Gainor Takes Title at Tulane Tournament

Vanderbilt finishes fifth at Colonial Lanes Classic

by Rod Williamson

HANRAHAN, La. — Vanderbilt won 2 of 3 Baker matches Sunday and finished Tulane’s Colonial Lanes Classic in fifth place. North Carolina A&T beat Louisiana Tech to win the championship.

The steady Commodores raced by Lincoln Memorial and the host Green Wave by scores of 4-0 and 4-1, respectively, losing only to the streaky Stephen F. Austin Ladyjacks 4-1.

“I thought it was a pretty good day,” Vanderbilt head coach John Williamson said. “We competed hard. We had some chances in that SFA game and I thought we bowled well in the Lincoln Memorial and Tulane matches. We have things to work on, of course, this early in the season but we went 11-2 and had some bright spots.”

Vandy played without Angelica Anthony, the strike-throwing senior, who has a finger blister that is not uncommon among bowlers and the coaching staff took the cautious path when evaluating her readiness.

“The blister made it uncomfortable for her,” Williamson said, “and there is not a lot we can do for a bad blister. You can’t tape it up as the finger becomes too fat for the ball. We didn’t think it was imperative we used her today and we’ll see how it is Tuesday after two off days.”

The Dores began the day with a rotation of Amanda Naujokas, Caroline Thesier, Angelique Dalesandro, Samantha Gainor and Mabel Cummins. That quintet averaged a respectable 207 against SFA who sizzled with three Baker scores more than 235 in their win.

Vanderbilt turned to Paige Peters in the second hole against Lincoln Memorial and won in relatively easy fashion. Cummins eased any worries in the second game by striking out for a 203-193 advantage and the deciding fourth game included seven strikes in the first eight frames.

It was on to the fifth-place match against Tulane which had started so strong Friday. The Green Wave won a 216-215 nail-biter to start the best-of-seven match but Vandy responded with four straight wins. Thesier, who reentered the rotation for Peters, was finding the strike zone and swapped spots with Gainor.

Gainor was named the tournament’s Most Valuable Player based upon her individual title Saturday. The Chesterfield, Michigan, veteran averaged 226 over five games to edge Brooke Roberts of Maryland-Eastern Shore for first place.

The Commodores will have just a few days on campus before heading to New York on Thursday for the Dezy Strong Classic in Farmingdale. It will mark Vanderbilt’s first appearance in this event, a nod to the home area lanes of Naujokas.

 


Colonial Lanes Classic by Vanderbilt Athletics on on Exposure