NASHVILLE, Tenn. — Vanderbilt returns to the tournament lanes after a near three-week layoff Friday at Arkansas State’s Mid-Winter Invitational at Jonesboro’s Hijinx Family Fun Center.
Tournament schedule
Friday – Five 5-game Baker matches beginning at 10:10 a.m.
Saturday – Five traditional games starting at 9:30 a.m.
Sunday –Best of seven Baker bracket beginning at 8:10 a.m.
Competing teams (rank)
Eight of the top 10 ranked teams in the latest National Tenpin Coaches Association poll will be in action.
Alabama A&M, Alabama State, Arkansas State (3), Grambling, Jacksonville State (1), Louisiana Tech (7), Maryville (10), McKendree, Nebraska (6), Newman (16), Oklahoma Christian (17), Sam Houston (11), Stephen F. Austin (8), Vanderbilt (5), Wisconsin-Whitewater (15), Youngstown State (2)
Livestream
The Vanderbilt Athletics YouTube site will stream all Commodore matches.
Poll
Vanderbilt’s back-to-back eighth-place finishes dropped the Commodores from second to fifth in the latest NTCA poll.
Vandy at the Mid-Winter
Arkansas State’s Mid-Winter Invitational is one of the NCAA’s oldest events, and Vanderbilt has competed here many times. However, the Commodores had scheduling conflicts and haven’t appeared here in four years. This will be Vandy’s first trip to Jonesboro since winning back-to-back titles in 2019 and 2020.
Hitting the reset button
The Commodores were able to get back into their training room for an extended amount of time—nearly three weeks—for the first time since before the winter break. The timing came at a good time as the team’s performance had slipped during the run of three January tournaments. While the Dores sharpened their basic bowling skills, the staff also invested considerable time instigating various internal competitions designed to spur the team’s competitive instincts.
