Huskers Top NCAA Qualifying Rounds

Omaha, Neb.-The Nebraska bowling team topped the first day of the NCAA Bowling Championship competition in front of a booming crowd at Thunder Alley. The Huskers will enter tomorrow’s double-elimination tournament as the No. 1 seed.

“The situation is that every game is our chess match trying to figure out who to play, where to play and ball choices,” Nebraska Head Coach Bill Straub said. “I made an awful lot of mistakes, but toward the end I got better. Certainly our team was very impressive.”

Nebraska fought a tough team battle during the qualifying rounds, nipping at Vanderbilt’s heels the entire time. The Huskers ended their morning session with a pinfall of 3,872, which was only 83 pins behind the Commodores. Heading into the final round of the afternoon session, Nebraska again faced a 124-pin deficit behind the Commodores. The Huskers were able to overcome the obstacle with a 844-668 match win over Vanderbilt for first place. Vanderbilt will be the second seed in the championship bracket with a total pinfall of 7,680.

The Huskers and Commodores also swept the top-three individual standings, as Cassandra Leuthold, a sophomore from Nebraska, placed first with a 216.75 average. Senior Lindsay Baker from Nebraska placed second with a 209.25 average, while Michelle Peloquin, a junior from Vanderbilt, rounded out the top-three with a 206.00 average.

Nebraska will return to action Friday, April 11, at 9:30 a.m. at Thunder Alley to compete against No. 8 Central Missouri State. Four bracket-play rounds will be conducted on Friday, with the winners advancing to the championship games on Saturday, April 12. ESPNU will broadcast the championships live at 7:00 p.m. Central.

Standings after Day One:
1. Nebraska (7,722)
2. Vanderbilt (7,680)
3. ArkansasState (7,510)
4. New JerseyCity (7,332)
5. Minnesota State-Mankato (7,311)
6. Sacred Heart (7,305)
7. Maryland-EasternShore (7,277)
8. University of CentralMissouri (7,202)