KENOSHA, Wis. – Fourth-ranked Vanderbilt bowling is in ninth place after winning three, dropping two matches on Day 1 of the Stephen F. Austin Ladyjack Classic at Sheridan Lanes in Kenosha, Wisconsin.
“We competed better than we executed,” head coach John Williamson said. “We’re going to make some adjustments tonight and have a better game plan for the middle to end of the day. The close of our matches were pretty consistent and helped salvage some of the rough starts. The 259 against Arkansas State showed that the team can make big shots when it matters.”
Vanderbilt began its day with a 1,027-895 win over Lewis, starting with a lineup of Isabel Allen, Natalie Kent, Alyssa Ballard, Victoria Varano and Paige Peters. The Dores faced a setback in Game 1, losing 170-148, but posted scores of 243 and 268 en route to the win. Before Game 3, Vandy switched its lineup to Allen, Peters, Haley Lindley, Kent and Varano.
Vandy downed No. 2-ranked Arkansas State 1,035-1,019 in its second match of the day. After jumping out to a 38-pin lead in the first two games, the Red Wolves responded to take a 43-pin advantage going into the final game. The Dores were able to rally and take Game 5 by a score of 259-200. Vandy fired off the first three strikes in the game and then struck six consecutive times to close out the win.
The Commodores were facing a 42-pin deficit heading into their third game with No. 22 Wisconsin-Whitewater but were able to pull out a 967-934 win.
Vandy dropped its final two matches of the day to third-ranked Youngstown State (971-913) and No. 9 Maryville (1,010-931), who had been leading the field all day.
The Dores will work to climb the leaderboard Saturday morning beginning at 9:25 a.m. when they face Wichita State. Fans can watch on YouTube and receive updates via X/Twitter by following @VandyBowling.