Bearkat Bowlers Off To Best Start In Season
Courtesy: Paul Ridings, Jr., SHSU Sports Information
The No. 6-ranked Sam Houston bowling team went unbeaten in five traditional team matches to take over first place after two days in the All State Sugar Bowl Collegiate Bowling Invitational hosted by Tulane in Kenner, La.
The Bearkats will go into Sunday’s best-of-seven baker bracket play the No. 1 with a total pins total of 8,818.
The 5-0 mark Saturday gives the Kats an 8-1 record in dual match play in the event.
The highlight of Saturday’s action was a new Sam Houston team high game set at 1180 highlighted by Becca Pittser’s 279 game.
Friday in quad baker action, Sam Houston defeated Tulane 812-6181, Florida A&M 681-675 and Louisiana Tech 784-724.
No. 9 Stephen F. Austin handed SHSU its only loss of the tournament in a 774-748 decision.
On Saturday, the Kats knocked over Prairie View A&M 1180-978, Alabama State 1024-897, Texas Southern 967-906, Jackson State 940-637 and Bethune-Cookman 923-848.
Sam Houston totaled 3,783 pins on Friday and 5,033 on Saturday.
Stephen F. Austin (7-2 in the tournament) is in second place with 8,817 total pins.
Texas Southern is in third in the 11-team field with 8,555 pins.
“We’re right where we need to be going into the final day,” SHSU head coach Brad Hagen said.
“The Bearkats are defending champions in the Tulane event. Today was a solid day and we made a lot of good shots when needed. We must take today’s momentum and use that straight out of the gate Sunday.”
Sam Houston is the event’s defending champion.
The Kats won 11 of their 12 matches in last year’s event, defeated then No. 2 ranked Arkansas State in the finals.
The SHSU bowlers are one of four nationally ranked squads in the 11-team field at the All Star Lanes in Kenner.
Bearkat WBB Reaches Pinnacle Of Success
Courtesy: Paul Ridings, Jr., SHSU Sports Information
The Sam Houston women’s basketball team will play the Tulane Green Wave Thursdays night in New Orleans in the first round of the Women’s National Invitational Tournament.
The full 64-team field for the postseason WNIT was announced Monday night.
The winner of the Sam Houston vs. Tulane game faces the Arkansas vs. Memphis winner.
Those two teams will face off Thursday in Fayetteville.
Tulane reached the quarterfinals of the Conference USA post-season tournament, falling to host Tulsa 75-68.
The Green Wave produced a 22-8 record during the 2013 seasons.
Tulane tied for second place in Conference USA with an 11-4 league mark.
Sam Houston State earned its WNIT postseason berth by finishing as co-champions in the Southland Conference and advancing to its first Southland post-season tournament finals appearance.
The 2013 WNIT field will include 31 teams that earned automatic berths and 33 teams that are selected at-large.
“The girls and coaching staff are excited to still be playing basketball,” head coach Brenda Nichols said. “Looking at who some of the bubble teams are for NCAA selection, the WNIT should have an outstanding field this year. It’s a thrill to get to test ourselves against the best.”
The postseason WNIT will open with first-round games Wednesday through Friday, March 20-22.
The event culminates Saturday, April 6, with the championship game which will be telecast live on CBS Sports Network.
All games are hosted by participating schools.
Sam Houston earned its first women’s basketball Southland Conference regular season title in its 26 years in the league in 2013 with an 18-14 overall mark and 13-5 league record.
The WNIT schedule by round:
Round 1 – March 20-22
Round 2 – March 23-25
Round 3 – March 27-29
Quarterfinals – March 30-April 1
Semifinals – April 3-4
Championship Game – April 6, 2 p.m.
Bearkat Bowlers Goes 5-0 On First Day Of Kat Klash Tournament
Courtesy: Paul Ridings, Jr., SHSU Sports Information
The Sam Houston State women’s bowling team won all five of its matches in quad baker match play Friday as the second annual Track Kat Klash tournament completed its first day of action.
The Bearkats defeated Tulane 744-595, Louisiana Tech 833-703, Nebraska 847-838, Wisconsin-Whitewater 822-767 and Vanderbilt 785-771.
Sam Houston State came into the tournament ranked No. 8 in NCAA Division I women’s bowling.
Eight of the 16 teams in the event stand in the top 20. The Bearkats’ victories Friday included wins over the No. 4 (Vanderbilt), 5 (Nebraska) and 14 (Wisconsin-Whitewater) squads in the rankings.
The event is being held at Huntsville Lanes.
Other ranked teams in the field include No. 2 Arkansas State, No. 8 Sam Houston, No. 9 Valparaiso, No. 10 Stephen F. Austin and No. 17 Prairie View A&M.
Bowl.com has announced is streaming all three days action live all weekend on VIA www.bowl.com
The schedule for the Track Kat Klash calls traditional team matches on day two and bracket play best of seven Baker competition on the final day.
Tournament action will run from 9:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday and 8:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. Sunday.
Sam Houston won inaugural Track Kat Klash championship last year, defeating Arkansas State four games to none in the finals.
This year’s Bearkat bowlers have already won tournament championships at Tulane and Alabama A&M and finished as runner-up at Bethune-Cookman.