Vanderbilt Bowling traveled to Harahan, Louisiana, for the Conference USA Tournament March 18-20, eventually falling to Arkansas State and Louisiana Tech to be eliminated from the team’s first postseason event.
The No. 2-seeded Commodores matched up with No. 11-seeded Tulane Wednesday afternoon, looking to start the postseason strong against a weaker opponent. Vanderbilt successfully swept the Green Wave, earning a come-from-behind victory in the traditional game to punch their tickets to the quarterfinals.
In the traditional game, the Commodores won 977-953 to start the day strong. Tulane struck nine times in the first two frames, earning a strong early lead. But Vanderbilt fought to stay in the match, eventually throwing a strike six times in a row to take the lead midway through the game. Katelyn Abigania and Victoria Varano led the way with respective scores of 213 and 208.
Vanderbilt kept up its hot streak in the Baker match, firing a 1,115 to sweep Tulane fully. The Commodores were solid from start to finish, earning scores of 213, 224, 205, 213 and 255.
“I thought it was a good start to the postseason,” head coach John Williamson said. “I felt like we were able to maintain a high level of execution. I thought the Baker set was one of our most complete sets all year. I felt like Tulane played well, but we were able to answer the runs they provided, and ultimately, we were able to make some really important shots that will help us as we advance through this tournament.”
With the bye to the quarterfinals secured, Vanderbilt returned to action Friday, March 20 to face No. 3-seed Arkansas State.
To start the day, the Commodores defeated the Red Wolves in a traditional game, 1,041-943, as three ’Dores put up scores of over 200. That momentum eventually stalled, though, as Arkansas State caught fire in the Baker matches. Vanderbilt hit over 200 pins in each of the five games, but the Red Wolves were better, earning 244, 220, 200, 246 and 195 to win the match, 1,105-1,087. This forced the best-of-seven tiebreaker, which the Commodores lost 4-1.
In the afternoon’s contender’s bracket, Vanderbilt dropped a 1,028-920 decision to No. 5-seed Louisiana Tech in the traditional game. The Bulldogs kept up this momentum into the Baker matches, taking Game 1 and Game 3. Vanderbilt was resilient, though, taking Games 2 and 4, but it couldn’t quite muster up the energy to win the match. The Commodores eventually fell 1,018-989, losing their second match of the day to be eliminated from the tournament.
“We need to figure out a way to have shorter memories when it comes to days like today,” head coach John Williamson said. “Postseason is hard; the games are hard. Ultimately, we didn’t play well enough to win today. We’ll wait to hear where we’re sent on Wednesday and look to improve over the next two weeks.”
Vanderbilt will now wait to hear its fate during the NCAA Bowling Selection Show, which airs March 25 at 3 p.m. CDT.
