The Nebraska bowling team will take part in its ninth-straight NCAA Championships from April 12-14 in Cleveland, Ohio. The team learned of its selection on the NCAA Bowling Selection Show streamed on NCAA.com Wednesday afternoon. The Huskers have a history of strong performances at the NCAA Championships, including three national titles since 2004, the event's inception. The Huskers most recently took home the NCAA Championship in 2009.
Other teams invited to 2012 championships include Arkansas State, University of Central Missouri, Fairleigh Dickinson University, Maryland Eastern Shore, Sacred Heart, Valparaiso and Vanderbilt.
This year's championships take place at Freeway Lanes of Wickliffe in Wickliffe, Ohio, just outside of Cleveland. The event will have the following schedule:
April 12 Qualifying (9 a.m.-1 p.m.; 3:30-7:30 p.m.)
April 13 Qualifying (9 a.m.-1 p.m.; 3-7 p.m.)
April 14 Playoff (Noon-2:10 p.m.)
April 14 Championship (8 p.m.)
Nebraska is ranked third heading into the NCAA Championships. The only teams ahead of the Huskers are Arkansas State, which the Huskers defeated in the finals of the Music City Classic in mid-March, and first-place Fairleigh Dickinson.
NCAA Bowling Rankings as of March 13, 2012
1 Fairleigh Dickinson (19) 92-19 746 1
2 Arkansas State (7) 68-20 700 4
3 Nebraska 57-17 602 8
4 Vanderbilt 76-31 592 7
5 Maryland-Eastern Shore 89-29 526 5
NCAA History:
The Nebraska Cornhuskers will be looking to earn their fourth NCAA Championship since 2004, and ninth national title under Head Coach Bill Straub and Assistant Coach Paul Klempa. The Huskers last won the title in 2009, after winning back-to-back in 2004-05. NU finished in third-place in 2011.
2011 NCAA Championship:
The Nebraska women's bowling team fell to Vanderbilt 4-1 on Saturday morning in the fifth-round of the NCAA Championships, held at Skore Lanes in Taylor, Mich. The Huskers were one baker series away from ESPN's televised championship baker match.
The Huskers came out firing, taking the first game against the Commodores, 193-168. After the first game, it was tough for the Huskers to get any sort of momentum on their side. The Commodores took the second and third games, 203-163 and 222-157.
In the fourth and fifth games, the Huskers seemed poised to strike back in each tightly contested game, but fell to errors at inopportune times. In the fourth game of the match, the Huskers needed a mark in the tenth frame to seal the victory, but a costly chop of the 6 and 10 pin provided Vanderbilt with the victory, 216-212. The fifth game also went down to the wire, and it looked as if the Huskers were going to pull back to 3-2, but again, Vanderbilt was able to string together strikes in one of the highest scoring matches of the day for the victory, 254-245.