Huskers Win Day One of Big Red Invite

 Lincoln, Neb.- The NTCA No. 1-rated Nebraska bowling team started its weekend of competition at the Big Red Invitational held in Lincoln at Sun Valley Lanes Thursday evening. The Huskers competed in four five-game Baker matches, compiling a 4,141 total pinfall, placing NU first in the seven-team field.

Nebraska Head Coach Bill Straub was proud of the team's performance in the first day of competition, mentioning that it was nice to see the Huskers win day one. Straub did mention though there were a lot of pins left on the lanes during Thursday's competition, something the Huskers need to fix going into Friday's competition.

“We have our tournament constructed as three one-day-events, we won our first day but left a lot of pins out there,” Straub said. “Those pins could have been knocked down, so it could have been better. We figured starting tomorrow, with better execution, we should do even better than we did today. I hope that is the case.”

Straub added that the team did very well adapting to lane conditions throughout the night, as that was one of the main points of emphasis this week at practice.

“We have got a real good group of people, it is abnormal for us, they are very close together and it helps transition in an effective way," Straub said. "We don't have anyone in the back wondering why 'Mary' should play instead of 'Jane.' They are a really cohesive group and as long as they stay together it makes coaching a lot easier.”

The Huskers came roaring out of the gates in the first match of the day against Valparaiso, as NU opened its first game with three strikes in-a-row by senior Andrea Ruiz, junior Melanie Crawford and sophomore Bri Zabierek.

The Huskers kept up the pace led behind Zabierek, as she rolled back-to-back strikes to help NU defeat Valparaiso 202-196 in the first game of five. Nebraska kept up its pace in the second game versus Valparaiso, as the Huskers would see two of its bowlers only pitch strikes. Freshman Julia Bond rolled strikes in the fourth and ninth frame as well as Kuhlkin rolling four-consecutive strikes to close the game out in Nebraska's favor, 235-204.

Game three would prove challenging for the Huskers, as NU would dig itself in a hole by rolling three open frames. The early mistakes would prove to much for the Huskers, as Valpo took the third game 182-181. NU quickly found its groove on the lanes, as the Huskers were on fire in game four, winning the game 225-148 with only one open frame.

In the fifth and final game against Valparaiso, NU rolled a very clean game with only one open frame. The Huskers would end up falling short though, as the Crusaders rolled five-straight strikes to close out the game, winning 236-214.

Going into their second match of the day, NU caught fire against Wisconsin-Whitewater, dominating the Bluejays from the start. The Huskers opened up the first game rolling seven-straight strikes, defeating UWW 235-209. NU didn't miss a step in the second game, as the Huskers rolled 11 strikes and one spare in 12 pitches. The Bluejays were no match for the Huskers, as NU won 278-195.

In game three, NU continued error-free bowling, as the Huskers left no open frames, rolling seven strikes in the game to win 231-152. The Huskers continued their hot streak in game four, recording only one open frame, as Kuhlkin led the Huskers with three-straight strikes to close the game off for NU, 205-203.

The Huskers closed their second match off on a high note, rolling four strikes and seven spares to defeat the Bluejays 197-176. After the second match, the Huskers led all teams with 2,203 total pinfall, in front of McKendree University (2156 pinfall). 

Nebraska would then face off with second-place McKendree University in their third match of the day. NU would open strong against the Bearcats in game one, rolling four strikes to outscore McKendree 203-173. NU would lose its mojo in the second game, as the Huskers left four open frames on the lanes, losing to McKendree 152-166 in game two.

NU would continue to struggle in the third game against the Bearcats, as NU would leave four open frames on the lanes, as NU would lose 158-200. The Huskers would finally regain their groove in the fourth game against McKendree, as Crawford would roll strikes in the second and sixth frame to lead NU to a 247-137 victory. 

The Huskers kept up their dominance in the fifth and final game against McKendree, as the Huskers cruised to a 204-151 victory to keep them in first place after three matches.

Nebraska fourth and final match of the day was against rival Arkansas State University, as NU looked to close off the opening day of the Big Red Invitational on a high note. In the first game, NU was led by the Colombia native Ruiz who rolled strikes in the first and sixth frame, as the Huskers fell just short of the Red Wolves, 215-223.

The second game proved to be a difficult one for the Huskers, as NU opened the game with four-straight spares, before falling to ASU 188-246. NU would get back to their winning ways in game three, as the Huskers used seven strikes to defeat the Red Wolves 227-223.

In the final two games of the match against Arkansas State, Nebraska would use some of its highly-talented bench to try and close ASU off. Junior Beth Hedley and sophomore Gazmine Mason saw action in the final match of the day, as NU would lose game four 157-209, and game five 187-213

The Nebraska bowling team will be back in action at the Big Red Invitational Friday morning at 9 a.m. (Central), at Sun Valley Lanes in Lincoln. NU will compete in six traditional team game matches throughout Friday before the final day of competition on Saturday morning. Check back at Huskers.com for updates after everyday of competition.

Day One Top-Three

Nebraska- 4,141 total pinfall

Arkansas State- 4,040

Central Missouri - 4,009