won with a 216.37 average.

Vandy ended the Hawk Classic, which it has won five times in the 11-year meet history, with a 9-6 won-loss record after starting 2-4.

“Once again we were reminded that we often get the other team’s very best effort,” Williamson said in speaking of a couple of Friday upset defeats.

The Commodores now focus on academics and look forward to the holidays with their next competition two months away.

“I thought we had many positives this fall,” Williamson said. “For the most part, we posted very consistent scores. We showed we have good depth and that we can be versatile with our lineup. We have a lot to look forward to when we resume.”

Vandy Sunday scores
VU 4 FDU 0
VU 233-207
VU 207-167
VU 208-129
VU 233-196

VU 4 New Jersey City 0
VU 154-137
VU 199-113
VU 239-125
VU211-158

FDU 4 VU 1 (championship match)
FDU-224-191
VU 268-219
FDU 231-222
FDU 247-190
FDU 192-179