Bowling Rolls into 2017-18 Season

NEW ORLEANS - The saccharine sounds of a bowling ball rolling down a wooden lane and crashing into ten neatly stacked pins marks the beginning of another season for the Tulane bowling team.

The Green Wave began laying the foundation for their seventh season when preseason practice officially began Oct. 1. Head coach Haley Veitch, who has been at Tulane since the program's beginning, returns an experienced squad with a pair of important additions.

Two-time honorable mention All-American Michelle Ng returns for her senior season after leading the team with a 199.82 pin average last year. Junior Teira Gulum (189.04 average), sophomores Isabelle Lee (186.78 average), Joanna Hackett (181.13 average) and Claire Turner (177.48 average) and junior Hailee Hammond (156.64 average) make up the returning class that led the Green Wave to a No. 13 national ranking in 2016-17.

"We have a solid team," Veitch said. "They've all worked hard, and continue to work hard during the season. I think once we bring them all together in preseason practice, the next few weeks will show how the season is going to go."

Nikki Williams, a graduate transfer from Webber International University in Florida, brings a veteran approach as a newcomer. Freshman Madison McCall was the first Tulane incoming freshman to reach the compete in the advancing rounds of the United States Bowling Congress Junior Gold Championships this summer.

"Nikki has been through college bowling, and Madison has achieved a lot in such a short span of time, so they bring experience and I think their physical games are pretty sound as well," said Veitch. "The team has been working on their bowling during the offseason, so I think we are ready to roll."

The Wave look to build on a successful 2016-17 campaign in which it reached a program-high No. 13 ranking in the National Tenpin Coaches Association poll in February, finished fourth at the Southland League Bowling Championship, and finished eighth at the USBC Sectional Qualifier.

"The bowlers know what to expect, and having been so close they have even more desire to make it this year," Veitch said of advancing deeper into the postseason tournaments. "Our fall semester has only three tournaments, but the spring is going to be more intense, and I think that's going to benefit us. I think we definitely have the potential to be a top-12 team, and I would be really happy if we could achieve that."

The season begins at home Oct. 20-22 with the fifth annual Allstate Sugar Bowl Collegiate Bowling Invitational, which will be held at AMF All Star Lanes in Kenner, La. The field of 16 teams, including perennially strong Stephen F. Austin, Sam Houston State, Prairie View A&M and UAB, is the largest in the tournament's history. The host Green Wave seek their second straight Allstate Sugar Bowl Collegiate Bowling Invitational title, after winning the event in December.

"Our home tournament is going to be a great start to the season," Veitch said. "This is the most teams we've ever had at our tournament in six years, and that's really exciting. We have the potential to be in the top three, but the goal is to have another trophy to match the one we got last year."

The Green Wave hope the three fall tournaments, which also include visits to Sam Houston State and Maryland Eastern Shore in November, set the tone for a busy spring. Tournaments at Arkansas State, Kutztown, Stephen F. Austin and Vanderbilt set up the Southland Bowling League Championship and USBC Sectionals event, culminating in the NCAA Championship and USBC National Championship in April.

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Players Mentioned

Joanna Hackett

Hailee Hammond

Isabelle Lee

Madison McCall

Michelle Ng

Claire Turner

Nikki Williams

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