Jan. 15, 2016
JONESBORO, AR—Vanderbilt had hoped to start its spring season by seizing some of the momentum it gained during the fall but after a two month break for the semester and holidays, it was more a case of starting over.
Never the less, the third-ranked Commodores won four of five games but sits in sixth place based on pin fall at Arkansas State’s Mid-Winter Classic Friday. Vandy beat Wisconsin-Whitewater, Jackson State, Alabama State and Lincoln and ironically lost to McKendree in perhaps its best overall game of the day.
“We had a good game with McKendree,” Coach John Williamson said. “We pretty much traded shots except for a crucial spot in the third game where we had two splits and got behind by about 20 pins. It is understandable that with the long layoff we might be a little off our game.”
Williamson pointed to All-American Robyn Renslow as the leader on this day. The Californian struck out to keep Alabama State from upsetting the favored `Dores, winning the five-game Baker set by a mere six pins. She compiled a Baker frame average of 220.
The Commodores traveled 10 members to the tournament and everyone got in the fray at some point. Seldom bowled Olivia Wirtz was a bit rusty and began with two opens before proceeding to fill 18 straight frames.
Kendyll Dellinger also got on the lanes for the first time in her career. The redshirt sophomore from North Carolina will celebrate her birthday Saturday.
It will be a challenging day for Vanderbilt, which will face a steady diet of rated teams Saturday that begin with Nebraska at 9:30 CST. These five matches will be traditional games.
McKendree was the first day leader, followed in a tight pack by host ASU, Sam Houston, Nebraska and Central Missouri.
