Hot Start in Arkansas

JONESBORO, Ark. – The No. 2-ranked Vanderbilt bowling team sits in second place at the Mid-Winter Invitational after winning three matches and dropping two on Friday. 

“Overall, it was a pretty good day,” said head coach John Williamson.  

The starters for Vanderbilt’s Baker round were Isabel Allen, Saphyre Nofuente, Kailee Channell, Victoria Varano and Sydney Bohn. 

The Commodores began their day with a 1,074-931 victory over No. 14 Wisconsin-Whitewater. The Dores then dropped two matches in a row: a 964-985 effort to No. 9 Stephen F. Austin and a 1,061-1090 loss to No. 7 Wichita State. 

Vanderbilt did not waver, closing out the day with two straight high-pin-count victories. The Dores knocked over 1,138 pins, the most of any singular match on Friday, in their win over Alabama State. Vandy closed out its day by taking a match against No. 5 Youngstown State by a score of 1,046-978. 

“We were a little sloppy in the SFA match,” said Williamson. “But otherwise, we executed at a pretty high level for the rest of the day. We need to come out tomorrow and do it again.”

Vanderbilt tallied 5,283 total pins in Friday’s Baker format, landing in second place and only 66 behind the lead. 

Day 2 of the Mid-Winter Invitational continues Saturday at 9:25 a.m. with the first of five traditional matches. Fans can watch the event on YouTube and follow Vanderbilt bowling on X at @VandyBowling for updates.