Huskers Rocket Up Rankings on Colonial Classic Day Two

Harahan, La. - The second-ranked Husker bowling team surged forward on day two of the Colonial Classic, jumping into second place and knocking down 10,272 pins for a 205.4 average, going 7-3 in the process. 

The Huskers opened the day with the first of five traditional matches against the hosts, nineteenth-ranked Tulane. The starters for the Big Red in today’s contest were Lani Breedlove, Abigail Starkey, Brenna Hartzler and Karina Capron, with Haley Swindle occupying the anchor spot. Tulane started hot, combining for a score of 340 through the first three frames, while Nebraska started the match cold, with open frames off splits preventing them from matching the Green Wave’s pace. The Big Red recovered in the back five, posting no open frames with Breedlove and Capron each striking four-straight, but Tulane’s lead was too large to overcome and the Huskers lost 1099-1054. Hartzler (227) and Breedlove (224) would lead the team, with Capron (216) and Starkey (204) also finishing above the 200-mark, while Swindle added 183. The loss would brought NU’s weekend record back to .500 at 3-3. 

Looking to get back in the win column in match two, the Huskers faced off against seventh-ranked North Carolina A&T. Sticking with the same lineup, the Huskers improved their start over the last game, with both Capron and Swindle striking the first three frames. NU would keep the momentum up through the entire match, with Starkey striking four-straight and Capron notching a triple in the back five. Hartzler would strike out the tenth, rounding out a stellar 1125-1013 performance from the Big Red. Starkey (248) and Capron (241) would each finish above 240, Swindle (224) and Breedlove (220) would log scores in the 220s with Hartzler rounding out the lineup with 192. The solid win moved Nebraska back above .500 at 4-3. 

Match three’s opponent was Florida A&M, against whom the Huskers would have another stellar game, winning 1051-804. In the 8th frame, Desiree Buchert checked in for Starkey, with the two combining for 144. The rest of the lineup was excellent, with Haley Swindle leading the way with a 269 scoreline, followed by Breedlove (218) and Hartzler (215), with Capron adding 205. The win moved the Huskers to 5-3 and helped them nudge their way into third place in the standings. 

NU was pitted against fourth-ranked defending national champions Youngstown State for the fourth match of the day. Buchert would stay slotted into the lineup and carry the momentum from the previous game into this one, jumping out to a hot start as both Breedlove and Buchert would strike the first three frames. Hartzler and Swindle added triples of their own while Buchert would keep striking, staying perfect through the 7th frame. The Huskers easily took the match 1047-905 with Buchert leading the way in a ten-strike 268 performance with Swindle (201) also finishing above 200. Breedlove (198) and Capron (194) ended in the 190s, and Hartzler added 186. After match four, NU stood in second place at 6-3. 

The final match of the day was against Southern University. Nebraska kept its previous lineup, and the team stayed hot. Brenna Hartzler was the star of this match, notching a 234 off seven strikes in a row, Swindle and Buchert both bowled 213, Capron added 172 and Breedlove tacked on 160 in a 992-768 win over the Jaguars, improving NU’s record to 7-3 through two days of play. 

Two Huskers finished in the the top 15 for individual perfomances, led by Swindle who ended in seventh with a pinfall of 1,090 and a 218.0 average. The other top-15 Husker, Brenna Hartzler, knocked down 1,054 pins with a 210.8 average.

The Big Red starts the final day of competition tomorrow at 8:30 a.m. (CST), facing off against the one seed, third ranked Vanderbilt in the first of three best four-of-seven Baker matches, with a chance for a shot at the tournament title.

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