Jan. 22, 2009
SPRINGFIELD, Mo. — Vanderbilt’s bowling team wants to bounce back from a disappointing performance when it travels here for the annual Ozark Invitational Tournament this weekend.
The Commodores are among eight teams that include host Central Missouri, Arkansas State, Elmhurst, Nebraska, Fontbonne, Minnesota State Mankato and Grand Canyon.
In order to shake things up a bit, Vanderbilt Coach John Williamson will add junior Ashley Belden to his travel team, thus taking eight to the event.
“Ashley is a very accomplished bowler,” Williamson says, “but we had considered red-shirting her this year with our deep roster. We are rethinking that plan since she has performed so well in practice and could help us right now.”
Belden appeared in 36 games last year, averaging 188 with 13 games over 200.
The full travel team includes Brittni Hamilton, who won last week’s Mid Winter Invitational by nearly 20 pins per game, Josie Earnest, Michelle Peloquin, Tara Kane, Karen Grygiel, Amanda Halter and Brittany Garcia.
The tournament gets underway at the Enterprise Park Lanes Friday with five, 5-game Baker total pin fall matches at 1:00 p.m. Saturday’s action turns to five traditional games at 12:45 p.m., and on Sunday there are two more traditional games followed at 10:30 a.m. by three rounds of best-of-seven Bakers to determine the champion.
Inconsistency was an all too familiar plague last weekend. The No. 1 rated `Dores struggled on the first day in Arkansas, only to pull away from the field Saturday in the traditional games. However, it was back to easy errors Sunday which led to a third place finish – the first event this season in which the Black and Gold failed to bring home the championship trophy.