March 19, 2016
SMYRNA, TN—Vanderbilt slowly climbed into the championship bracket over the course of a nine-hour day and will face third-seeded Nebraska in the first round of Sunday’s Columbia 300 Music City Classic.
The Vandy-Husker match features the 3-4 tourney seeds while Arkansas State earned the No. 1 seed and will play McKendree in the other side of the bracket. The winner of that game shoots into the championship game while the loser plays the winner of the Vanderbilt-Nebraska game.
The Commodores got big efforts from sophomore Katie Stark and senior Robyn Renslow, who finished individual play in third and fifth place respectively. Stark, the southpaw from Orlando, averaged 207.5 while Renslow, who grew up on the other coast, was close behind at 206.5. Jordan Richard of Arkansas State paced the field with a booming 221.67.
Reaching the title bracket, something the steady Commodores have done in every tournament but one this season, was one of the goals coming in and it pleased Coach John Williamson.
“I believe this is the largest tournament of year with a very talented field and we talked about being in contention to win the championship,” Williamson noted. “We’ve done that. Hopefully tomorrow we will come out and be more consistent; at times today we were very good and other times we weren’t.”
Vanderbilt ended the two days with a 9-3 record, second best in the field of 30 to Nebraska, who ended 11-1. Standings were based on total pin fall and not won-loss marks.
With nearly all competitors calling the lane pattern the most challenging in collegiate bowling, the scores fluctuated wildly throughout the day. Vanderbilt had entered Saturday with a 6-0 slate and squared off early against Nebraska in one of the premier duals of the tournament as both squads entered at a perfect 7-0.
The `Dores were struggling and the score tight when senior Amanda Fry was substituted into the lead-off position and the Antelope, Calif., product responded with six strikes in seven throws to help push her team to victory.
“Amanda has been working really hard,” Williamson said, “and it was nice she was been able to parlay success she had two weeks ago in New Jersey. We didn’t think the left side (of the lane) would be very friendly and it turned out to be pretty playable.”
The All-American Renslow’s high finish surprised no one in the crowd with the possible exception of her. She had considered herself to be in a slump the past 10 days and decided to focus on fundamentals.
“I started figuring things out a few days ago,” Renslow confided. “The key for me was to keep my speed consistent and hit the same area every time. I focused on my release, having the ball come off cleanly from my hand, and to stay slow. I believe I was clean on my single pins and had a pretty solid day – one I wasn’t expecting.”
Renslow is one of four seniors on Vandy’s roster and agrees that it’s hard to realize this is her last home tournament.
“I thought about that early today,” the Californian said, “but during play it didn’t affect me at all. It does feel a bit weird as we’re not used to being in our last home event. I was just trying my best to make quality shots and not to regret anything.”
Someone who did exhibit consistency was Stark, who fashioned games of 195-191-203-246-215-195. Her 246 ended with seven in a row as she tried to keep her team in the match against McKendree, a team that has had a whammy on Vandy this season.
Play starts Sunday morning at 8:30 a.m. Vanderbilt will honor its seniors at the conclusion of the tournament (approximately 1:00 p.m.) along with presentations for the all-tournament team and the Harry Stoddard Award, presented by team vote to the most valuable teammate. The tournament is being played at the Smyrna Bowling Center. Admission if free.
