Bearkats go 2-5 on Day 1 of NCAA Championship
4/10/2014 10:16:00 AM | Women's Bowling
WICKLIFFE, OHIO -- The Bearkats had an up and down start to the 2014 NCAA Bowling Championships on Thursday, finishing the day with a record of 2-5 and will be the 8th seed for Friday's double-elimination bracket play.
The Kats finished the day on a high note, closing out day one with their best score, beating Wisconsin-Whitewater 1087-974.
Cardona got the Kats going early, rolling strikes on her first five frames. She finished with the high game of the day for SHSU with a 238. Right behind her was Groce who got it going late, finishing with a 237 after a stretch of four straight strikes from the fifth through eighth frames.
“The positive momentum off the last set was important,” head coach Brad Hagen said. “We got the shots we wanted to get in and that is what we needed moving into tomorrow. Everyone did their part at one point or anther and the goal is to put it all together tomorrow which is what we have been practicing for.”
The 2-5 mark tied the Kats for 6th overall, but they will be the 8th seed on Friday based on head-to-head losses to Central Missouri and Nebraska.
The top scorer for the Bearkats was Anna Groce who finished the day with an average of 204. She finished the day ranked 10th overall.
“Anna did her job today. The biggest thing for her was controlling her emotions,” Hagen said. “It was a huge positive for her and for the team moving forward tomorrow.”
Erin Brown was 15th overall with a seven-game average of 200
The Kats will play the No. 1 seed Maryland Eastern Shore in the first match on Friday afternoon. It will be a best-of-seven format for each match.
“Match play is all about staying in the moment and filling 10 pins,” Hagen said. “We have to survive the morning and we will treat tomorrow like out normal Sunday and come out swinging.”
The matches will get started at 10:40 a.m. and can be seen live on www.ncaa.com/liveschedule.
Day 1 Recaps
Game 1
No. 2 Central Missouri 1039, SHSU 876
The Bearkats dropped the opening game of the qualifying round of the NCAA championship to No. 2-seed Central Missouri 1039-876. Neishka Cardona led the way for the Kats with a 186. She rolled three straight strikes in frames six through eight. Erin Brown was just behind her with a score of 184.
The Bearkats closed the sixth frame with three straight strikes and hit four of five in the eighth frame. But is wasn't enough to over come a slow start and a Central Missouri team that came out hot.
Game 2
SHSU 1065, No. 6 Vanderbilt 960
The Kats notched their first win over the NCAA bowling championships with a 1065-960 victory over Vanderbilt. The Kats started strong, only leaving one frame open (no strike or spare) through the first five. Brown got on a roll and never slowed down. She had strikes in four of the first five frames and then hit strikes in frames 7-9 to finish with a team high 233.
All five Bearkats topped the 200 mark with Janine Kuwahara rolling a 227, Kimi Davidson a 204, Cardona a 201 and Anna Groce an even 200.
Game 3
No. 1 Arkansas State 1073, SHSU 951
Brown picked up right where she left off, rolling a 222 in a loss to Arkansas State. The No. 1-seeded Red Hawks, handed the Bearkats their second loss of the day with a score of 1073-951.
Brown had strikes in four of her first six frames including three straight from frames four through six. But as a team, the Bearkats had just seven strikes through the first five frames. Groce finished strong with strikes in frames 7-9, finishing with a 201. Rebecca Pittser, seeing her first action of the championship, subbed in for Cardona in the 8th frame, knocking down a strike and then two more in the 10th.
Game 4
No. 5 Fairleigh Dickinson 1087, SHSU 1024
The Bearkats and FDU went toe-to-toe for 10 frames, with the Knights using a strong 10th frame for a 1087-1024 win over the Kats.
Pittser got her first start of the day and responded with a 229 to lead the Bearkats. She rolled five straight strikes from frames 3 to 7 and hit three more in a row in the ninth and 10th. But the Kats were able to overcome a stretch in the fifth and sixth frames where FDU connected for nine straight strikes.
The Kats conclude the early session with a record of 1-3. The second session of matches will get started at 5:40 p.m.
Game 5
No. 3 Nebraska 1019, SHSU 937
The Kats let one get away against the defending national champs. Leading Nebraska the entire match, SHSU watch as the Cornhuskers stormed back in the final three frames to take a 1019-937 win.
Kuwahara led the way for the Kats with a 204, hitting four straight strikes from the third to sixth frames.
Game 6
No. 4 Maryland Eastern Shore 1116, SHSU 942
One UMES bowler started the match with seven straight strikes and another finished with a score of 279, handing the Kats their most lopsided loss of the day, a 1116-942 defeat to Maryland Eastern Shore.
The Kats were hanging early in the match until UMES ran off nine straight strikes from the 3rd to 5th frame. During that same stretch the Kats failed to pick up the spare twice. Groce fished the match strong, closing with four straight strikes for a team-high 213 score.
Game 7
SHSU 1087, No. 8 Wisconsin-Whitewater 974.
The Bearkats closed out day one with their best score of the day, beating Wisconsin-Whitewater 1087-974.
Cardona got the Kats going early, rolling strikes on her first five frames. She finished with the high game of the day for SHSU with a 238. Right behind her was Groce who got it going late, finishing with a 237 after a stretch of four straight strikes from the fifth through eighth frames.
Two other Kats topped 200 in the match, with Brown closing with three strikes in the 10th for a 225 and Davidson also getting three in the 10th for a 205.
Thursday's schedule
| Session 1 | 10:40 a.m. CST | ||
| Game No. | Opponent | Lane Assignment | Live Stream |
| Game 1 | No. 2 Central Missouri | Lanes 35-36 | Lane 2 |
| Game 2 | No. 6 Vanderbilt | Lanes 47-48 | Lane 4 |
| Game 3 | No. 1 Arkansas State | Lanes 43-44 | Lane 3 |
| Game 4 | No. 5 Fairleigh Dickinson | Lanes 31-32 | Lane 1 |
| Session 2 | 5:40 p.m. CST | ||
| Game 5 | No. 3 Nebraska | Lanes 31-32 | Lane 1 |
| Game 6 | No. 4 Maryland Eastern Shore | Lanes 41-42 | Lane 3 |
| Game 7 | No. 8 Wisconsin-Whitewater | Lanes 35-36 | Lane 2 |
