Coming off a fifth-place finish at its season-opening Chelsea Gilliam Penguin Classic, No. 3 Vanderbilt Bowling took a trip to Florida to compete in the Destination Orlando tournament. The draw featured nine of the nation’s top 10 collegiate bowling programs. Head coach John Williamson’s squad battled to a third-place finish.
Day 1
The Black and Gold, sporting a Baker lineup of Victoria Varano, Sydney Bohn, Haley Lindley, Katelyn Abigania and Dannielle Henderson, kicked off the star-studded tournament with a 1,038-952 win over Tulane. Alyssa Ballard then entered the lineup for Lindley, and Vanderbilt cruised to a 1,082-909 rout of Bryant. A slight shift midway through the Commodores’ third match of the day saw first-year Abigania move into the anchor position, and Vanderbilt beat Valparaiso, 976-827.
The Commodores then played their first ranked matchup of the afternoon against No. 9 Louisiana Tech. After a slow start to the match, Williamson adjusted his lineup, substituting Natalie Kent for first-year Avery Domaguin. The Black and Gold capped off the battle with an impressive 246 in the fifth and final Baker game, securing a 973-931 win in the process. To complete its excellent opening day of tournament play, Vanderbilt battled to a 1,000-995 win over No. 2 Nebraska. Heading into Day 2, Vanderbilt sat second in the team standings, with its 5,069 total pins comfortably behind No. 1 Jacksonville State’s 5,257.
Day 2
Vanderbilt’s momentum slightly tapered on Day 2, as the Commodores dropped two of five traditional matches.
The Black and Gold opened with a convincing 979-820 takedown of Prairie View, highlighted by 233 and 200 games from Ballard and Abigania, respectively. Abigania then shot a team-leading 218 en route to Vanderbilt’s 966-895 win over No. 14 Mount St. Mary’s. The Commodores’ seven-match win streak to open the tournament ended with a 907-900 loss to RV Emmanuel, but a whopping 258 from Abigania in the ensuing match against Texas Southern propelled Vanderbilt to a 980-817 blowout win. The final match of the day saw the Commodores come up just short, 985-982, against No. 4 Youngstown State. Vanderbilt headed into the last day of the tournament fourth in the team standings.
“It was a tough day,” Williamson said. “Scoring continued to be a grind. We are still in a position to make the top-four bracket, but we need to come out a little bit more competitive tomorrow morning.”
Day 3
After lacking their usual edge on Day 2, the Commodores came roaring back on Day 3, dominating No. 6 Arkansas State 1,019-869 in a Baker series to advance to bracket play.
In a clash of two stalwart bowling programs, Vanderbilt faced top-seeded Jacksonville State in the semifinals. A back-and-forth battle saw the best-of-seven Baker series go the distance, with the Gamecocks taking down the Commodores 213-182 in the final game to punch their ticket to the finals. Fighting for a podium finish, Vanderbilt split a pair of matches against Louisiana Tech before stringing together three consecutive wins to secure third place and end the weekend with a 10-3 record.
A strong performance on Day 2 earned Abigania another top-10 individual finish to start the season.
“Sunday was a better effort from a week ago. We competed really well and jumped out to a lead on Jacksonville State but made a couple errors that let them back in the match,” Williamson said. “We get a little time to work on some things before we go to Fort Worth in two weeks, so I’ll be looking forward to the continued progress the next time out.”
No. 3 Vanderbilt will seek its first tournament win of the season when it travels to Fort Worth, Texas, to compete in the Bulldog Classic from Nov. 7-9.
