March 6, 2015
SMYRNA, TN—With a winter storm causing havoc with travel for a number of entered teams at Vanderbilt’s 11th annual Columbia 300 Music City Classic bowling tournament, what was to be Day 1 became an independent competitive day with results not counting toward the tournament standings but simply as official won-loss marks for NCAA records.
As a result, Saturday’s Day 2 will become the official start to the event. Team warm-ups will begin at 11 a.m. and competitive at 11:30. There will be six team games on tap Saturday and Baker play Sunday to decide the winner. Five more teams will reach Nashville before tomorrow morning, making a total of 22 programs in the tournament.
Sam Houston State went unbeaten in four games and averaged 207.8 to lead the Friday action. Top-ranked Nebraska and host Vanderbilt both went 4-1 and were a close second and third among the 17 teams that were able to reach Nashville in lieu of the storm.
For the host Commodores, the day began in a sluggish manner before things picked up sharply after the second game, a loss to St. Francis (Pa.)
“At the start of the day we weren’t sharp, we didn’t execute well and didn’t seem into it,” Coach John Williamson said. “After the St. Francis match we had a discussion and I thought the last three were much better.
I felt when we inserted Amanda (Fry) into the 3 spot we began to click and for the most part, Nicole (Powell), Amanda and Rebeca (Reguero) most of the day were really sharp and held us up. I don’t think our top and bottom had their best days so it was good to see others can carry the load.”
“After the match we lost we huddled up and coach put our heads on right, helped us focus,” Powell said. “I think our energy might have been a little low at the start.”
One of the high games of the day was Vanderbilt’s 279 against Florida A&M. Only a lonely 7-pin in the sixth frame stood between Vanderbilt and a 300 game. The game just-started the Commodores to a 5-game total of 1,131, the best score of the day by any team.
“It was crazy during that game, everyone was making great shots,” Powell said. “Katie was disappointed but she made a good shot and covered the spare.”
Vanderbilt used a left-hand dominant lineup much of the day to good effectiveness.
Vandy Game Capsules
VU 929 Howard 733
Lineup: Stark, Powell, Reguero, Poss, Renslow
Vanderbilt opened a wide lead from the start and despite some missed spare opportunities, cruised to victory against the Bison.
Saint Francis (Pa) 993 VU 974
Lineup varied: Stark, Powell, Mosesso/Fry, Reguero, Renslow
Saint Francis bounced back from an opening 794 game to add 199 pins to their total and edged the Commodores by 19 pins.
VU 1,085 N.C. A&T 996
Lineup: Stark, Powell, Fry, Reguero, Renslow
Vanderbilt had a narrow lead after winning three of the first four games by slim margins before breaking it open with a big fifth game. The pin count pushed Vandy temporarily into third place on the day behind Nebraska and Sam Houston State.
VU 988 Bethune Cookman 777
Lineup: Stark, Powell, Fry, Reguero, Renslow/Saffold
This game was never in doubt although it produced one of the more emotional moments of the season when senior Liz Saffold was substituted to throw the last ball in the last game and produced a ringing strike. Teammates screamed and hugged and bystanders wondered if a 300 game had just happened.
VU 1,131 Florida A&M 1,011
Lineup: Stark, Powell, Fry, Reguero, Renslow
The highlight of this match came in the first game when a ringing 7 pin in the sixth frame was the only thing between the Commodores and their fourth perfect game in program history. The Rattlers were not shaken and made it a competitive match to the end.
