Defending NCAA champion Vanderbilt topped the preseason poll released by the National Ten Pin Coaches Association this week. The Commodores received 32 of 40 first-place votes and had 1,497 overall poll points, just ahead of second-place McKendree, which garnered six first-place nods and 1,409 points. Nebraska came in third with one first-place vote, followed by Southland Bowling Conference powers Sam Houston State, Arkansas State and Stephen F. Austin.
Maryland-Eastern Shore, Delaware State, Fairleigh Dickinson and Tulane rounded out the top 10.
The Commodores return a veteran lineup in 2018-19, losing just one member — senior Katie Stark — of the rotation that captured the 2018 NCAA Bowling Championship in St. Louis last April. Vanderbilt’s season begins Oct. 26-28 at McKendree’s Bearcat Hammer Open.
The NTCA Pre-Season Poll
1. Vanderbilt (32) 1497
2. McKendree (6) 1409
3. Nebraska (1) 1320
4. Sam Houston State 1222
5. Arkansas State (1) 1194
6. Stephen F. Austin State 1092
7. Maryland Eastern Shore 942
8. Delaware State 888
9. Fairleigh Dickinson 811
10. Tulane 780
11. North Carolina A&T 712
12. Sacred Heart 666
13. St. Francis University 528
14. Lincoln Memorial 442
15. Adelphi 389
16. UAB 375
17. Louisiana Tech 342
18. Central Missouri 336
19. LIU Brooklyn 330
20. Duquesne 267
21. Wisconsin-Whitewater 222
22. Maryville 180
23. Monmouth 129
24. Kutztown 22
25. Texas Southern 19
Point system: NTCA submitted ballots rank the top 25 programs in the sport of NCAA bowling. Each position has a designated point value, ranging from 40 points for first place and one point for twenty-fifth place. To be ranked teams need to equal or surpass the minimum vote criteria, which is one vote for every eight ballots submitted. The actual ranking position is determined by using the adjusted point standings, which lists in priority order the total points a school has accumulated after the highest and lowest votes are dropped. The specific point values follow: 1st place = 40 points, 2nd =37, 3rd =35, 4th =33, 5th =31, 6th =29, 7th =27, 8th =25, 9th =23, 10th =21, 11th =19, 12th =17, 13th =15, 14th =13, 15th =11, 16th =10, 17th =9, 18th =8, 19th =7, 20th =6, 21st =5, 22nd =4, 23rd =3, 24th =2, 25th =1.
