Bowlers Head To Southland Event
3/24/2016 1:50:00 PM | Women's Bowling
Sam Houston will participate in its final tournament of the season before the field for the 2016 NCAA Division I women's bowling championships is announced.
The Bearkats, ranked No. 4 nationally, will be the No. 3 seed at the 2016 Southland Bowling League Championship Friday and Saturday at All Star Lanes in Kenner, La. The Bearkats bring a 93-42 record into the contest.
The Southland event features four top 10 teams (No. 2 Arkansas State, No. 3 Vanderbilt, No. 4 Sam Houston and No. 5 Stephen F. Austin) and three other squads ranked among the nation's top 25 (No. 17 Monmouth, No. 19 Tulane and No. 22 Valparaiso).
Arkansas State has earned the No. 1 seed in the league championship, while Vanderbilt will be the second seed. The Red Wolves join defending national champion Nebraska and Sam Houston as one of the three programs with more than 90 dual match wins this season. Vanderbilt, the NCAA title runner-up in 2011 and 2013, is No. 2 seed followed by Sam Houston and Stephen F. Austin at No. 3 and No. 4, respectively.
The Bearkats won the NCAA national championship in 2014 and have earned a berth in the NCAA Elite Eight four of the past five years. Last year the Kats reached the NCAA semifinals for the second year in a row.
Seeding for the championship is solely based off of the current NCAA Ratings Percentage Index (RPI) rankings. The tournament is set up in a double elimination baker best-of-seven format similar to the NCAA championships.
Friday's first round matches will get underway at 9:30 a.m. CT followed by second round matches at 11:15 a.m. Third round matches will take place at 2:30 p.m. Friday will finish with the fourth round at 4:15 p.m. The championship will conclude Saturday with the fifth round beginning at 9:35 a.m. followed by the championship match at noon. If the undefeated team loses in the championship match, a final match will be played at 1:45 p.m. Saturday to determine the champion.
The 2016 Southland Bowling League championship tournament will be broadcast in its entirety on InsideBowling.com. Fans can watch live coverage, anchored by Mike Flanagan, for free throughout the event.
The Southland Bowling League was formed in the fall of 2014 and by the formalization as a league. Southland Bowling League members will be at-large candidates for the NCAA Championship. The NC Bowling Championship is April 14-16 in North Brunswick
The schedule for the Southland Bowling League Championships:
Friday
First Round – 9:30 a.m.
Match #1 – Arkansas State (#1) vs. Louisiana Tech (#8)
Match #2 – Stephen F. Austin (#4) vs. Monmouth (#5)
Match #3 – Sam Houston (#3) vs. Tulane (#6)
Match #4 – Vanderbilt (#2) vs. Valparaiso (#7)
Second Round – 11:15 a.m.
Back Draw
Match #5 – Match #1 loser vs. Match #2 loser
Match #6 – Match #3 loser vs. March #4 loser
Championship Draw
Match #7 – Match #1 winner vs. Match #2 winner
Match #8 – Match #3 winner vs. Match #4 winner
Third Round – 2:30 p.m.
Match #9 – Match #5 winner vs. Match #8 loser
Match #10 – Match #6 winner vs. Match #7 loser
Fourth Round – 4:15 p.m.
Match #11 – Match #7 winner vs. Match #8 winner
Match #12 – Match #9 winner vs. Match #10 winner
Saturday – 9:30 a.m.
Match #13 - Match #11 loser vs. Match #12 winner
Championship Draw
Match #14 – Match #11 winner vs. Match #13 winner
