Kats own 8-4 mark in Tennessee
3/19/2016 9:44:00 PM | Women's Bowling
For the second day in a row, Sam Houston's No. 4 ranked women's bowling team won four of its six matches at the Columbia 300 Music City Classic in Smyrna, Tennessee.
The Bearkats slipped from fourth place to 11th in the total pins standings and will face No. 9 Maryland Eastern Shore in the first round of best of seven bracket play Sunday. The winner of the No. 11 vs. 12 seeds matchup will take on the loser of the No. 9 vs. No. 10 seeds contest between LIU-Brooklyn and Sacred Heart.
Sam Houston started traditional team play Saturday with an 889 to 854 loss to No. 18 Saint Francis Brooklyn. The Bearkats bounced back with a 791 to 774 victory over Felician.
Next No. 6 Central Missouri handed the Sam women their second loss of the day 939 to 923. The Bearkats finished the day with three consecutive victories defeating No. 12 LIU-Brooklyn in an 888 to 886 thriller, No. 9 Fairleigh Dickinson 992 to 944 and Florida A&M 1,021 to 782.
No. 2 ranked Arkansas State is the number one seed in bracket play Sunday. ASU, like Sam Houston, holds an 8-4 record in the tournament but leads in total pins with 11,729.
Seeded second through fifth Sunday are No. 7 McKendree (8-4, 11,674); No. 1 Nebraska (11-1, 11,616); No. 3 Vanderbilt (9-3, 11,548) and No. 5 Stephen F. Austin (9-3, 11,321).
The number six through 10 seeds Sunday are No. 10 Wisconsin-Whitewater (9-3, 11,321); No. 6 Central Missouri (7-5, 11,243); No. 9 Fairleigh Dickinson (8-4, 11, 203); No. 12 LIU-Brooklyn (7-5, 11,198) and No. 16 Sacred Heart (7-5, 11,179).
Sam Houston totaled 11,176 pins on their way to their 8-4 record Friday and Saturday. The Bearkats team scoring average was 186.3. Senior Anna Groce posted the team's top individual average with a 186.3 mark.
Friday in four-game baker team action, Sam Houston started with a 977 to 815 win over No. 25 Jackson State. The Kats followed up by defeating Alabama State 1,054 to 879, knocking off Texas rival No. 5 SFA 948 to 863 and edging No. 11 Maryland Eastern Shore 896 to 886.
No. 21 Adelphi defeated the Kats 904 to 881 and No. 10 Wisconsin – Whitewater narrowly topped Sam Houston 954 to 951.
The field at the Music City Classic is perhaps the strongest of any tournament this year for the Kats. The only top 25 ranked teams missing are No. 15 Kutztown and No. 20 Norfolk State.
Sam Houston has upped its season dual match win-loss record to 95-41. The Kats entered the tournament as one of only three teams in the country with more than 80 victories.
