Huskers End Colonial Classic in Fourth

Harahan, La. - The Nebraska bowling team fell to fourth place on the final day of competition at the Colonial Classic, ending with a total pinfall of 14,018 with a 206.1 average and a weekend record of 7-6.

The day began with the first of three best four-of-seven baker matches against the tournament's first seed, No 3 Vanderbilt. The starters for the Big Red were Lani Breedlove, Abigail Starkey, Brenna Hartzler and Karina Capron with Haley Swindle once again occupying the anchor position. In the first game of the match, the Huskers lagged behind the Commodores to start, with the latter striking four in a row in frames five through eight and never looking back, taking the first game 211-179. Game two was close through the fifth frame, before Vanderbilt would go on a four-strike run through the ninth frame. Desiree Buchert would check in to throw the 7th for Starkey, notching a strike, but despite that and two strikes from Swindle in the 10th, the Commodores’ momentum was too strong to overcome as they won game two 227-185, taking a 2-0 series lead. Vanderbilt struck four in a row to start game three. Kayla Starr checked in for Swindle to throw the 10th, but the Big Red fell once more to the Commodores 221-186. The fourth game was a similar story, even with the Huskers crossing the 200-mark for the first time on the day. It still wouldn’t be enough to keep up with Vanderbilt, who would claim game four 235-214, completing the sweep. The loss moved Nebraska’s overall tournament record to 7-4. 

With a win in the second match against sixth-ranked Arkansas State, NU would still be able to compete for the championship. The Big Red changed their lineup, this time with Buchert starting in the two spot and Starr bowling right after her in the three hole. After the slow start versus Vanderbilt, the Huskers opened game one with five clean frames including a triple courtesy of Starr, Capron and Swindle. Nebraska went on to take game one 219-149. The Red Wolves bit back in game two as the Huskers stumbled slightly, with Arkansas State taking game two 232-157 and evening the series 1-1. NU bounced back in game three with a hot start, winning 204-177 and taking the series lead right back at 2-1. They kept the ball rolling in game four, logging a five-bagger starting in the fourth frame, going on to win it 245-192 and coming one win away from playing in the championship. However, Arkansas State, down early in game five, came roaring back to strike out the last four frames to win 202-190 and steal a game to make the series 3-2 with NU still on top. Game six came down to the wire, but an open frame off a tough split in frame eight for the Huskers allowed Arkansas State to win 192-184 to force a decisive game seven. That game came down to the wire, but Nebraska couldn’t get it done in the end, falling to Arkansas State once more 224-213 to lose the series 4-3 and fall to 7-5 on the weekend.  

Now playing for third place, the Big Red faced ninth-ranked Louisiana Tech. Keeping the same lineup from the game before but swapping Buchert and Starr’s positions, the Huskers dropped the first game 191-177. The Bulldogs logged five strikes in a row in the second game, boosting them to a 247–210 lead, even with a Nebraska triple from Swindle in the 10th. With the series now 2-0 in LA Tech’s favor, the Huskers woke up, roaring back to take game three 227-215. They would build upon that with an even better performance in game four, winning 258-246 and evening the series 2-2. With the team locked in, the Big Red went on a tear in game five, striking the first eight frames to start, but then posted back-to-back open frames, allowing LA Tech to get four in a row to come back and win it by a slim 246-244 margin to make the series 3-2, one game away from sending NU home without hardware. The Huskers held on, however, taking game six with a clean 208-171 to tie the series 3-3 and force game seven. NU bowled well in that game, but a stellar performance from the Bulldogs was too much to overcome, winning the game 268-247 and the series 4-3. The loss put Nebraska’s final record for the weekend at 7-6. 

One Husker, Swindle, was named to the All-Tournament Team for her performance in the traditional round, knocking down 1,090 pins for a 218.0 average. 

The Huskers will return to action in 2026 when they depart for the Northeast Classic hosted by eleventh-ranked Sacred Heart in Newcastle, Del. At Bowlerama from Jan. 16-18. 

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