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4/12/2006 HOUSTON, TX — Vanderbilt makes its debut at the NCAA Bowling Championship Thursday through Friday, one of eight teams competing for the coveted national championship trophy. No Commodore team has ever won an NCAA title and while Vanderbilt is not the favorite, good things can happen to the bowling squad that peaks at the right moment. The Commodores will join defending champion Nebraska, Central Missouri State, Alabama A & M, Farleigh Dickinson, New Jersey City College, Maryland Eastern Shore and Bethune Cookman. “We have every reason to believe that we will make a strong showing,” says Coach John Williamson. “We have beaten every team in this field at least once during our season and we have been competitive in every tournament in the second half of our schedule. Certainly teams such as Nebraska, Central Missouri and Farleigh Dickinson have to be considered the favorites but in bowling you don’t worry about the opposition. You can’t play defense so the only thing to do is focus upon bowling your best.” Vanderbilt has 11 women on its varsity roster and its five primary tournament bowlers are all freshmen. Michelle Peloquin (Enfield, Ct) leads the team with a 212 average over 64 games. That is the second highest average in the country. Tara Kane (Greensburg, Pa.) averages 199 with Kaitlin Reynolds (Loves Park, Il) at 193. Reynolds has the school record with a 299 game at the Music City Classic. Transfer Mandy Keily (Brighton, Co) is averaging 202 in 35 games since gaining her eligibility over the winter holidays and Karen Grygiel (Brick, NJ) is a 191 bowler over 60 contests. Vanderbilt carries a record of 56-36 into the tournament. The format consists of a series of matches to determine tournament seeds on Thursday, April 13 at Houston’s Emerald Lanes with elimination rounds beginning Friday. The national champion will be crowned Saturday. ESPN cameras will be on hand to record the semi-final and final matches and an edited version of those games will be shown by ESPN on a delayed basis Sunday from 1:00 — 2:30 p.m. (CDT). |
