Bowlers Look To Shine At SFA Classic
2/11/2016 9:00:00 PM | Women's Bowling
With four tournaments left on the regular season schedule before selections for the 2016 NCAA Championships, the No. 4 ranked Sam Houston women's bowling team has an opportunity to make a statement this weekend as they head to Houston to play in the SFA Stormin' Lumberjack Classic.
Twelve top 25 teams will be part of the 18-team field in the event being held at the Lanes Off Belaire (formerly Palace Lanes) at 4191 Bellaire Blvd.
Top 10 teams participating include No. 1 Arkansas State, No. 2 Nebraska, No. 3 Vanderbilt, No. 5 Central Missouri, No. 6 Wisconsin-Whitewater, No. 7 Fairleigh Dickinson and No. 8 SFA. Also in the mix are No. 11 North Carolina A&T, No. 14 LIU-Brooklyn, No. 17 Monmouth, No. 19 Tulane and No. 21 Prairie View A&M.
Sam Houston brings a 64-20 overall dual match record into the event. The Kats stand 48-30 against teams in the top 25. The Sam Women won the Tulane tournament championship, finished as the runner-up at two events and have fourth and fifth place finishes to their credit. But the team is coming off of a disappointing ninth place finish two weeks ago in Arlington at the Prairie View Classic.
“We caught some teams at the wrong time and hurt ourselves with some mistakes,” Sam Houston head coach Brad Hagen said. “We've been ready for the SFA tournament ever since we got back from Arlington. There's going to be some great competition there this weekend.”
The tournament will feature the normal schedule of six total pin baker games on Friday, six tranditional team contests on Saturday and best-of-seven bracket play on Sunday. Total pins on the first two days will determine the seedings for Sunday's action.
Sam Houston finished sixth in last year's Lumberjack Classic but posted victories over Central Missouri, Maryland-Eastern Shore, Sacred Heart and LIU-Brooklyn during the competition.
Four Bearkats sports above 200 averages in tradition team play this year. Janine Kuwahara leads the team with a 207.84 average. Other top averages for the Kats include Heather Penatzer 204.58, Anna Groce 200.59 and Carrie Hopkinson 200.34.
