Jan. 20, 2011
LINCOLN, Neb. --- Despite winning just one of three Baker games Thursday night, Vanderbilt jumped into the lead at Nebraska's Big Red Invite on the basis of strong pin fall. The Commodores lead the 10-team field by 33 pins over Valparaiso.
Vanderbilt dropped its first Baker by a single pin to Valpo to open the evening session with its weak first game the culprit. The Bakers are four-game sets with total pins determining the winner.
The Commodores defeated Maryland-Eastern Shore in the second game, knocking down 848 pins over their four games to top the No. 1 Hawks for the third time in less than one week. Vanderbilt closed the session dropping a game to Arkansas State.
"We still have a relatively young team in terms of collegiate experience and we need to learn to bring the same intensity to every game," said Coach John Williamson. "We had a rough start in that first game of the night - we must have had four or five splits in the first seven frames until we could get settled in. Then, as you can see, we did a pretty good job."
The team had a difficult time even reaching Lincoln. It flew into Kansas City Wednesday afternoon about the time a major snowstorm was battering the city. The team's plane circled Kansas City International for over 30 minutes while ground crews cleared snow off the runway. Instead of driving straight to Lincoln, the squad found a nearby hotel and waited out the eight inches of snow, arriving in Lincoln just hours before the tournament began. Other teams had similar experiences.
Friday's games will be traditional team games.
Big Red Leader Board
Vanderbilt 2,372
Valparaiso 2,339
Central Missouri 2,327
UMES 2,318
Arkansas St. 2,305
Nebraska 2,244
Valparaiso 795, Vanderbilt 794
Valpo 222 VU 154
VU 213 Valpo 190
VU 231 Valpo 213
VU 196 Valpo 170
Vanderbilt 848, UMES 745
VU 223 UMES 207
VU 236 UMES 190
UMES 180 VU 179
VU 210 UMES 168
Arkansas State 783, Vanderbilt 730
AS 188 VU 168
AS 171 VU 170
AS 214 VU 204
AS 210 VU 188
|
|
 |
