Nov. 3, 2017
A steady and upbeat day that began with two victories and a perch near the top of the team leaderboard eroded into an inconsistent and average day that left Vanderbilt mired in eighth place at Sam Houston’s Track Kat Klash.
Vandy ended Friday by winning three of its five Baker games and knocking down 4,725 pins. Nebraska is leading the tournament after winning four of five games and averaging 200.4 (5,013 pins). There is a logjam with just 207 pins separately second to eighth so there is opportunity for considerable movement tomorrow.
Much like last week’s event, big scores were scarce on a demanding oil pattern but the scores were not foremost on Coach John Williamson’s mind afterwards.
“We’ve got to find a way to get five bowlers performing at one time,” he said. “We seem to get three bowling well and then two are struggling. The next game they might be fine but someone else has come off the tracks. It isn’t a simple shot but it’s the same shot for everybody.”
The Commodores opened the day beating Texas Southern (975-868) with a rotation of Adel Wahner, Sam Gainor, Jordan Newham, Kristin Quah and Maria Bulanova. Emily Rigney was slipped into the order for Newham late in the game, which included three games at or over 200 and was for the most part a steady performance. The lineup would see minor adjustments the rest of the day but with just six on this travel squad there isn’t a deep bench.
Vandy’s only Top 10 opponent Friday was No. 6 ranked Stephen F. Austin, who it had defeated five days ago in the consolation game of McKendree’s tournament. This one followed that same storyline; the Commodores jumped out to a commanding lead and cruised to a 57-pin win.
It was at this midpoint where things unraveled for Vanderbilt against 19th rated UAB. Wobbly spare shooting got the `Dores off to a puny start, losing 188-150. While they would rally in the third game of the 5-game Baker set to claim a temporary 13-pin lead, another substandard effort in the finale doomed the Commodores while UAB was blazing with a string of four straight strikes.
The Black and Gold rebounded with a victory over Jackson State before stumbling in the final game of the day against No. 12 ranked Delaware State. Like the UAB match, this was back and forth; Vanderbilt trailed by 36 pins after four games and needing something special, rallied but couldn’t quite close the deal. A missed single pin spare attempt was critical in the low-scoring 922-914 setback.
Play continues at Houston’s Emerald Lanes Saturday at 9:25 a.m. (CDT). Vandy will open against Central Missouri. A live stream will be provided on YouTube with updates found on Vanderbilt Bowling’s Twitter and Facebook pages.
