Husker Bowlers Set to Compete at NCAA Championships

The Nebraska bowling team will take part in its ninth-straight NCAA Championshipsfrom April 12-14 in Cleveland, Ohio. The team learned of its selectionon the NCAA Bowling Selection Show streamed on NCAA.com Wednesday, March 29. The Huskers have a history of strong performances at the NCAAChampionships, including three national titles since 2004, the event's inception.The Huskers most recently took home the NCAA Championship in 2009.

NCAA Championship Schedule - April 12-14
April 12 Qualifying (9 a.m.-1 p.m.; 3:30-7:30 p.m.)
April 13 Qualifying (9 a.m.-1 p.m.; 3-7 p.m.)
April 14 Playoff (Noon-2:10 p.m.)
April 14 Championship (8 p.m.)

Huskers Ranked Third Heading into NCAA Championships

Nebraska is ranked third in the final rankings before the NCAA Championships. The Huskers check in with 602 points on the season. March's rankings are led by Fairleigh Dickinson with an NCAA leading 746 points. The Knights are followed by Arkansas State (700).

NCAA Bowling Rankings as of March 13, 2012

1 Fairleigh Dickinson (19) 92-19 746 1

2 Arkansas State (7) 68-20 700 4

3 Nebraska 57-17 602 8

4 Vanderbilt 76-31 592 7

5 Maryland-Eastern Shore 89-29 526 5

Seven Other Squads to Compete at NCAA Championships

Other teams invited to 2012 championships include Arkansas State, University of Central Missouri, Fairleigh Dickinson University, Maryland Eastern Shore, Sacred Heart, Valparaiso and Vanderbilt.

NCAA History:

The Nebraska Cornhuskers will be looking to earn their fourth NCAA Championship since 2004, and ninth national title under Head Coach Bill Straub and Assistant Coach Paul Klempa. The Huskers last won the title in 2009, after winning back-to-back in 2004-05. NU finished in third-place in 2011.

NCAA.com Providing Championship Coverage

Every round of Friday and Saturday's NCAA bowling championship will be available on NCAA.com streaming live at http://www.ncaa.com/championships/bowling/d1. The NCAA Championship Final will be broadcast live on ESPNU at 7 p.m. (CT) on April 14.

TV and Online Viewing Schedule:

Matches held on Friday, April 13 will be streamed live on NCAA.com. The championship final will take place on Saturday, April 14 and will be aired live on ESPNU at 7 p.m. (CT). The championship final will also be aired on ESPN2 on Sunday, April 15 at 2 p.m. (ET).

Last Time Out: Huskers Win Music City Classic

The Nebraska women's bowling team won its final regular season competition, the Music City Classic, held in Smyrna, Tenn. The Huskers defeated Arkansas State, 4-3, in the event's baker format finals.

Nebraska entered Sunday's final round as the three-seed and was paired with four-seed Fairleigh Dickinson in the first match of the day. The Huskers were able to find a way to take care of business against FDU, winning the match, 4-2. Nebraska then swept the two seed, Central Missouri, 4-0.

The Huskers then faced off with top-seeded Arkansas State in the bracketed finals to determine the event's winner. The match went all seven games, with Nebraska overpowering the Red Wolves in the end, 4-3.

Kristi Mickelson earned a first-place finish individually and the event's MVP award during Saturday's competition. Mickelson shot games of 185, 188, 258, 235, 238 and 234 for a 223 average and 1,338 total pinfall through the event's six traditional games. Liz Kuhlkin finished twelfth individually as well, rolling her way to a 1,181 total pinfall through six games for a 196.8 average. Nebraska set a blistering pace on Saturday, going 6-0 in team games on the afternoon and 13-2 overall to set up Sunday's tournament title.

2011 NCAA Championships: Nebraska Earns Third-Place Finish

The Nebraska women's bowling team fell to Vanderbilt 4-1 on Saturday morning in the fifth-round of the NCAA Championships, held at Skore Lanes in Taylor, Mich. The Huskers were one baker series away from ESPN's televised championship baker match.

The Huskers came out firing, taking the first game against the Commodores, 193-168. After the first game, it was tough for the Huskers to get any sort of momentum on their side. The Commodores took the second and third games, 203-163 and 222-157.

In the fourth and fifth games, the Huskers seemed poised to strike back in each tightly contested game, but fell to errors at inopportune times. In the fourth game of the match, the Huskers needed a mark in the tenth frame to seal the victory, but a costly chop of the 6 and 10 pin provided Vanderbilt with the victory, 216-212. The fifth game also went down to the wire, and it looked as if the Huskers were going to pull back to 3-2, but again, Vanderbilt was able to string together strikes in one of the highest scoring matches of the day for the victory, 254-245.

Vanderbilt was able to defeat Nebraska in back-to-back days, ousting them from the NCAA Championships.