ORLANDO, Fla. – On the first day of Destination Orlando, Vanderbilt bowling won four of its five Baker Matches and sits in second, 135 pins behind top-ranked Jacksonville State. The Dores’ sole loss of the day came against No. 2 Arkansas State.
“We were pretty consistent today and our scores showed it,” head coach John Williamson said. “We had good production throughout our lineup. Energy in the setee was good. We need to do it again tomorrow.”
Shaking off some dust from the offseason, the Dores got off to a slower start, dropping their opening game to Alabama State but quickly regained their footing to win four of five Baker Games and take the match by a score of 1,067-970. The Commodores started with a lineup of graduate student Isabel Allen, junior Alyssa Ballard, sophomore Haley Lindley, junior Victoria Varano and senior Paige Peters. In Game 3, Vandy struck the first 10 frames and closed with a spare to shoot 289.
After dropping its first two games to Monmouth, the Dores had to overcome a 37-pin deficit. In the next three games, Vandy compiled scores of 226, 204 and 248 to complete its comeback and win the match 1,030-947.
No. 2-ranked Arkansas State beat the Dores, 1,075-1,044 in Match 3. Vanderbilt got off to a 5-pin lead, winning the first game, 185-180. The Red Wolves made it a 1-pin affair topping the Dores, 209-204, in the second game. The Conference USA foes traded blows over the next two games but Arkansas State’s 269 in Game 3, which featured eight strikes in a row, held off Vandy’s comeback despite the Dores shooting 236 and winning Game 4.
Sophomore Natalie Kent entered the lineup for Lindley in Match 4, in which the Dores swept Florida A&M 5-0 with a final match score of 973-568. Despite the sweep, it was the only match of the day where the Commodores did not bowl at least one clean game and was their only match under 1,000 pins.
Vanderbilt closed out the day with a win over sixth-ranked North Carolina A&T. The score was tight heading into the final game, with just 21 pins separating the two squads. The Dores were up 68 pins after three games, but the Aggies put up scores of 246 and 248 in Games 3 and 4 to close the gap heading into the final set of the day. Vanderbilt won the fifth game by a score of 200-171 to close out the match, 1,053-1,003.
Action in Orlando continues Saturday at 7:25 a.m. CT with five sets of five traditional games streamed on YouTube. The Dores’ Day 2 slate includes Daemen, Wright State, No. 7 Louisiana Tech, Emmanuel and No. 13 Tulane. Total pinfall over the first two days will determine the bracket for Day 3.
