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Taylor, Mich. - The Nebraska bowling team opened its quest for an NCAA title with a strong performance, going 5-2 during the opening day of competition at the 2011 NCAA Bowling Championships.
The Huskers, who are seeking their fourth NCAA title in program history and second in three years, survived a grueling first day which featured head-to-head matches against the other seven qualifying teams.
NU claimed the No. 2 seed for Friday's double-elimination portion of the championship and will take on Sam Houston State Friday morning at 8:50 a.m. (central).
"It's a long day; that is the biggest thing," Nebraska Coach Bill Straub said after day one wrapped up. "We were at the bowling alley before 9 a.m. (8 a.m. central) and it is a long day of competition. Our focus tonight will be to have a short meeting to review and allow them to relax and get re-energized and prepared for tomorrow."
Defending champion Fairleigh Dickinson earned the top seed after day one with a 6-1 mark, including a narrow 1,027-1,020 decision over the Huskers in a rematch of last year's NCAA finals. Straub said he was most impressed by how the team closed out the afternoon session, posting wins over Central Missouri (955-909) and Sam Houston State (972-939) following the loss to FDU.
"We led after the first block (four matches), but the scores got lower across the board in the afternoon," Straub said. "It is tougher in those situations, but the team showed a lot of heart and found a way to win those matches and that is very encouraging."
The other match-ups for Friday morning's action include Fairleigh Dickinson (No. 1) taking on Kutztown (No. 8), Maryland Eastern Shore (No. 3) against Arkansas State (No. 6) and Vanderbilt (No. 4) squaring off Central Missouri (No. 5). All matches on Friday and Saturday are best-of-7 matches in the Baker format where all five bowlers alternate frames during the match.
Kayla Johnson and Kristina Mickelson both earned top-10 finishes for the Huskers on Thursday. Johnson finished sixth overall with a pinfall of 1,499 (214.1 average) over seven games, including a high game of 258, while Mickelson was seventh overall with an average of 211.5, rolling a total of 846 over four games.
The Huskers got off to a quick start in the morning session, winning three of four matches and led the field with a team average of 1,052.5 after four matches. NU posted wins over Kutztown (987-936), Vanderbilt (1022-999) and Maryland Eastern Shore (1159-1025) with the lone blemish coming in a 1089-1042 loss to Arkansas State.
Competition begins Friday morning and fans can follow all of the action with live video on NCAA.com.
Husker Bowlers
Rank
Name
Pinfall
Gms
Average
Game 1
Game 2
Game 3
Game 4
Game 5
Game 6
Game 7
6.
1499
7
214.1
218
187
258
210
225
236
165
7.
846
4
211.5
DNR
DNR
DNR
217
216
210
203
12.
1455
7
207.9
226
201
186
240
183
174
245
23.
1413
7
201.9
172
256
189
257
193
157
189
31.
1378
7
196.9
193
214
185
235
203
178
170
39.
566
3
188.7
178
184
204
DNR
DNR
DNR
DNR
Team Standings
Rank
School
Record
Pct.
Total
Team Avg.
1.
Fairleigh Dickinson
6-1
.857
7,295
1042.1
2.
Nebraska
5-2
.714
7,157
1022.4
3.
Maryland Eastern Shore
4-3
.571
7,390
1055.7
4.
Vanderbilt
3-4
.429
6,892
984.6
5.
Central Missouri
3-4
.429
6,935
990.7
6.
Arkansas State
3-4
.429
6,926
989.4
7.
Sam Houston State
2-5
.286
6,632
947.4
8.
Kutztown (Pa.)
2-5
.286
6,679
954.1
Match Results
Round 1
Fairleigh Dickinson def. Arkansas State, 1067-929
Central Missouri def. Maryland Eastern Shore, 1083-1039
Sam Houston State def. Vanderbilt, 958-946
Nebraska def. Kutztown, 987-936
Round 2
Fairleigh Dickinson def. Kutztown, 1097-934
Maryland Eastern Shore def. Sam Houston State, 1240-904
Vanderbilt def. Central Missouri, 972-932
Arkansas State def. Nebraska, 1089-1042
Round 3
Central Missouri def. Arkansas State, 1099-1033
Sam Houston State def. Kutztown, 1013-971
Nebraska def. Vanderbilt, 1022-999
Maryland Eastern Shore def. Fairleigh Dickinson, 995-945
Round 4
Nebraska def. Kutztown, 1159-1025
Vanderbilt def. Central Missouri, 1031-993
Maryland Eastern Shore def. Fairleigh Dickinson, 1044-1039
Arkansas State def. Sam Houston State, 1086-954
Round 5
Central Missouri def. Sam Houston State, 989-964
Fairleigh Dickinson def. Nebraska, 1027-1020
Arkansas State def. Kutztown, 953-905
Maryland Eastern Shore def. Vanderbilt, 1029-1000
Round 6
Kutztown def. Maryland Eastern Shore, 990-941
Vanderbilt def. Arkansas State, 981-900
Nebraska def. Central Missouri, 955-909
Fairleigh Dickinson def. Sam Houston State, 1100-900
Round 7
Maryland Eastern Shore def. Arkansas State, 1102-936
Vanderbilt def. Kutztown, 957-918
Nebraska def. Sam Houston State, 972-939
Fairleigh Dickinson def. Central Missouri, 1020-930