Vanderbilt will conclude the fall portion of its schedule by traveling to Millsboro, Del., for Maryland-Eastern Shore’s Hawk Classic Friday through Sunday. The Millsboro Lanes are once again the host facility.
Timeline and formats: Friday’s five, 5-Game Bakers will start at 10:00 a.m. EST. Saturday’s five team games begin at 10:05 a.m. and Sunday’s bracket Bakers will be at 8:30 a.m. Daily warm-ups are 30 minutes prior these times.
Competing teams and national rankings: 14 of the 18 teams are ranked among the NTCA’s Top 25.
Caldwell, Coppin State, Delaware State (8), Duquesne, Fairleigh Dickinson (9), Kutztown (24), LIU-Brooklyn (19), Lincoln Memorial (14), UMES (7), Monmouth (23), North Carolina A&T (11), Sacred Heart (12), Sam Houston State (4), St. Francis (NY), St. Francis (Pa.) (13) Tulane (10), Vanderbilt (1), Youngstown State.
About the tournament: This is one of the traditional stops on Vanderbilt’s schedule and it’s treated the Commodores well over the years. During one span of six years, Vanderbilt won this event five times – the last in 2011. Last year VU appeared poised for another win but was beaten by Sacred Heart in the semi-finals and finished third. Sam Houston is defending champion. Kris Quah and Maria Bulanova made last year’s all-tournament team.
Following the tournament: Vanderbilt will livestream over its YouTube page (and on occasion, Facebook Live). Results are posted on VandyBowling Facebook and Twitter accounts and a daily recap will appear on this web site.
Last time out: The Commodores had an uneven ride at the Warhawk Open, placing fourth and compiling a 6-7 won-loss mark after playing a gauntlet of Top 10 opponents. Kristin Quah made her second straight all-tournament team, placing third individually.
Travel squad mini-bios
Maria Bulanova – made the all-tournament team at the Bearkat Hammer but didn’t find the magic last week in Wisconsin…six of her 10 team games this season have been 200 or over with season high of 246
Samantha Gainor – a steady frame filler usually in 3 spot of rotation with five of her 10 team games over 200; high game this fall is 221
Bryanna Leyen – got her big shot in the rotation last week in Milwaukee and responded in grand style…had a 267 team game there, second only to her last year’s 276.
Jordan Newham – continues to be a steady force in rotation, especially in Baker play where last week she occupied the No. 2 spot in lineup.
Kristin Quah – having an outstanding fall season with back-to-back Top 4 finishes…eight of her 10 team games have been 209 or higher with a 255 and 256 so far.
Emily Rigney – had a 222 game at McKendree and can light up the score sheet when her left-handed shot is hot.
Adel Wahner – last week’s pattern wasn’t her forte but she was seventh at the Bearkat Hammer with three powerful scores of 232-220-219.
Brogan Zengel – the freshman lefty made her collegiate debut last week after recovering from a bout with mono…that sickness set her back a few weeks in preparation.
