No. 3 Vanderbilt Bowling traveled to Fort Worth, Texas, to compete in the Bulldog Classic. Head coach John Williamson’s squad did not disappoint, rolling its way to a third-place finish.
Day 1
Victoria Varano, Avery Domaguin, Alyssa Ballard, Katelyn Abigania and Dannielle Henderson rounded out the Black and Gold’s Baker lineup for the opening day of the tournament. The Commodores cruised past Tulane 1,148-934 for a commanding first-match win.
Vanderbilt then upset No. 2 Nebraska 981-943 following a comeback effort in the match’s final two Baker games. The Commodores’ sole loss of the afternoon came against No. 9 Louisiana Tech (961-901), but Williamson’s squad quickly responded with convincing wins over Florida A&M (1,016-924) and Jackson State (1,091-904). Vanderbilt’s 5,137 total pins were good for sixth on the tournament leaderboard heading into Day 2.
“It was a good day overall,” Williamson said. “The Louisiana Tech match got away from us. We bounced back well to end the day, so I’m proud of our resilience.”
Day 2
Vanderbilt opened its slate of five traditional matches against No. 1 Jacksonville State. Despite scores of 247 and 204 from Ballard and Abigania, the Gamecocks won the match, 1,075-996. The Black and Gold responded with a 1,136-1,055 win over No. 11 Sacred Heart, highlighted by Henderson’s 268 game — the highest score by a Commodore that day. Vanderbilt then collected dominant wins over No. 8 Sam Houston State and Texas Southern by scores of 966-909 and 978-860, respectively. To close out the afternoon, four Commodores registered 200-plus pin scores en route to a 1,049-932 win over No. 5 Wichita State.
Henderson’s 204, 268, 210, 237 and 192 games earned the junior a fourth-place finish on the individual leaderboard.
“We competed at a very high level both days against some very quality opponents,” Williamson said. “We can win three matches against good teams [on Day 3] and have a very solid weekend.”
Day 3
With their sights set on the podium, the Black and Gold rose to the occasion. Sporting a lineup of Haley Lindley, Sydney Bohn, Domaguin, Abigania and Henderson, the Commodores began Day 3 with a 4-2 win in a best-of-seven Baker series over Nebraska.
In Round 2, Vanderbilt earned a gritty 4-2 victory against Wichita State, highlighted by scores of 280, 244 and 253 in the second, third and sixth games of the series, respectively.
Vanderbilt then secured a comeback victory against Sacred Heart, winning games six and seven by scores of 237-208 and 216-214 to clinch a third-place finish.
Henderson’s fourth-place finish on Day 2 earned her a spot on the Bulldog Classic’s All-Tournament Team.
“We set out today to win three matches,” Williamson said. “We were able to do that. We’ll look toward New Orleans in two weeks to end the fall season.”
Vanderbilt Bowling will head to Harahan, Louisiana, to compete in Tulane’s Colonial Lanes Classic on Nov. 21-23.
