Vandy starts third at SFA

Feb. 16, 2018

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HOUSTON, TX—Vanderbilt put itself into tournament contention after the first day of the Stormin’ Ladyjack Classic but it wouldn’t be apparent if only the won-loss marks were revealed.

The Commodores piled up enough total pin fall to sit third behind unbeatens McKendree and Nebraska but they won just one game out of five, which left them with mixed feelings to say the least.

“We would have liked to have won more games but sometimes you just have to tip you cap to your opponents because they made more shots than you did,” Coach John Williamson said afterwards.

Indeed. Three of Vandy’s five foes recorded their highest pin fall of their day against Vanderbilt and a fourth was within 31 pins of its best game. Long Island-Brooklyn, Whitewater and Maryland-Eastern Shore averaged a hefty 1,057 when bowling the `Dores.

“Teams will make a few shots early and they gain confidence,” Williamson says. “That happens in a sport where you can’t play defense. I thought we did a decent job of grinding and competing but it didn’t add up on today’s scoreboard.”

Vanderbilt used a rotation of Kelsey Abrahamsen, Samantha Gainor, Jordan Newham, Kristin Quah and Maria Bulanova all day.

The Commodores were locked in a close game in the day’s finale with No. 2 ranked McKendree but splits in the sixth, eighth and ninth frames proved fatal and the Black and Gold left the Copperfield Lanes with a sour taste.

“We’re in third place and there are some very good teams well down the list so we have to regroup and come back better tomorrow. We made some quality shots but we weren’t getting the carry we needed to score.”

The five team games begin Saturday at 9:25 a.m. (CST) and will be livestreamed on Vanderbilt bowling’s YouTube page. The Commodores start the day with Nebraska. Click here for Stephen F. Austin’s tournament central page, which includes lane and opponent rotations.