NASHVILLE, Tenn. — Vanderbilt opens play in the NCAA Lansing Regional at the Royal Scot Golf and Bowl Friday against Carthage while Youngstown State meets Maryville (Mo.) The four regional winners will meet April 14-15 at the South Point Bowling Plaza in Las Vegas to crown the 2023 national champion.
Match times: Matches will begin at 8:00 a.m. CT and 2:00 p.m. CT. The mega-match format is employed at the NCAAs; the teams play a traditional game for one point, followed by a 5-game baker for a point. If one team has two points the match is over. If the teams split, a best-of-seven baker is played to determine the winner.
Regional Team Bios: Vanderbilt enters 92-27, at this point the fifth-most season wins in program history. This is the 17th consecutive year Vandy has received an NCAA invite. Carthage won the College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin in a tie-breaker with Marian. The Firebirds are the first team from the CCIW to compete in the NCAA tournament. Maryville is 90-40, was third in the Great Lakes Valley Conference, and is ranked eighth nationally. Youngstown State is 66-26, defeated Vandy in the recent Southland championship and is rated sixth nationally.
Livestream: Fans can stream on Olivet’s athletic YouTube site.
Previous Meeting: Vanderbilt has faced Carthage once this season at the Ladyjack Invitational in November and won 1,056-925.
Good Vibes: Vanderbilt won this regional last year on the same lanes, defeating Arkansas State to advance to the Final Four.
The NCAA Field of 17: Nine of the teams in this year’s field are automatic conference qualifiers, and eight teams are at-large picks based on the committee’s assessment of their overall season.
The powerful Southland Bowling League, soon to become affiliated with Conference USA, placed six of its eight members in the 17-team field.
Other programs getting invitations include Sam Houston, Louisiana Tech and the winner of the play-in game between Prairie View and Fayetteville State in the Arlington Regional; Stephen F. Austin, Mercyhurst and Duquesne in the Pittsburgh Regional and Sacred Heart, North Carolina A&T and Medaille in the Rochester Regional.
