Bearkats win second Track Kat Klash
12/2/2012 3:57:00 PM | Women's Bowling
Winning 12 of their 13 matches in the event, the Sam Houston State women's bowling team took home the first place trophy for the second year in a row as hosts of the Track Kat Klash tournament at Huntsville Lanes.
The Bearkats defeated Wisconsin-Whitewater 4-1 in the tournament finals. Vanderbilt finished third. Arkansas State, Nebraska, LIU-Brooklyn, Valparaiso, Louisiana Tech, Monmouth and Alabama A&M rounded out the top 10.
Saint Francis, Stephen F. Austin, Texas Southern, Tulane, Prairie View A&M and Grambling State finished 11th through 16th.
Sam Houston's 12-1 record in the Track Kat Klash also was the best team win-loss performance. Vanderbilt finished the event 11-2 and Nebraska and Wisconsin-Whitewater both ended 10-3.
The Bearkats were 3-0 in best-of-seven bracket play Sunday.
The Bearkats opened Saturday's action with three straight wins, defeating Texas Southern 1113-916, LIU-Brooklyn 984-977 and Alabama-Birmingham 908-770. No. 9 Valpairiso defeated SHSU 1123-988 in the fourth match, but the Kats bounced back for a 947-794 win over Grambling.
Sam Houston ranks third in total pins heading into Sunday's bracket action.
Friday in quad Baker action, the Bearkats defeated Tulane 744-595, Louisiana Tech 833-703, Nebraska 847-838, Wisconsin-Whitewater 822-767 and Vanderbilt 785-771.
Sam Houston State came into the tournament ranked No. 8 in NCAA Division I women's bowling. Eight of the 16 teams in the event stand in the top 20. The Bearkats' victories Friday included wins over the No. 4 (Vanderbilt), 5 (Nebraska) and 14 (Wisconsin-Whitewater) squads in the rankings.
Other ranked teams in the field included No. 2 Arkansas State, No. 8 Sam Houston, No. 9 Valparaiso, No. 10 Stephen F. Austin and No. 17 Prairie View A&M.
Sam Houston won inaugural Track Kat Klash championship last year, defeating Arkansas State four games to none in the finals.
This year's Bearkat bowlers now have won three tournament championships including previous wins at Tulane and Alabama A&M.
