ORLANDO, Fla. — No. 3 Vanderbilt bowling totaled 5,069 pins on Day 1 at Destination Orlando and sits second in the team standings after five Baker matches Friday.
Jacksonville State, ranked preseason No. 1, sits atop the leaderboard with 5,257 pins.
“Overall, it was a good day,” head coach John Williamson said. “Scoring was a grind, but we did a good job of making shots when we needed to beat Louisiana Tech and Nebraska to end the day.”
The Commodores began their day winning their first match vs. Tulane, 1,038-952, using a lineup of Victoria Varano, Sydney Bohn, Haley Lindley, Katelyn Abigania and Dannielle Henderson.
Vandy cruised to a 1,082-909 win over Bryant, ending with a huge 265 in game 5. Alyssa Ballard entered the lineup for Lindley at the start of the match.
Midway through the third match of the day vs. Valparaiso, the Dores moved Henderson into the four-spot, sliding freshman Abigania into the anchor position. In game 4, Vandy struck in the first eight frames to total, 250 pins. Vanderbilt won its match with the Beacons by a score of 976-827.
Versus No. 9 LA Tech, Vanderbilt recorded a 973-931 win. The Commodores struggled with several opens in the first two games but regained their footing in the latter half of the match, ending with a 246 in game 5. Freshman Avery Domaguin was subbed in for Bohn to start the match, and Natalie Kent came off the bench for Domaguin in game 3.
The Commodores took a 1,000-995 come-from-behind victory over No. 2 Nebraska to end the day. Down 417-404 after game 2, Vandy came back with a 239-214 win in the third game and take a 643-631 lead in the match. The Dores took game 4, 192-184. Despite dropping the final game, Vandy was able to hang onto its lead and close out the day with a perfect 5-0 record.
Vanderbilt faces Prairie View A&M in its first of five traditional matches on Saturday beginning at 7:25 a.m. CT.
Fans can watch the Dores’ matches live on YouTube and Facebook and follow Vanderbilt bowling on X and Instagram at @VandyBowling for updates.
