Feb. 28, 2009
BESSEMER, Ala. — Josie Earnest rolled the second highest score in Vanderbilt bowling history to highlight Vanderbilt’s first day at the Holiday Classic Saturday.
The All-American junior began her day with 10 consecutive strikes against Nebraska, drawing appreciative and curious fans to Lane 12 of the Holiday Bowl. Her 11th ball just missed the headpin on the right, resulting in a six-count and an eventual 284 that drew applause from fans and handshakes from the Huskers.
Two hours later the team warmed up to the same boiling temperature. Karen Grygiel was moved into the lead-off slot and the Brick, N.J. senior responded with eight straight strikes, igniting the Commodores to a near school record with 1,138 pins against Minnesota-Mankato.
Grygiel just missed in the ninth, leaving a 10 pin on an otherwise strong throw. She polished off the 10th with three more strikes and a personal collegiate best 279. Earnest was right behind with 240, Brittni Hamilton was at 223 with a string of five in a row followed by a turkey in the tenth. Michelle Peloquin finished with a flair for 208 and Brittany Garcia’s otherwise study 198 finished the team scoring.
It had been raining strikes on the helpless lanes. At one midway point Vanderbilt had thrown 13 strikes in 15 attempts and it finished the game with 12 X’s in the 10th frame alone!
“I felt very confident in my line,” Grygiel said. “I think coach noticed in the second game that I was focused and he moved me into the lead-off position. I was feeding off my teammates and I think in turn they were able to feed off me. The day was a collaborative effort; we were having fun and cheering for each other.
“I didn’t realize I had thrown that many strikes,” Grygiel admitted when told at one point she had rolled 17 strikes in 19 consecutive frames. “Of course I knew I had eight in a row in the third game and to be honest I thought I had a pretty good ball in the ninth but the ten pin just stayed and laughed at me. It felt good coming off my hand but I was glad to make the spare and finish strong.”
“I felt like things fell my way,” Earnest modestly admitted after a day in which her 1,403 pins was the single best individual day in school history. “There was not a lot of thinking going on, I didn’t over-think things and focused on doing the very simple things well.
“I never felt as though I was throwing the ball well in the first game,” Earnest continued. “I was lucky to have picked the right ball in that game but I was having problems with my hands, the weather conditions can make your thumb and fingers change size and I was fiddling with tape all the time. I struggled some in the second game, then changed balls and that was good the rest of the day.”
Kaitlin Reynolds holds the school record with a 299 set two years ago. Earnest’s 233 daily average leads the entire tournament by a very wide margin.
Coach John Williamson seemed to agree with Earnest’s “keep it simple” assessment.
“We played the lanes the way they needed to be played,” he said. “We didn’t read too much into them, didn’t try to force anything and it was apparent we were pretty successful dong so.
“It was nice to see Josie get us started and really carry us in that first game,” Williamson continued. “Then Karen sparked us in the third game and we just took off. For the most part it was a total team effort because everyone had fine moments. Normally we think of ourselves as more consistent that a team that flashes big scores.”
The No. 1 rated Commodores followed that sizzling effort with a 1,024 pins against Florida A & M and maintained a lead of 84 pins over Nebraska in the total pin standings. The tournament is all team games with total pin fall crowning the champion tomorrow.
On an afternoon when several Commodores were strong, none were stronger than Earnest, the 2008 NCAA Player of the Year. The Vandalia product crafted games of 284-177-222-240-258-222 for a whopping 233 average.
Hamilton had an impressive day, hurt only by a sub-par total in the afternoon’s finale. On the opposite cycle, Tara Kane began the day slowly and rolled a 235 on tough lanes to end the day – and leaving about 30 pins out there with back-to-back opens to end that otherwise sterling effort.
In Game 5 of the day, the Commodores polished off Maryland-Eastern Shore. They had topped Alabama State earlier in the morning and finished the afternoon beating Fontbonne. Their 980 total may appear to be a slip but that was the best pin count on those two pesky lanes for the entire day.
Vanderbilt finished its productive day 5-1 in head-to-head matches and leading in the pin fall count by nearly 300 pins.
The tournament concludes tomorrow with six more team games. The tourney champ will be determined by total pins from both days.
Team Leader Board
Vanderbilt 6,097
Nebraska 5,828
Central Missouri 5,795
Individual Leaders
1. Josie Earnest, Vanderbilt 1,403 (233)
7. Brittni Hamilton
19. Michelle Peloquin
* Karen Grygiel averaged 217 in five games, which would have put her among the leaders
Nebraska 982 Vanderbilt 959
Tara Kane 172
Michelle Peloquin 151
Brittany Garcia-Karen Grygiel 157
Brittni Hamilton 195
Josie Earnest 284
VU 965 Alabama State 737
Kane-Garcia 137
Peloquin 203
Grygiel 218
Hamilton 226
Earnest 177
VU 1,138 Minnesota Mankato 903
Grygiel 279
Peloquin 208
Garcia 198
Hamilton 223
Earnest 240
VU 1,024 Florida A & M 831
Grygiel 197
Peloquin 227
Garcia 155
Hamilton 223
Earnest 222
VU 1,032 Maryland-Eastern Shore 955
Grygiel 192
Peloquin 181
Kane 204
Hamilton 197
Earnest 258
VU 979 Fontbonne 782
Grygiel 201
Peloquin 148
Kane 235
Hamilton 133
Earnest 222
