Greensboro, N.C. - The Nebraska bowling team finished 4-1 on day one of the Stallings Invitational hosted by North Carolina State University, tallying a total pinfall of 4,973 placing them fifth in the field of 18 teams.
Only Arkansas State (5,157), Jacksonville State (5,083), North Carolina A&T (5,044), and Vanderbilt (5,034) sit ahead of the Huskers after the first day.
Nebraska opened play on Friday against No. 13 Mount St. Mary’s, the team’s first ranked matchup of the weekend. In game one of the baker five game total pinfall match, the Huskers took an early 39-pin advantage (226-187) before giving 19 pins back in the second game (178-197). NU battled back to extend its lead to 52 pins with a 213-180 win in the third game, but the Mountaineers hung around in the fourth game (157-175). However, Nebraska weathered the storm in the final game (180-178) to defeat Mount St. Mary’s, 954-917.
The Huskers then turned their attention to Lincoln Memorial University for their second match of the day. Nebraska battled a slow start but still held a 6-pin lead after the first game (169-163), before using a strong second game (211-189) to extend its advantage. With a 28-pin lead, NU rolled a 247 in the third game (247-166) to continue putting pressure on the Railsplitters. Nebraska stumbled in the fourth game, 147-157, before easily taking the fifth game (203-137) to grab a 977-812 victory over LMU and remain unblemished in the tournament.
With a 2-0 start on the day, Nebraska took on the University of Alabama-Birmingham in the third match. The Huskers swept all five games against the Dragons, controlling the match early by taking game one (188-178), game two (215-200) and game three (193-168). Up by 50 pins, the Big Red continued its dominant stretch by rolling a 231 and 235 in game four and game five respectively. NU eclipsed the 1,000-pin mark for the first time in the tournament, taking down UAB, 1062-895.
NU’s tough schedule continued as the Huskers faced No. 12 Tulane in the fourth match of the day. The Huskers dropped the opening game to the Green Wave (171-194), but quickly regained the lead with a 208-156 advantage in the second game. However, Tulane overcame the 29-pin deficit and outscored NU in each of the final three games (203-228, 184-198, and 202-267) to hand the Huskers their first loss of the tournament, 968-1043.
In the final match of the afternoon, the Huskers prepared to face No. 1 Jacksonville State one week after taking down the Gamecocks at the Mid-Winter Invitational. Nebraska came out of the gates firing, taking game one (216-203) and game two (222-201) to hold a 34-pin lead to begin the match. NU continued its dominance in the third game with a 204-194 win over Jacksonville State to push its lead to 44 pins. The Gamecocks responded with a big fourth game (159-201) as they trimmed the Husker lead to just two pins heading into the final game. NU staved off the comeback attempt and matched JSU’s score in the final game (211-211) to narrowly take the match, 1012-1010, over No. 1 Jacksonville State and give them wins in back-to-back weekends over the top-ranked Gamecocks.
The Big Red returns to the lanes tomorrow at 7:25 a.m. (CT) for five traditional games. The combined results will seed each team for Sunday's championship bracket to conclude the tournament. Each team will compete in three matches of best 4-of-7 baker games for final placements and awards beginning at 7:25 a.m. (CT).
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