MILLSBORO, DEL—Every sport has its own culture, much of which is evident during a tournament. What seems odd to an outsider is readily accepted as normal to those who understand.
So it might seem peculiar to some that Vanderbilt could travel to a 17-team tournament in Delaware and play Sacred Heart three times over a 48-hour span.
But that’s how the standings and bracket broke and why the Commodores had to defeat the 12th ranked Pioneers twice within a few hours to win their sixth championship at Maryland-Eastern Shore’s Hawk Classic. The teams played each other once in Saturday’s qualifying rounds, then because they had earned the tournament’s top two seeds (based on total pin count) played a second time in today’s bracket. After losing to Vandy for a second time, SHU battled back in the loser’s bracket to earn the right to play the Commodores yet again.
“It is super difficult to beat a good team like Sacred Heart three times in two days – and especially twice within a few hours,” said Associate Head Coach Josie Barnes. “They are well-coached and the pattern played to their strength so we knew that the second game today would be harder than the first.”
In hindsight, neither best-of-seven Baker match appeared too close to most observers. Vanderbilt continued its domination of the tournament field by downing Sacred Heart, 4-1, in the opening bracket round and then cruising to a 4-2 win in the title game after bolting to a 3-0 lead. Vandy ended the three-day event with a 10-1 won-loss mark, pushing its season record to 25-12 heading into the winter break.
In truth, to a Vanderbilt partisan it looked a bit too easy. The coaching staff found a rotation midway through the Friday matches and stuck with it the next two days, never seeing a need to substitute.
Bryanna Leyen, Jordan Newham, Samantha Gainor, Kristin Quah and Maria Bulanova were combining to record frequent strings of strikes – the magic potion on a bowling score sheet – and nobody else in the Millsboro Lanes could come close to matching them on this given weekend.
“Outside of one or two rounds, we took advantage of things,” Barnes noted. “We were dictating momentum instead of letting our opponents control it.”
Many of the Commodores were zoned in and bombarded the pocket all weekend. Leyen was outstanding in her leadoff role Sunday, as were Newham and Gainor following behind.
Quah was named tournament Most Valuable Player and made her third consecutive all-tournament team. the ninth of her career. She was a strike machine Sunday, her diminutive frame often delivering powerful accents to Vandy’s momentum.
“One of the things coach (John Williamson) and I talked about after our Thursday practice was just how many good options we had,” Barnes noted. “Normally we can see where one or two people might be particularly zeroed in on a pattern.”
The victory marked the program’s 30th tournament title and first of the young season. It was the sixth time Vandy has prevailed at the Hawk Classic but the first championship since 2011.
Barnes said the team will have a prolonged breather from any mandatory team activities but each individual will be advised on needed areas of improvement before leaving for the holidays and expected to stay sharp over break.
Many Commodores will be competing at the USBC Team USA trials taking place in Las Vegas Jan. 2-7, an obvious incentive to stay focused on their games.
