July 17, 2012
INDIANAPOLIS, IN—Vanderbilt sophomore-to-be Natalie Goodman was fourth after the first day of the USBC Junior Gold Championship, a week-long national tournament that attracts the best young bowlers in the country.
Goodman, who knocked down 1,030 pins over five games, led a contingent of seven Vanderbilt bowlers or incoming freshmen. Victoria Ferris of Kalamazoo, Mich., was 15th at 992 (-8 in bowling terminology, a relationship to a 200 pin per game average) while Amanda Fry of Antelope, Calif., cracked the top 50 at -41.
The day proved to be somewhat of a nightmare for organizing officials and some competitors as a combination of above average temperatures and a broken air conditioning unit in a key bowling center led to conditions that Vanderbilt coach John Williamson called “a debacle.”
“Depending upon when you bowled and what lanes you were assigned, bowlers encountered very difficult lane conditions,” Williamson said. “Much like when basketball courts are placed over ice and become slippery, the 85-degree temperatures inside the center forced the lanes to become tacky. They brought in big fans but that seemed to make it worse. Bowlers were fouling, one girl literally came out of her shoe when her foot stuck on the slide – it was a debacle.”
Williamson said that in the long tournament a slow start on Monday did not doom a bowler to a poor finish. Tuesday’s games will be held in a different center and with a different oil pattern on the lane he thinks today’s games will separate the field more so than Monday.
Other Vanderbilt bowlers include Nicole Mosesso (-98), Liz Saffold (-108), Olivia Wirz (-125) and Robin Renslo (-133).
Complete results are on bowl.com