April 8, 2009
CANTON, Mich. – Vanderbilt’s bowling team left campus early Wednesday morning, heading for this Detroit suburb and the opportunity to fulfill its primary goal of winning the 2009 NCAA Championship.
The title will be decided Thursday through Saturday night in a field of eight contenders that emerged over the course of a long season. The Commodores, 87-19 and winners of a school record five regular season tournaments, are regarded by many as the team to beat but recent tournaments have shown anything can and does happen at this event.
In 2006, Alabama A & M stunned the field by sweeping into the championship match. Two years ago it was Vanderbilt that won the school’s first NCAA title, entering as the No. 3 rated squad and beating a surprising Maryland-Eastern Shore in the finals. Last year it was MES edging VU in the semi-finals and topping a surprising Arkansas State team.
Commodore Tara Kane, a mainstay over the past four years that has seen the program rise from nowhere into a power, says the senior class wants to “go out with a bang” after winning 298 matches (76%) since their freshman year.
Vanderbilt is very well aware it won’t be easy with Arkansas State, Fairleigh Dickinson, Delaware State, Maryland-Eastern Shore, Nebraska, Central Missouri and New Jersey City as contenders. All five prior NCAA team championship programs are represented.
“We want to focus on what we can control,” says Coach John Williamson. “One of our strengths all season has been our quality depth and I expect that will be a factor once again. We have an unselfish group of women that are more interested in the team’s result than their personal statistics and we will need everyone contributing as they can.”
The No. 1 rated Commodores will travel their full roster of 11, which is headed by junior Josie Earnest, freshman ace Brittni Hamilton and four seniors who have been the foundation of the program. Earnest and Hamilton rank 1-2 nationally in average with Michelle Peloquin fourth.
The team will practice at the Canton Super Bowl Wednesday afternoon. Thursday’s play will be team games to determine the seeding for brackets. That starts at 9:30 a.m. for four hours, then resumes after a break at 3:30 for another four hours.
Friday starts the Baker games at 9:30 and the double-elimination format should conclude about 7 p.m.
Friday’s action of Rounds 1-4 will be webcast live on www.ncaa.com and if Saturday’s Round 5 is necessary, it will also be available on live webcast. The championship game will be televised live by ESPN2, ESPNU and ESPN360.com Saturday at 7 p.m. (CT) and replayed Sunday on ESPN at 2 p.m (CT).