Huskers Maintain Top Seed For Final Day in Illinois

Lockport, Ill.- The Nebraska Bowling team completed day two of the Storm Flyer Classic in Lockport, Illinois finishing match play with a 9-1 record and 10,178 total pinfall, securing the top overall seed for the Sunday Championship bracket. 

The Huskers opened day two with a ranked match against the No. 10 Maryville Saints. Demanding lanes for both teams would prove to be a challenge. Alexis Buchert led the team tallying a 199 with four-straight strikes followed by Kayla Verstraete at 191. Brenna Hartzler then provided 188, with Jillian Martin tallying 171. Kathryn Bowman rounded out the Big Red at 169 for a team score of 918, but it wasn’t enough as Maryville shot 1,020. 

NU then faced No. 23 McKendree for the second-straight ranked match of the day. A lineup change would add Desiree Buchert to the mix in a new leadoff position. The Huskers bounced back hot with four out of five shooting above 200. A. Buchert led the Big Red again with 243. Hartzler followed closely with a 226 while Verstrate (207) and Martin (210) rounded out the 200s. D. Buchert closed out the Huskers with a 197 to help Nebraska to a 1083-975 win. 

Up next, the Big Red faced the tournament host, Lewis. Sporting another quad of four 200s, Martin led the Huskers at 237 and D. Buchert notched a 234. A. Buchert tallied close behind her sister at 219 and Verstrate adding 213 to the total. Hartzler added a 152, and the Huskers secured the 1,055-898 victory and moved to 7-1 on the weekend. 

In match four, the Huskers faced the Aurora Spartans. Hartzler bounced back strong, leading the Huskers with a 245 and Martin shot a 226. A. Buchert tallied a 180 with sister D. Buchert close behind at 173. Verstraete added a 161 to the team total (985) for a win over the Spartans 985-871 for the Big Red’s eighth win of the tournament. 

In the final match of the day, the stage was set for a 1v2 standings match up against No. 11 Sam Houston State. With both teams playing aggressively the lanes demanded perfection with little room for error. After finding their rhythm in the back half, Martin would lead the Big Red at 213, tying Sam Houston anchor Denise Blankenzee. D. Buchert and Hartzler would tie at 205 with A. Buchert right behind at 189. Verstrate tallied a 186 to round out the Huskers for a 998-912 win over the Bearcats and seal up the first place seed. 

Four Huskers earned top 25 rankings in the individual standings with three being selected on the all- tournament team. Martin earned runner up honors with a 1,057 total pinfall and 211.40 average. Alexis Buchert placed sixth on the second All-Tournament team, 1,030 pinfall (206.00 Avg) and Brenna Hartzler behind at seventh with 1,016 (203.20 Avg.). Verstrate rounded out the lineup at 25 with a 958 total pinfall (191.60 Avg)

The Big Red returns to the lanes tomorrow at 8:25 a.m. (CT) for Sunday's championship bracket to conclude the tournament where each team will compete in three matches of best 4-of-7 baker games for final placements and awards. 

Stay up to date with the action by following the Nebraska Women's Bowling Twitter (@HuskerBowling), Instagram, and Facebook. 

Flyer Classic Teams Day One Standings: 

No. 6 Nebraska
No. 11 Sam Houston
No. 10 Maryville
No. 16 Sacred Heart
No. 23 McKendree
No. 18 Newman
Wright State
No. 12 Tulane
University of Alabama Birmingham
Marian
Alabama A&M
No. 20 Valparaiso
Lewis
No. 15 Wisconsin Whitewater
Aurora
Augustana
Carroll
Elmhurst
Carthage
Dominican