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On the opening day of McKendree’s Hammer Invitational in which top-ranked Vanderbilt overpowered four of its five opponents and sat just 24 pins out of first place in a 16-team field, conclusions were difficult, if not foolish, to form.
The Commodores flashed a deep and talented rotation, one that sizzled with 12 straight strikes over two early games, played all eight members of the travel team while dominating some out-matched foes but also lost focus for a time and that hiccup helped produce a loss.
Vanderbilt is in third place heading into Saturday’s five team games, trailing host McKendree by 24 pins and Nebraska by a mere six. It’s wins came over Drury, Lincoln, Maryville and Wisconsin-Whitewater with the defeat coming at the hands of 18th ranked Central Missouri.
“Overall I thought it was a really good first day,” said Coach John Williamson. “For the most part we did a good job of controlling what we could control and we made quality shots most of the day. We competed well for the first day out. I told the team that we seemed to lose focus midway through the Central Missouri game and put it into cruise. We’re a pretty good team but certainly not good enough to put it in cruise.”
In that Central Missouri game, the Jennies broke open a tight back and forth struggle with a 212-167 win in the fourth of the five game Baker set. Vanderbilt began that game going open-open-spare-open-spare to put itself in a deep hole that it couldn’t escape despite an improved fifth game.
“The thing we told the girls was that tomorrow we’re also going to bowl 50 frames and we must be fully present for all 50. We had a sense of urgency trying to come back in Game 5 against Central but our lack of urgency in Games 3 and 4 contributed to that loss.”
Vanderbilt opened with a Baker lineup of Jordan Newham, Emily Rigney, Kristin Quah, Samantha Gainor and Maria Bulanova. Within minutes it had posted games of 237-220, bolstered by the last seven strikes in the opening game against Drury and the front five in Game 2.
That set a tone for the first part of the six-hour day in the St. Clair Bowl; the Commodores were the only team posting 1,000-pin or more games in the first three matches. Adel Wahner was inserted in the three-hole for Quah in the second game and two games later the lineup reverted back to the original.
One of the constants throughout the day was the splendid play of junior All-American Maria Bulanova, who was notching about six strikes in every 10 attempts.
“Maria was good,” Williamson agreed. “It’s easier to be good when you get some support, much like a baseball pitcher who gets some runs. She had people around her that were doing some solid things and that took some pressure off her. She’s in her third year as our anchor so we know what we’ll get with her.”
“I don’t know if the pattern was easier or if I’m better on this pattern but I had a good day,” Bulanova admitted. “I feel like during the first three games my strike percentage was pretty high but we all got a bit lost in transition in that fourth game. We thought we got kind of lazy in that fourth game – like we got this – but Central Missouri was striking and bowling well.”
All eight Commodores got into the fray with high fives ranging from senior Jordan Newham in the lead-off role to freshman Angelique Dalesandro, making her collegiate debut.
“Jordan played well leading off, she’s a seasoned veteran,” Williamson said. “We have six girls with considerable experience so we don’t have a lot of uncertainty. It’s just whether or not we can put it together.
“Angelique is a competitor, makes quality shots and she’s traveling for a reason. We’re looking for opportunities to get her experience down the road. It’s easier to get her those opportunities when the upperclassmen are performing.”
Dalesandro’ s high school didn’t sponsor a bowling team so this was actually her first chance to bowl on a school team. She admitted to some jitters when asked to clean up an early 10th frame after Bulanova had chalked up two strikes.
“I’m thinking I want to make the best shot I can,” the Illinois product said. (She delivered a strike.) I was surprised and nervous when they told me to go in – a little shaky.”
Later in the day she was put into the rotation for two games after the lead against 21st ranked Wisconsin-Whitewater stretched well over 100 pins.
“There was a little more pressure when I got into the rotation but I still tried to throw the best shot I could,” Dalesandro said. “The team did a good job of just telling me to keep calm and take a deep breath so I was just bowling.”
Vanderbilt will need another fast start Saturday as it begins the day against No. 2 ranked and tournament leading McKendree, followed by Nebraska. The games are being streamed live on VandyBowling’s YouTube channel beginning at 9:30 a.m. CDT.
