Nebraska Finishes Third at NCAA Championships

The Nebraska women's bowling team earned a third-place finish at its eighth consecutive trip to the NCAA Championships, held at Skore Lanes in Taylor, Mich. at the conclusion of a successful 2010-11 regular season campaign.

The Huskers finished 52-17 in regular-season action and 57-19 overall in competition along with winning four or more tournaments for the 12th year in a row. Danielle van der Meer was also awarded with an honorable-mention on the NTCA All-American award list. The Hilversum, Neitherlands native participated in every tournament on the year and was honored on the third-team NTCA All-American list in 2009.

The NCAA Championships had its ups-and-downs for the Huskers. Nebraska started strong earning a No. 2 seed through the qualifying round ending 5-2 after the first day of competition. The No. 2 seed came by defeating Kutztown, Vanderbilt, Central Missouri, Maryland Eastern Shore and Sam Houston State.

In the Baker format on the second day of NCAA competition, Nebraska faced the No. 7 seed, Sam Houston State, which the Huskers handily defeated 4-1. Nebraska's next opponent, Maryland Eastern Shore, met a similar fate, falling 4-2.

Nebraska faced its first road block of the championships in the fourth-round match against Vanderbilt. The Commodores took the first three games of the series and the Huskers eventually fell , 4-1.

In round five, an elimination round for both the Huskers and Vanderbilt, Nebraska started strong, taking the first game, 193-168. The Commodores then responded in four straight wins, (203-163, 222-157, 216-212, 254-245) to end the Huskers' hopes for another NCAA title.

In a successful season, the Huskers opened the season at the Crusader Classic in Mid-November. The Husker bowlers were able to conquer the six-team field that included Elmhurst, UW-Whitewater, Arkansas State, Adrian, Minnesota State-Mankato and the hosts from Valparaiso University.

The tournament came down to Nebraska and Minnesota-Mankato in the finals where the Huskers prevailed, 4-2. Valerie Calberry was honored on the all-tournament team with a 191 average on the tournament, along with the Husker's high-game of the weekend at 240.

NU followed its win at the Crusader Classic with another victory at the Capital City Collegiate Classic Dec. 3-5. Calberry put on another great performance. The Brampton, Ontario native earned a spot on the all-tournament team with a 209 average on the tournament. The Huskers finished with 9,023 pins, nearly 600 pins more than second-place Arkansas State, which tallied 8,452. Alabama A&M finished third with a pinfall of 8,034.

The Huskers took a five-week break from competition for the holidays, before returning to action at the Mid-Winter Classic on Jan. 14., where the team took home a fifth-place finish in Jonesboro, Ark. before returning to Nebraska. 

In the first match, the Huskers fell to Vanderbilt, 4-3, after the Commodores battled back from a 3-2 deficit. Nebraska suffered another close loss to Arkansas State in the second match of the day. The Huskers again led 3-2, but the Red Wolves fought back to win in the final two games.

In the final match of the day, the Huskers defeated Alabama A&M 4-1.

Up next for NU was the Big Red Invitational. The event was Nebraska's lone home event of the year, and was held at Sun Valley Lanes in Lincoln. After day one of the three-day event, the Huskers had rolled their way to the middle of the pack in sixth place. The competition was so close though, that only 128 pins separated top-seeded Vanderbilt and No. 6 Nebraska. Nearly 300 fans showed up on the first day of competition.

Nebraska surged forward on the second day of competition, ending the day in second place. The Huskers attributed their second day success to great individual bowling, including Danielle van der Meer's 221 average. It was the second-highest individual pinfall of the tournament, trailing only Central Missouri's Kara Richard. Van der Meer was not the only Husker with an average in the 200's.

NU's Kayla Stram only bowled two games on the day, but she made her pinfall count, rolling the second-highest game of the Big Red Invitational at 268. Her score was second only to Maryland Eastern Shore's Paula Vilas' 279. Stram averaged 236.5 in her two games.

Jasmine Laugerman also maintained an above-200 average of 202.5 on the tournament.

The final day of the Big Red Invitational consisted of three rounds of best 4-of-7 Baker matches. The Huskers fell one spot on the final day to finish in third place. Central Missouri won the tournament title with a 203.51 total average, ahead of Vanderbilt's 202.96 and Nebraska's 201.16 average. 

Nebraska's van der Meer finished with the second-highest average of the tournament, earning a spot on the all-tournament team with her 221 average. Van der Meer was topped only by Richard (Central Missouri), who produced a 233 average.

The Huskers enjoyed some time off until Feb. 19-20, when they traveled to Baltimore, Md., to take part in the Morgan State Invitational. The 20-team field was massive, but Nebraska found a way to navigate its way to victory for the third time on the season.

Nebraska tallied an 11-1 record during the tournament. Three Huskers were named to the all-tournament team for their individual efforts.  Laugerman erupted for a tournament-best 229 average in team games. Van der Meer (198) and Kristi Mickelson (197) were honored for the eighth-place and 10th-place finishes, respectively.

The Huskers returned to action less than a week later at the Holiday Classic in Bessemer, Ala., where they finished eighth in the competition.

Entering the final day, Nebraska was the fifth-seed but dropped consecutive matches to Stephen F. Austin (4-3) and Alabama A&M (4-0) for the eighth-place finish.

Van der Meer was named the team's MVP at the Holiday Classic thanks to her individual bowling average (193.80). Mickelson finished immediately behind van der Meer at 193.20.

Nebraska bounced back from its performance at the Holiday Classic with a clutch performance in Nashville, Tenn., at the Music City Invitational.

Nebraska was the No. 4 seed heading into the final round, which featured best 4-of-7 Baker matches. NU took on No. 3 seed Central Missouri, which fell to the Huskers, 4-0. Nebraska advanced to the semifinals to determine who would face Fairleigh Dickinson for the Music City Invite crown. Again as the lower seed, the Huskers climbed the mountain and defeated No. 2 seed Vanderbilt, 4-1.

In a rematch of the 2010 NCAA title match, Nebraska handily defeated Fairleigh Dickinson in the finals, 4-1

Katie Ann Sopp and van der Meer garnered all-tournament honors thanks to their individual bowling performance. Sopp produced the third-highest average of the tournament at 216, while van der Meer struck her way to a 210 average, which was good for an eighth-place finish.

The Music City Invite earned the Huskers their fourth win of the season. Nebraska has earned at least four tournament wins in each of the past 12 seasons, dating back to 1998-99.

The successful bowling season was also highlighted with numerous academic achievements thanks to hard work in the classroom. The Big 12 Academic At-Large team included honors students who maintain a 3.00 GPA and participated in 60% of competitions. The Husker bowlers had six student-athletes named to the list, including Calberry, Johnson, Mickelson, van der Meer, Sopp and Stram.

Ten Huskers earned spots on the Big 12 Commissioner's Honor Roll. Sopp was honored for the seventh time on the list, while Stram earned her fifth selection to the honor roll. Van der Meer and Laugerman also made appearances on the list. Calberry added her fifth appearance on the honor roll, while Kayla Johnson, Kristi Mickelson, Shalima Zalsha, Jaclyn Sutton and Sabrena Divis were each honored as well.