May 19, 2015
WHAT A LONG DAY! Regardless of whether or not you’re in the winner’s or loser’s bracket, a 64-woman bracket makes for a lot of matches.
Giselle (Poss) started the day bowling a very talented player from Germany, Birgit Poeppler. The dicey thing about this tournament is matching up with the correct people at the correct time. G did not have this fortune.
Birgit started of with what I recall was a 260 game and followed it with a 250 game. That is tough to beat. She finished with a 744 against Giselle. For perspective, Birgit then followed it up the next match with a much lower score of 566. It’s all about match up. It’s all about timing.
I could not be more proud of the run Giselle made at this tournament. G has always had a fighting spirit, but it’s been learning how to take that emotion and harness it into productive energy. This tournament has shown that she can hang with anybody and she’s a force to be reckoned with.
Kristin (Quah) started the day in the winner’s bracket. Her first opponent was Kristen Wendell. While the scores look lopsided the number will fool you. The match was very close through the first two games, with both throwing strikes back and forth. Kristin got up in the third game and put it away by starting with a flurry of strikes to make it a wide margin win of 736-639.
Her next opponent was a former collegiate standout from Valparaiso University, Natalie Cortese. Again, it was another close match through the first two games. Kristin was leading by 30-40 pins after game one, but Natalie made a big comeback game two. Game three of this match was much like the match before. Kris took control early and never let up for a winning score of 696-621.
The next two matches didn’t go as Kris would have envisioned, but I still could not be more proud. Her last match in the winner’s bracket would put the winner on ESPN2.
Kris was bowling my roommate Erin McCarthy. On one hand it was heartbreaking because I obviously want both of them to succeed, but on the other hand how cool is it that I have someone to root for on the show regardless of the outcome! Erin came out strong and didn’t hold any punches. Kris bowled really well, but her ball reaction was not the same as it was in her last few matches. Erin came out with the victory and made her first PWBA telecast as the #1 seed at a major. I can’t even begin to describe how awesome that is.
Kris had one more shot at making the TV show through the four person final match. They basically take the four remaining in the loser’s bracket and they bowl for three spots. Low person will not make the show. It’s a fairly long match because instead of bowling two people to a pair of lanes like they have since the bracket began, you bowl four people on a pair. Unfortunately, Kris’ ball reaction was similar to what she had against Erin. Couple that with a few bad breaks and her score was just a little short of making the telecast. She finished in sixth place. I would say that is not too shabby for your first major event. Actually, I would say that’s not too shabby for any major event, regardless of how many you’ve competed in! I had so much fun watching her compete this week. Outside of her obvious stellar physical talent, I think she has spunk and an energy that this team will be able to use.
I know the beginning of our next season is months down the line, but after seeing what three of our Commodores have been working towards has made me excited and pleased. It takes a special kind of person to be successful at Vanderbilt both academically and athletically, but I think Coach John and I have been especially blessed with the women that we have. I look forward to seeing how successful these Commodores are this summer heading in to next season.
As Always, ANCHOR DOWN!