Huskers finish fourth at Bulldog Classic

San Antonio, Texas - The fifth-ranked Husker Bowling team finished the Bulldog Classic in fourth place after going 1-2 on day three. Their overall record for the tournament was 7-6 with a 12,989 pinfall and 195.87 average.

Entering the day in fourth place, NU had the chance to play for the tournament championship, provided they won out. The first obstacle on that path was No. 4 Arkansas State. The Huskers started Desiree Buchert, Karina Capron, Brenna Hartzler, Haley Swindle and Kayla Starr for the first game. The Big Red led for most of game one, but untimely splits in the 9th and 10th frames cost them the lead, allowing the Red Wolves to take game one 164-158. The Huskers shuffled the lineup around in game two, moving Swindle to the two spot, Starr to the four and Capron to the anchor. Arkansas State didn't relinquish their momentum, claiming game two 222-166 as Nebraska still struggled with leaving frames open. Another change occurred in game three as Alejandra Sandoval replaced Swindle. It was finally the Red Wolves' turn to deal with open frames as the Huskers capitalized to win 211-169. A-State answered back with a 203-177 victory in game four and a decisive 192-190 win in game five to take the series 4-1, dashing the Huskers' hopes of playing for first place.

Fighting to keep their chances of finishing top-three alive, the Big Red played No. 7 Louisiana Tech next. Making no lineup changes, the Huskers dominated this match in a complete turnaround. They won 222-184 in game one, 213-200 in game two, 193-180 in game three and 214-170 in game four to complete the sweep. The Bulldogs never led a game. 

The Huskers were playing for third place in the final match of the weekend, a rematch against Arkansas State. The Big Red played A-State close in game one, but a clutch back four frames that included a turkey from Capron allowed the Huskers to take the game 247-227. Game two came down to the wire as Arkansas State squeaked by the Huskers 188-187 to even the series 1-1. The Red Wolves' production exploded in game three as they won handily, 245-191. Nebraska answered back with a 203-185 win in game four to even the series again at 2-2. The back and forth continued as A-State took another game 227-195 to make the series 3-2 and set up a decisive game six. The Huskers stayed alive with a 215-167 victory to force game seven. In the final game, both teams bowled well, but ultimately the Red Wolves were the victors. Open frames came back to bite the Huskers, allowing Arkansas State's strong 268-211 performance to win the match 4-3. The loss put the Big Red right back in fourth where they started the day.

The Huskers will be back on the road again later this week for McKendree's Bearcat Classic in Fairview Heights, Ill. from Nov. 13-15.

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