No. 13 Bowling off to the Music City Classic this Weekend

Friday, March 15

Nashville, TN

Tulane University

Vanderbilt University

No. 13 Bowling off to the Music City Classic this Weekend

Mar 14, 2024 | Women's Bowling

New Orleans – The No. 13 ranked Tulane University bowling team gets back on the road this weekend and heads to Nashville, Tenn. for the Music City Classic hosted by Vanderbilt University at the Smyrna Bowling Center. The tournament goes from March 15-17. The first day of action, March 15, begins at 9:45 a.m. CT. The second day, March 16, starts at 9:30 a.m. CT. The third day, March 17, rolls at 9 a.m. CT.

There are a total of 32 teams competing at the Vanderbilt tournament this weekend. All nine teams from Conference USA will be part of the 32-team field this weekend. In total, 13 of the top 15 teams from March's NTCA Top-25 poll and 17 ranked teams are in the competitive field.

The teams in the field are (rank) Adelphi, Arkansas State (2), Belmont Abbey, Carroll University, Carthage, Central Missouri, Emmanuel, Howard, Jacksonville State (1), Kentucky Wesleyan, Lewis, Lincoln Memorial, Long Island, Louisiana Tech (7), Marian, Maryland-Eastern Shore (15), Maryville (9), McKendree (20), Mt. Aloysius, Newman (14), North Carolina A&T (5), Oklahoma Christian (22), Prairie View A&M, Sacred Heart (18), Sam Houston State (10), Stephen F. Austin (11), Tulane (13), Valparaiso (17), Vanderbilt (4), Wisconsin-Whitewater (21), Wright State and Youngstown State (3).

On the first day of competition, Tulane starts against Arkansas State in lanes 29-30. In match two, the program squares off against Carthage in lanes 47-48. In the third match, Tulane takes on Long Island in lanes 5-6 The fourth match sees the Green Wave against Maryland Eastern Shore in lanes 7-8. The fifth match will be against Emmanuel in lanes 43-44.

The second day of the tournament, for traditional play, sees Tulane starting the day with a positional round. In second match of the day, and the seventh match overall, the program takes on Oklahoma Christian in lanes 41-42. In the third match of the day, and the eighth overall, Tulane and Newman squad off in lanes 17-18. The fourth match of the day, and the ninth overall, sees a match-up with Adelphi in lanes 37-38. The fifth match of the day, and the 10th overall, is against Maryville in lanes 27-28.

The Nashville Classic will follow the standard 13-match rotation this weekend. There will be five Baker matches on Friday beginning at 9:45 a.m. and total pinfalls will determine the winners in each head-to-head match. Five traditional matches will follow on Saturday starting at 9:30 a.m. with pinfall again determining the winners. The total pins from the first 10 matches of the tournament will determine seeding for the bracket play on Sunday, which begins at 9:00 a.m. with three best 4-of-7 baker matches with the Awards ceremony to follow.

Friday, 9:45 a.m. CT – Five Baker matches

Saturday, 9:30 a.m. CT – Five traditional matches

Sunday, 9:00 a.m. CT – Three best-of-seven Baker matches.

The five individuals that accumulate the highest pin fall totals during the traditional team games will earn a position on the all-tournament teams. The MVP award is given to the individual with the highest tournament average.

Last time out at the ITC Sectional Qualifier from March 8-10 in Fort Worth, Texas, the program finished third overall to earn a place at the ITC National Tournament from April 18-20. Tulane ended up totaling 12,450 pins over the course of the two days and 64 games of the event to finish tied for third along with Oklahoma Christian among the 16 schools competing in the Fort Worth Sectional. By finishing in a tie for third overall in the Fort Worth Sectional, Tulane earned the bid to compete at the ITC National Tournament at Kingpin Lanes in Jeffersontown, Kentucky. The event will also feature the ITC Singles Championships, which Morgan Gitlitz qualified for by placing fourth among the individuals, from April 16-20. Gitlitz recorded 1312 pins to earn fourth and advance out of the sectional and have the opportunity to vie for a national championship.

On the season, Kristen Derr has the team's most pins at 8,337 and average at 204.6. Derr also has the highest game on the squad as she rolled a 280 at the Stormin' Blue and White Classic.

This year's Tulane roster features six returners in Morgan Gitlitz, Yarelis Alvarez, Sofiia Druchyna, Katharina Mente, Mia Stolakis, Cassidy Williams plus four newcomers in Juanelyz Solla, Emma Fetterman, Kristen Derr and Linnea Holcomb. Stolakis became the first Tulane bowler to ever qualify for the Junior USA Team with her performance at US Team Trials from Jan. 2-7.

Following this weekend's action, the next time the program is back on the lanes is from March 21-24 at Colonial Lanes in Harahan when the program hosts the inaugural CUSA Bowling Championships. This will be the eighth time that Tulane has hosted a conference championship. The entire championship tournament will be streamed live on ESPN+.

TICKETS
Tickets for the 2023-24 baseball and upcoming football campaigns can be purchased by calling 504-861-WAVE (9283), logging on to TulaneTix.com or visiting the ticket office at the James W. Wilson Jr. Center.

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WE ARE NOLA BUILT
Tulane University is located in the city of New Orleans. It is a city built on tradition and resiliency. The lessons Green Wave student-athletes have learned through their connection with this university and city have BUILT doctors, lawyers, business leaders, conference champions, all-conference players, All-Americans, professional athletes and NCAA tournament teams. The city of New Orleans has shaped us into who we are today. We are One City. We are Tulane. We are NOLA BUILT. Check out our story at NolaBuilt.com.

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