NCAA Regional
Bowling
LANSING, Mich. – The Commodores split their matches on the first day of the NCAA Bowling Regional Friday at Royal Scot Golf & Bowl in Lansing, Michigan.
Vanderbilt ground out a 2-1 win over Fairleigh Dickinson. Vandy came out swinging with a decisive 1,046-984 win in the traditional game. Victoria Varano had the Dores’ highest individual game of the day, 247 pins. Kailee Channell and Isabel Allen also bowled games over 200 with respective scores of 220 and 212 pins. In the Baker game, the Knights narrowly edged out the Dores with a 1,002-991 win. FDU was up 3-1 in the best-of-seven, about to send Vanderbilt to the contender’s bracket, but Vandy rallied and won the next three straight games to take the Mega Match and advance in the winner’s bracket.
“It was definitely a battle,” head coach John Williamson said. “I thought we started out fairly strong in the traditional game. But to FDU’s credit, they threw a lot of doubles in the 10th frame and got a little bit of momentum going into the Baker point. It wasn’t until the third or fourth Baker game [in the best-of-seven] that I thought we started getting comfortable. I compliment our team and our effort, because we were a 10th frame away from being down 3-0, but we were able to battle back and win that one.”
The Dores fell 2-0 to Wichita State in the semifinals. The Shockers won the traditional match by a score of 1,046-963. Haley Lindley bowled a 221, and Channell and Alyssa Ballard combined to score 213. The two squads traded wins in the Baker match. Vanderbilt shot a day-high 247 in Game 4 to try to close the gap, but Wichita State closed out the 1,079-982 win.
“We had a pretty decent lead the first four frames of the traditional match and then had a rough 5-6-7,” Williamson said. “I thought Wichita did a good job of closing that gap. We struggled with the transition. It was a lot different than it was in the morning. We were able to make the last match a little closer in Game 4, but ultimately, we didn’t handle the little things very well. Our hope is that tomorrow we can do something and hopefully see them again.”
Vandy will have a rematch with Fairleigh Dickinson Saturday at 8 a.m. CT in an elimination match. The winner will advance to play Wichita State in the regional final. Fans can watch for free on BowlTV.com and follow Vanderbilt bowling on X at @VandyBowling for updates.
