Leuthold Honored as the 2010 NTCA National Player of the Year

North Brunswick, N.J.-University of Nebraska bowling star Cassandra Leuthold received the highest honor a collegiate bowling athlete can receive on Wednesday night, as she was named the 2010 National Tenpin Coaches Association National Player of the Year. The award was presented to Leuthold at the 2010 NCAA Championship banquet at New Jersey City, N.J.

Leuthold, a senior from Rapid City, S.D., earned the prestigious award after capturing four tournament titles on the season. A three-time All-American, Leuthold has had a stellar career at Nebraska, which includes 11 individual tournament crowns over four seasons. Leuthold, who was named the NTCA Rookie of the Year in 2007, went on to earn the 2009 NCAA Championship Most Outstanding Player award for her performance in the 2009 NCAA Championship. Leuthold is also a three-time member of the United States Junior National team.

"It is an understatement to say Cassie is special," Nebraska Coach Bill Straub said. "Extraordinary would be more accurate. She was named MVP at last year's NCAA's. With extra hard work in pre-season, and throughout the year, she has now even more strongly developed fundamentals. Hopefully, she will duplicate this week her performance of last year."

Leuthold is the fifth Husker in Nebraska history to earn National Player of the Year honors. Kim (Berke) Straub was named the 1992 Player of the Year, while Diandra (Hyman) Asbaty earned the honors in 2000.  Shannon Pluhowsky earned back-to-back honors in 2004 and 2005, while Lindsay Baker and Amanda Burgoyne claimed the award in 2006 and 2007, respectively.

"She makes bowling an art form," Fellow Husker senior and team captain Kaleena Henning said of Leuthold "She passionately stays true to herself, showing her personality through her game. She and I have lots of terrific memories that will be with us forever."   

Huskers Look to Defend NCAA Championship
The Nebraska bowling team looks to defend its 2009 NCAA Championship this weekend as it competes at the 2010 NCAA Championship in North Brunswick, N.J. Seven other teams will compete for the crown, including top-ranked Maryland Eastern-Shore, No. 2 Vanderbilt and No. 3 Fairleigh Dickinson. Arkansas State University, Central Missouri, Delaware State and New Jersey City will also comprise the field.

Competition will start on Thursday, April 8, with the qualifying rounds, where each team bowls five regular team games against each of the seven teams in the tournament. Teams will be seeded for bracket play based on their win-loss record during the qualifying rounds. Friday's competition will include four rounds of Baker-style games to determine the final two teams to compete in the championship on Saturday.

New Jersey City University will host the tournament, which is held at the New Brunswick Zone Carolier Lanes in North Brunswick, N.J. Tickets may be purchased by calling (201) 200-2444.

The championship finals will air live on ESPNU on Saturday, April 10, at 7:30 p.m. Central, with a tape-delay on ESPN on Sunday, April 11 at 2 p.m. Central.

For continuous results from the 2010 NCAA Championship, please click here. 

Nebraska's NCAA History
Nebraska will compete in its seventh-consecutive NCAA Championship tournament since bowling became an NCAA-sanctioned sport in 2004.

NU captured its first NCAA championship title in 2004. The Huskers then went on to claim their second title in April of 2005 and captured their most recent title in April of 2009. Under Head Coach Bill Straub and Assistant Coach Paul Klempa, the Husker women's bowling teams have won eight national titles.

While team accomplishments have been paramount, numerous Huskers have enjoyed individual success. NU has had at least one All-American in each year for 20 years, dating back to its club program days. Since 1989, 22 Huskers have combined for a total of 44 first-, second- and third-team All-America awards.