Bowlers 4th At Panther Invt. in Arlington
2/1/2014 6:44:00 PM | Women's Bowling
Picking up six victories over top 20 teams including wins over the current No. 1 team in NCAA Division I women's bowling and last year's national champion, Sam Houston ended finishing fourth at the Prairie View Invitational Sunday.
The Bearkat bowlers finished the three-day event with a 10-3 record.
The tournament was held Friday through Sunday at the International Training and Research Center in Arlington.
In Sunday's best-of-seven baker bracket play, SHSU started with a 4-1 win over Texas Southern, the fell to both No. 6-ranked Nebraska and No. 1 Arkansas State in close 4-3 losses.
"We had a solid weekend," SHSU head coach Brad Hagen said.
Sam Houston won nine of their 10 matches during the first two days of the tournament.
In traditional team play Saturday, the Kats started with victories over unranked Norfolk State 904-842 and Jackson State 941-836. The winning continued with a 962-925 victory over No. 5 Stephen F. Austin.
No. 8 Vanderbilt handed SHSU its only loss in the first two days in a 1,014-913 match. The Kats bounced back for a 986-975 victory over No. 1 Arkansas State.
“Saturday was about stepping up and grinding,” Hagen said. “The matches with SFA and Arkansas State were won on the back side of games where shot-making had to be at a premium.”
The Bearkat bowlers rolled up a perfect 5-0 record that included victories over four Top 20 nationally ranked teams on the first day of action at the invitational.
The final win Friday also allowed the Bearkats to achieve an SHSU bowling milestone. The Kats and Bearkat head coach Brad Hagen picked up the program's 300th dual match victory. SHSU is in its fourth season as an NCAA Division I bowling competitor.
“Friday was just a huge day for us,” Hagen said. “We came into this tournament with a lot of momentum we built with our big wins at Arkansas two weeks ago.”
Friday in quad baker match play, Sam Houston defeated No. 3 Maryland-Eastern Shore 763-744, tournament host Prairie View 726-686, No. 3 Central Missouri 840-757, No. 6 Nebraska (the defending NCAA national champions) 833-767 and No. 14 Valparaiso 799-759.
. The Bearkats were the only team to go 5-0 Friday.
“Our young ladies are bowling smart with quality shot making,” Hagen said.
Sam Houston now owns a 60-27 overall dual match record this season. The Bearkats are 34-28 against teams ranked among the current top 20.
FRIDAY QUAD BAKER MATCH SCORES
SHSU 763 vs UMES 744 = SHSU win
SHSU 726 vs Prairie View 686 = SHSU win
SHSU 840 vs Central Missouri 757 = SHSU win
SHSU 833 vs Nebraska 767 = SHSU win
SHSU 799 vs Valpo 759 = SHSU win
SATURDAY TRADITIONAL TEAM MATCH SCORES
SHSU 904 vs. Norfolk State 842 = SHSU win
SHSU 941 vs. Jackson State 836 = SHSU win
SHSU 962 vs. Stephen F. Austin 925 = SHSU win
SHSU 913 vs. Vanderbilt 1014 = SHSU loss
SHSU 986 vs. Arkansas State 975 = SHSU win
SUNDAY BEST-OF-SEVEN BRACKET SCORES
SHSU vs. Texas Southern 4-2 = SHSU win
SHSU vs. Nebraska 3-4 = SHSU loss
SHSU vs. Arkansas State 3-4 = SHSU loss
