Jan. 31, 2014
ARLINGTON, TX—It was one of those roller-coaster days for the majority of the teams at Prairie View A&M’s Invitational Friday; one game up, the next game down. A challenging oil pattern was the likely culprit since the event features seven of the nation’s Top 10 teams.
The Vanderbilt Commodores know the feeling after winning three of five Baker matches but finishing the busy day strong and holding fifth place. Vandy used a variety of lineups trying to find the right combination, shaking up the lineup with substitutions and also trying some new orders.
“We have to figure out how we can compete to the best of our ability regardless of who we are playing,” said Coach John Williamson. “For whatever reason, and it’s probably a combination of reasons, we have not been bowling our best against the best opponents.”
Williamson cited junior Nicole Mosesso as Vandy’s most consistent performer on the day. The Ohio product bowled in several spots, including anchor in the last two wins.
The Commodores dropped the opening game of the afternoon to Nebraska, spotting the Huskers 50 pins in the first of four Baker games after posting an anemic 142. With a lineup adjustment the `Dores played the next three essentially even but it was too little, too late.
Vandy came back to defeat third-ranked Central Missouri by 24 pins despite losing three of the four games. The difference was a 57-pin win in the first game that forgave some tough sledding.
The fast start didn’t always work. In their next game, the `Dores jumped on Maryland-Eastern Shore by a whopping 64 pins, only to lose the second game by 62. They were unable to hold that slim margin and lost to the Hawks.
Vanderbilt rebounded with a nice win over Valparaiso, the difference being a strong 232 effort in the second game. The two teams played the last 20 frames dead even. The afternoon concluded with the Black and Gold’s best set, a sweep of Norfolk State with two games over 200 and the 823 total for four easily the team’s highest.Sam Houston State had few troubles today, going unbeaten in five games. The Bear Kats lead Nebraska, which went 4-1, by 10 pins with pin fall the determining factor, not won-loss marks.
Saturday’s action is team game play. Bowl.com has a quality live stream with four of the tournament’s 12 teams shown each game.
Leader Board
Sam Houston St. 3,961
Nebraska 3,951
Arkansas State 3,914
UMES 3,788
Vanderbilt 3,767
Nebraska 762-716
N 192-142
VU-198-186
N 182-180
N 203-196
VU 721 Central Missouri 697
VU 227-160
CM 194-184
CM 173-165
CM 170-145
UMES 764 VU 724
VU 232-168
MES 207-145
MES 178-158
MES 214-189
VU 770 Valparaiso 756
VAL 203-178
VU 232-193
VU 193-192
VAL 168-167
VU 823 Norfolk State 685
VU 189-179
VU 209-175
Tie 199-199
VU 226-132
