Stephen F. Austin Advances to NCAA Championship Match

Stephen F. Austin Advances to NCAA Championship Match

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WICKLIFFE, Ohio – Stephen F. Austin punched their ticket to the program’s third-ever appearance in the NCAA title game with a 2-1 win over Maryland Eastern Shore (MES) Friday afternoon. The Ladyjacks are a perfect 3-0 at the 2019 NCAA Bowling Championship and await the winner between Vanderbilt and Nebraska in the championship game, which is slated for 6:30 p.m. ET Saturday evening.
Vanderbilt improved to 3-1 for the tournament with a pair of wins Friday that began with a 2-1 victory over McKendree and ended with a 2-0 performance over Nebraska. Maria Bulanova (258) and Emily Rigney (254) shined for the Commodores with their tournament-best traditional matchup performances against the Cornhuskers.
The decisive rematch between Vanderbilt and Nebraska is set to take place Saturday morning at 9 a.m. ET. The semifinal matchup will be streamed live on NCAA.com/live. The championship match will be televised on ESPNU.
 
DAY THREE MATCHUPS:
Morning Session – 9 a.m.
Match 13 – Vanderbilt vs. Nebraska
 
Championship Game – 6:30 p.m. ET
Stephen F. Austin vs. TBD
 
Morning Session
 
Vanderbilt vs. McKendree
Vanderbilt began day two with a showdown against McKendree that was elimination from the tournament on the line for both squads. Vanderbilt won the Traditional pinfall matchup 1,035-999 before falling in the Baker set 1,105-953. The contest then went to a Best-of-Seven round that saw the Commodores steam roll their way to victory in four consecutive games.
 
Maria Bulanova once again boosted the Vanderbilt squad to victory in the Traditional round after recording a game-high 227. Adel Wahner finished six pins behind Bulanova for a score of 221, her best Traditional showing of the tournament.
 
Vanderbilt struggled to break the 200-pin barrier in the Baker pinfall game and only did so in two of their five spots. McKendree built their momentum and concluded the round with only one sub-200 pin performance in the game. The Commodores closed out the round scoring a 167 in their fifth Baker set, subsequently dropping the round 1,105-953.
 
The Best-of-Seven matchup was a completely different story as Vanderbilt cruised to four consecutive wins. The Commodores saved their best performance for the end where the match was sealed on a 232-221 victory. In the final game, Vandy began with six consecutive strikes and missed just one pin throughout the 10 frames.
 
VANDERBILT – Traditional: W 1,035-999 | Baker: L 953-1,105 | Baker Best-of-Seven: W 4-0
Traditional Scores   Team Baker Scores
  1. Emily Rigney
 194
  1. 199
  1. Jordan Newham
 189
  1. 203
  1. Maria Bulanova
 227
  1. 172
  1. Samantha Gainor
 204
  1. 212
  1. Adel Wahner
 221
  1. 167
 
Afternoon Session
 
Vanderbilt vs. Nebraska
Vanderbilt kept their championship hopes alive after making quick work of Nebraska with a 2-0 win Friday afternoon. At the beginning of the second frame, Vandy sparked a run of seven consecutive strikes that created a comfortable lead for the Commodores. Vanderbilt then closed out the Traditional match by knocking down 1,089 pins and besting the Cornhuskers by a 23-pin margin (1,089-1,066).
The Baker matchup was a show of continued success for Vanderbilt as the team combined for a 221, compared to Nebraska’s 175, in the first section. Though the Cornhuskers edged out the Commodores in the next two Baker sets, 211-180 and 211-206, but Vandy proceeded to shut down any hopes for a comeback by Nebraska. Vanderbilt combined for a 231 in the fourth section and a 230 in the final set to win the round 1,068-1,036.

VANDERBILT – Traditional: W 1,089-1,066 | Baker: W 1,068-1,036
Traditional Scores   Team Baker Scores
  1. Emily Rigney
 254
  1. 221
  1. Jordan Newham
 152
  1. 180
  1. Maria Bulanova
 258
  1. 206
  1. Samantha Gainor
 212
  1. 231
  1. Adel Wahner
 213
  1. 230
 
 
Stephen F. Austin vs. Maryland Eastern Shore
Stephen F. Austin completed their third consecutive tournament win with yet another performance decided in a Best-of-Seven round. The Ladyjacks streaked ahead in the Traditional match with a 974-852 victory. Paige Beeney led the SFA squad with 214 pins in the opening round, extending her tournament traditional average to 208.67.
The Ladyjacks encountered a turn of events in the Baker pinfall matchup where they fell to MES by a score of 1,001-938. Stephen F. Austin began the round with a 205-198 win in the first Baker game and a 237-213 win in the second section. However, MES took the next three segments (224-170, 194-187, 172-139).
After a short intermission, SFA returned to action with a dominating performance that featured four consecutive victories in the Best-of-Seven round. Stephen F. Austin began with a key 237-190 win and followed suit with a 220-182 win in game two, a 203-179 win in game three and a 213-193 victory in game four to advance to Saturday’s championship match.

STEPHEN F. AUSTIN – Traditional: W 974 -852 | Baker: L 938-1,001 | Baker Best-of-Seven: W 4-0
Traditional Scores   Team Baker Scores
1. Paige Beeney 214 1. 205
2. Dakotah Hazlewood 189 2. 237
3. Sarah Gill 198 3. 170
4. Megan Eaglehouse 186 4. 187
5. Carlene Beyer 187 5. 139