No. 2 Vanderbilt Bowling traveled to Lockport, Illinois, to compete in the Storm Flyer Classic from Feb. 7–9. The weekend saw a mix of convincing wins and uncharacteristic losses from head coach John Williamson’s elite unit.
The Commodores began play on Feb. 7 with a 1,024-963 upset loss to No. 14 Wisconsin-Whitewater. In Round Two, Vanderbilt secured a decisive 866-786 victory over Indianapolis, but the squad’s low pinfall hurt its overall standing. Williamson’s team then suffered a narrow 1,050-1,047 loss to Oklahoma Christian in Round Three. Isabel Allen and Co. took the nail-biting defeat personally, rolling their way to a 1,050-858 stomping of Lewis in Round Four. In the final match of the day, Vanderbilt fell to No. 3 Jacksonville State 1,103-1,067. The Commodores finished Friday in 10th place on the leaderboard.
“Today was a day we haven’t had this year,” Williamson said of Friday’s rather underwhelming performance. “We just have to be better tomorrow.”
The Commodores bounced back impressively on Day Two. After falling to Youngstown State (1,072-1,055) and Wichita State (1,034-1,031) in its first two matches, Vanderbilt closed out the day with three consecutive victories. The turnaround began with a 959-934 win over Wright State, followed by a dominant 1,145-905 triumph over Elmhurst. The Commodores wrapped up the day with a commanding 1,043-940 victory over Sam Houston, highlighted by first-year Saphyre Nofuente’s dominant 289 game — the highest score by a Commodore this season and the seventh-highest in program history. The success propelled the second-ranked team in the country to sixth place in the tournament standings.
Sydney Bohn was Vanderbilt’s top finisher on Feb. 8’s individual leaderboard, placing 30th overall. Nofuente’s three-game (215, 275, 289) series earned her the tournament’s highest-scoring average (259).
“It was nice to see the team respond in the last three matches today,” Williamson said. “The best we can finish is third tomorrow, so that’s the goal — win three matches.”
Much to Williamson’s dismay, the ‘Dores could not carry Saturday’s momentum into the final day of tournament play. In the opening match on Feb. 9, the Black and Gold battled through a gritty back-and-forth contest against Nebraska in a best-of-seven Baker series but ultimately fell 4-3. The Commodores, once again, took the loss personally, cruising past Sam Houston en route to a 4-1 victory in the ensuing match. The win was highlighted by a 299 game in the fifth and final Baker, as Allen, Alyssa Ballard, Nofuente, Victoria Varano and Bohn strung together 11 consecutive strikes. Despite this impressive performance, Vanderbilt’s tournament run ended in heartbreak, as the team fell to Youngstown State in a tiebreaker, sending it home with a sixth-place finish.
“We didn’t take care of little things that would ultimately allow us success,” Williamson said. “We need to reset quickly because a lot of these teams will be in Arkansas in four days.”
Vanderbilt will spend Valentine’s Day weekend in Jonesboro, Arkansas, competing in the Mid-Winter Classic from Feb. 14–16.
