HOWELL, N.J. – The No. 4 Vanderbilt bowling team earned a third-place finish Sunday afternoon at the Garden State Classic. The Dores compiled a tournament record of 12-1 and averaged 204.3 pins per game over the weekend.
“This was a solid weekend to end our fall season,” head coach John Williamson said. “We still haven’t had a complete weekend, but we are getting better each event. We didn’t play very well against Youngstown State to start the day, but we rebounded and looked extremely strong against Maryville and Jacksonville State to end it.”
Competing among 11 of NCAA’s top 25-ranked teams, Vandy earned its fourth top 5 finish in four tournaments this fall.
Sophomore Haley Lindley finished ninth individually Saturday, which earned her a spot on the second all-tournament team of her career. At least one Commodore has made the all-tournament team at every event so far this season.
Vandy dropped its first match of the day to eventual tournament champion Youngstown State. Out of championship contention, the Dores bested Maryville 4-2 in the second round and advanced to the consolation match.
The Dores took down reigning NCAA champion Jacksonville State in seven games to earn third place. Vandy went up 2-0 to start the match, but the Gamecocks answered with two straight wins of their own to even the score. The two squads traded points in Games 5 and 6 to force the seventh, which Vanderbilt won 205-180.
“We have about eight weeks off until we start back, so it will be important that we build off the things we learned this fall,” Williamson concluded. “It’s been a tough three-week stretch, but the girls handled it well both athletically and academically. Now it’s time for some much needed rest and to finish the semester strong academically.”
Vanderbilt’s season continues in 2025 with Sacred Heart’s Northeast Classic, held in New Castle Delaware, Jan. 17-19.