Bearkat Bowlers Finished Second In Wildcat Invitational
Courtesy: Paul Ridings, Jr., SHSU Sports Information
No. 8 ranked Sam Houston State posted two victories in three matches over No. 3 Fairleigh Dickinson but FDU’s win came in the bracket finals Sunday afternoon as the Bearkats ended up as runners-up in the Bethune-Cookman Wildcat Invitational.
The tournament was the second competition of the season for the Bearkat women’s bowling team.
Sam Houston ended the tournament with seven victories in 11 matches.
Tournament champion FDU finished the weekend with a 9-3 mark.
Third place Adelphi ended play with a 10-2 mark.
The Bearkats started strong Friday, going 5-0 in team baker match play.
But the bowling team hit some bumps in the road as they won only one of their four traditional team matches in Saturday action.
Sam Houston lost to No. 15 Adelphi 967-189, No. 18 and host Bethune-Cookman 879-857 and unranked Monmouth 965-882 before ending the day with a 996-872 victory over Florida A&M.
“Saturday just wasn’t our day and we have no one to point fingers at but ourselves,” SHSU head coach Brad Hagen said. “We needed to do a better job executing shots and filling frames. The first three games we weren’t so our opponents did what any good competitor should do and they took advantage of our mistakes.”
Michelle Secours posted the seventh best pin total in the team matches with a 190.4 average in five games Saturday. Other Bearkat averages including Neisha Cardona 185.4, Kimi Davidson 180.2, Anna Grace 178.5, Becca Pittser 170.8, Erin Brown 164.0
Going into Sunday’s final day best-of-seven baker match bracket play, Fairleigh Dickinson is seeded No. 1 with 8,519 pins while Sam Houston will be No. 2 with 8,365 total pins.
“We ended on a high note shooting the last two high set of the day to position ourselves in the top two,” Hagen said. “We took advantage of the momentum we built up at the end Saturday and carried that over to Sunday morning as we picked up another win over Fairleigh Dickinson. Things didn’t go our way in the final match but this tournament was a great experience for our young team.”
The Sam Houston bowlers opened the event with a bang, knocking off No. 3 Fairleigh Dickinson 805 to 798.
The Bearkats also won matches over Tulane 812-666, No. 17 Prairie View A&M 770-680, Morgan State 737-515 and Southern University 735-663.
“The lanes were on fire early on before they settled down, so we had to attack the lanes a little different but I am extremely happy with how we managed the lanes today and with the equipment we brought,” SHSU head coach Brad Hagen said. “The girls did an excellent job once again communicating and maintaining their composure throughout the morning and afternoon rounds. We took advantage of every break we had today and stayed as clean as possible. The key to this game at the end of the day next to making quality shots is controlling the emotions and the girls are continuing to do so with class.”
