VU surges back to finish fourth

MILWAUKEE, WIS—Vanderbilt took out two days of bowling frustration on a pair of opponents that had beaten the Commodores earlier in the tournament  before losing in the consolation finals to finish fourth at the Warhawk Open Sunday. 

The Commodores dispatched host Wisconsin-Whitewater in the opening round of the best-of-seven Baker games, jumping out to a quick 3-0 lead before finishing with a comfortable 4-2 margin.  They advanced to a rematch with familiar rival Nebraska and won in five games with three of the wins coming with scores of 231, 243 and 258.

Vanderbilt was on the cusp of maximizing its disappointing sixth seed in the 18-team event , pitted against fellow Southland Bowling League competitor Sam Houston State for third place.  The result was a well-played contest that at times resembled a high plains shootout; the first game, for instance, began with both teams striking in the first five frames.  Who would blink first?

That first game boiled down to the last frame where the Bearkats pulled out a 234-233 thriller, gaining a margin they would not relinquish.  Trailing 3 games to 1, Vanderbilt was on the verge of taking the fifth game before a late split and open spelled doom in a 202-197 finale.

In each of Vandy’s three Sunday games, the winning team was on the short end of decisions during Friday and Saturday’s qualifying matches.

“We seem to play match play games better than other formats,” said Coach John Williamson. “We need to transfer that mindset to other parts of our game.  We didn’t make any real adjustments today, we simply bowled better.”

Kristin Quah was named to the all-tournament team for the second consecutive tournament, based upon her third place finish in Saturday’s individual traditional games.  It was the eighth time the splendid senior from Singapore has had a top five finish in her stellar Vanderbilt career.  Quah seemed at or near the top of her game every day.

Vanderbilt began Sunday with a rotation of Bryanna Leyen, Emily Rigney, Jordan Newham, Quah and Maria Bulanova and played the last two matches with Leyen, Newham, Samantha Gainor, Quah and Bulanova.

McKendree won the tournament, beating Arkansas State, 4-3, in the championship match.

The Commodores return to campus for just three days before heading northeast to the Maryland-Eastern Shore Hawk Classic, a tournament in which they have had considerable success over the years.   The Hawk Classic will mark the end of the shorter fall portion of the 2018-19 schedule.