North Brunswick, N.J. – The top-seeded Nebraska bowling team began competition at the 2016 National Collegiate Bowling Championship with a 3-2 record in five traditional matches Thursday at Brunswick Zone Carolier Bowl in North Brunswick, N.J.
The Cornhuskers (96-32) recorded wins over Central Missouri, Vanderbilt and Stephen F. Austin after dropping matches to North Carolina A&T and Sam Houston State to begin the afternoon.
Sam Houston State leads the eight-team field after the Bearkats went 4-1 on the day.
The Huskers started slow to begin the day, dropping the first match to North Carolina A&T by a score of 993-965. Gazmine Mason led the Huskers in the early going, hitting strikes in four of the first five frames, but the Aggies used a hot start to take a 38-pin lead after five frames. Julia Bond left no open frames the entire match to lead the Huskers with a score of 217.
NU faced Sam Houston State in its second match of the day and fell in a high-scoring contest by a score of 1,082-1,059. The Huskers left just three frames open in the entire match. Bond closed the match on five consecutive strikes to help the Husker effort, but it was not enough as the Bearkats produced their highest-scoring output of the day. Melanie Crawford led the way with a score of 246 and no open frames.
After dropping the first two matches of the day, the Huskers responded with their highest score of the season in a 1,229-963 victory over Central Missouri. The Huskers left just two frames open in the entire match, and were led by Mason, who put up a sizzling 279, while Briana Zabierek scored a 263. All five Huskers bowled games over 200 in the match. NU improved its record to 13-1 against the Jennies this season.
The Huskers moved on to face Vanderbilt in the penultimate match of the day, and took down the Commodores by a score of 1,178-1,014. Zabierek posted 11 strikes the match to lead the way with a score of 265, followed by Bond, who rolled a 258. Neither Bond nor Mason left a frame open for the match.
NU rolled past Stephen F. Austin in the final match of the day. Mason and Bond both began the match with four consecutive strikes from the 4-5 spots in the lineup, giving the Huskers an early lead which they held until the end against the Ladyjacks. Mason led the way for the Big Red with a score of 226, followed by Bethany Hedley with a score of 207.
The qualifying round concludes with each team playing two matches Friday morning, beginning at 9:50 a.m. (CT). The Huskers will take on McKendree in the first match and Arkansas State in the final qualifying match. The bracket rounds begin at 2:30 p.m. (CT) on Friday with the first two rounds of the double elimination tournament in Baker format.
Preliminary Round Standings (thru 5 matches):
Sam Houston State (4-1)
Nebraska (3-2)
Arkansas State (3-2)
Vanderbilt (3-2)|
McKendree (2-3)
Central Missouri (2-3)
North Carolina A&t (2-3)
Stephen F. Austin (1-4)