Feb. 17, 2011
BALTIMORE, Md. — Vanderbilt gets back on the tournament lanes Friday morning at the Morgan State Invitational, facing a large contingent of eastern teams and Nebraska, which has been lightly bowled so far this semester.
The Commodores, 50-30 on the year after dropping 17 of their first 30 matches in the fall, are coming off a second place finish at last week’s Capital Classic and spent their practice time methodically working on spare conversions. Vanderbilt’s strong spring, 37-13 since January, comes against the No. 1 strength of schedule in NCAA bowling.
One of Vanderbilt’s strong suits has been its deep and talented lineup in which on a given day, any one or two in the lineup can emerge as the leader. The most decorated players are All-American Brittni Hamilton, former Rookie of the Year Jessica Earnest and anchor Samantha Hesley – all with experience on USA teams – but Kayla Rhoades has been impressive in the past two tournaments and last week sophomore Sarah O’Brien did well in her debut.
The Morgan State tourney begins at 10:30 (ET) Friday with five, 4-game Baker matches. Saturday moves to the team games and Sunday’s championship round are the match play, four-of-seven Bakers.
Vanderbilt did not compete in this event last year but won it two years ago and finished second in 2008.