Tulane University
Crusader Classic
No. 19 Bowling Finishes in 10th Place at Crusader Classic
Nov 8, 2015 | Women's Bowling
VALPARAISO, Ind. – Tulane bowling placed 10th after the three-day Crusader Classic, hosted by Valparaiso, Indiana, on Sunday at Inman's Recreation Center, taking home five wins in total.
Overall, the Green Wave went 5-8 on the weekend.
The tournament opened with five team Baker matches. Tulane went 2-3 on the day, giving themselves an eighth-place spot in the standings after day one. The ladies racked up wins against No. 7 Wisconsin-Whitewater and Alabama A&M, while dropping matches to No. 9 McKendree University, No. 8 Central Missouri, and No. 1 Nebraska. The Green Wave totaled 4,578 pins through the five matches. Vanderbilt sat in first place after a perfect day one, going 5-0 and being one of two teams to have over 5,000 total pins fallen (5,053).
Saturday saw teams partake in five traditional matches. Tulane once again went 2-3 on the day, dropping to ninth place overall heading into the final day. The bowling squad defeated No. 25 Alabama State and No. 23 Monmouth, while losing to No. 5 Vanderbilt, No. 21 Prairie View A&M, and unranked Elmhurst. The ladies knocked down 4,473 pins, giving them a 9,051 pin total and a 181.00 pin average overall. Vanderbilt continued to maintain their lead through day two, holding an 8-2 record, 9,912 pins overall, and a 198.2 pin average. Right behind the Commodores was McKendree University, who sat at 8-2 as well after a perfect Saturday record, holding the highest traditional total pin fall with 5,057 pins. Nebraska and Wisconsin-Whitewater also advanced to the championship bracket on Sunday, sitting in third and fourth place respectively.
Sunday saw Tulane competing in the 7th-10th place bracket, starting as the nine seed playing Monmouth, whom they had defeated Saturday in traditional match play. Tulane defeated Monmouth in the opening round of bracket play, 4-3, but then lost to tournament host No. 15 Valparaiso University, 4-3, before losing in a rematch against Monmouth in the 9th/10th place game, 4-2, giving the Green Wave a 1-2 bracket play record for the day. The bowling squad finished the weekend with 12,437 pins and a total pin average of 177.7 pins per game.
"The highlight of the three days was definitely the win against Wisconsin-Whitewater as we really bowled well as a team," commented Tulane bowling head coach Hayley Veitch. "The shot making and spare shooting wasn't the greatest, and therefore we lost matches we should have won."
Individually, sophomore Danyn Terry led all Green Wave bowlers with a 189.20 pin average, placing her in 20th place on the individual leaderboard. Fellow sophomores Sarah Forton and Michelle Ng sat behind her, scoring averages of 181.20 and 184.00 and earning them 31st and 45th place in the standings, respectively. Forton recorded a higher ranking than Ng because she bowled in one more match than her, even though the standings were based on pin average.
"Danyn was the standout this tournament as she made quality shots in the lead off position in team games," Veitch added. "We need a weekend off from tournaments to refocus and bring back our competitive fight, which we lacked this time around."
Junior Jessica Quebedeaux came in 55th place, racking up a 169.75 pin average. Seniors Hannah Harrison and Hannah Ryan took home 66th place and 73rd place, respectively, with pin averages of 155.00 and 188.50. Junior Kierstyn Rush rounded out the bowling squad with a 182.00 pin average and a 74th place finish. Rush did earn a new season high against Alabama State, as she knocked down 213 pins in the match.
McKendree University won the tournament with an 11-2 overall record and a perfect day on Sunday, their second flawless day of the tournament. The Bogeys defeated Vanderbilt, 4-3, in their opening bracket play round as the two seed, then went on to sweep Alabama A&M, 4-0, before beating Vanderbilt again, 4-3, in the championship match. McKendree's ladies totaled 13,469 pins and a 198.1 pin average on the weekend.
The rest of the field filled out the final standings as follows: Vanderbilt (second), Nebraska (third), Wisconsin-Whitewater (fourth), Central Missouri (fifth), No. 2 Arkansas State (sixth), host Valparaiso University (seventh), Prairie View A&M (eighth), Monmouth (ninth), No. 19 Tulane (10th), Elmhurst (11th), Alabama State (12th), Aurora University (13th), Alabama A&M (14th).
The tournament MVP honors went to Gazmine Mason from Nebraska, who bowled the highest individual pin average through all five traditional games with a mark of 223.80. The rest of the all-tournament team consisted of Sarah Wille (McKendree – 221.20), Haley Richard (Arkansas State – 214.60), Lindsay Rusch (Wisconsin-Whitewater 213.60), Nicole Powell (Vanderbilt – 209.20). The all-tournament team consisted of the top five bowlers, based on individual pin average, who bowled in at least four of the five traditional games on Saturday.
Tulane will have a week off to rest before heading to their final fall tournament of the season in Millsboro, Del., for the Hawk Classic, from Nov. 20-22.
Final Standings:
1 McKendree University
2 Vanderbilt University
3 University of Nebraska
4 University of Wisconsin-Whitewater
5 Central Missouri
6 Arkansas State University
7 Valparaiso University
8 Prairie View
9 Monmouth
10 Tulane
11 Elmhurst
12 Alabama State
13 Aurora University
14 Alabama A&M
Tulane Individual Results (by Pin Average)
20. Danyn Terry – 189.20
31. Sarah Forton – 181.20
45. Michelle Ng – 184.00
55. Jessica Quebedeaux – 169.75
66. Hannah Harrison – 155.00
73. Hannah Ryan – 188.50
74. Kierstyn Rush – 182.00
