March 28, 2007
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INDIANAPOLIS, IN—Vanderbilt has been invited to compete in an eight-team field for the 2007 NCAA Bowling Championship in Orlando next month. The official notification came this afternoon upon completion of the national selection committee’s final meeting here.
The Commodores, who crafted a 70-14 record and were rated among the top three teams in the nation most of the season, were not surprised at their entry but it was still received as good news.
“One of our goals at the beginning of the season was to get back to the NCAA Championship,” says Coach John Williamson. “So in that sense we have achieved another of our objectives.”
The other seven teams include defending champion Fairleigh Dickinson, New Jersey City University, Nebraska, Sacred Heart, Maryland-Eastern Shore, Central Missouri State and Minnesota State-Mankato.
Last year Vanderbilt was relieved to get the official call to participate in the NCAA finals with an all-freshman lineup and placed in a tie for fifth. This year it carries one of the strongest resumes into the tournament.
In addition to its won-loss mark, the Commodores won the first three tournament titles in the program’s three-year history. They captured the Maryland-Eastern Shore Hawk Classic and Mississippi Valley State’s Invitational last November, and then took first place this spring at Alabama A&M’s Holiday Classic.
This year’s team is far from being labeled as veteran, usually putting four sophomores and one freshman in its starting five. One of the team’s strengths is its overall balance; freshman Josie Earnest leads the team with a 197 average over 66 games while All-America Michelle Peloquin is right behind at 193 and Tara Kane checks in at 192.
“Over the course of this year, every one on our tournament roster has made a significant contribution,” Williamson says. “Karen Grygiel, Mandy Keily and Kaitlin Reynolds have been there when we needed them. It is likely that we’ll need a combination of consistency and some Commodores to come up big at the right time if we are going to win.”
Williamson noted that bowling, much like every other NCAA sport, is difficult to predict.
“Last year the surprise team at the nationals was Alabama A&M,” he recalls. “They had a good team but I don’t know how many experts would have envisioned them bowling for the national title and that is what happened. The winning team needs to avoid those glitches that separate the champion from the rest of the field.”
The tournament will be played at the Brunswick Wekiva Lanes in the Orlando suburb of Apopka over several days. On Thursday, April 12 all teams will compete in qualifying team games so that the eight teams can be seeded accordingly in a bracket.
On Friday, those teams will be matched according to their earned seeds in a day-long series of double-elimination Baker games (each bowler rolls two frames). By the end of the day Friday, just two teams will remain and they will compete on ESPN television Saturday afternoon for the championship.