Lincoln, Neb.- The NTCA-top rated Nebraska bowling team competed in the second day of competition at the Big Red Invitational at Sun Valley Lanes, in Lincoln on Friday. NU finished up competition with 6,401 total pinfall, ranking the Huskers first in the seven-team-field.
Nebraska was led by true freshman Julia Bond, as she finished Friday’s competition with a remarkable 223.83 game average, placing her in first place in the individual standings. In the six matches Bond competed in on Friday, she did not post a score lower than 203, something no other competitor was able to accomplish.
According to Bond, she really started to get into her groove on the lanes after she started to relax.
“I stopped worrying about my lack of carry or not striking, I just tried to focus on my fundamentals,” Bond said. “If I was able to do that, everything else just came to me—so once I stopped trying so hard, and started to let it come to me—it wasn’t so hard for me.”
Up to this point in the 2014-15 season, the Aurora, Ill., native has been a mainstay on the Nebraska starting rotation, something she could not even imagine coming into her freshman campaign.
“Not really, there was so many older girls that were here before I got here, that had a lot more experience competing at this level than I did, so I entering this season I kind of just wanted to try my best and see what would happen,” Bond said. “To do as well as I did today, I did not really expect to do that before the season.”
Bond was joined in the individual top-10 by senior Liz Kuhlkin and sophomore Gazmine Mason. Kuhlkin finished Friday’s competition third overall, with a 215.83 game average as Mason placed tied for sixth with a 210.17 game average.
As a team, Nebraska compiled a total pinfall of 6,401, which ranked first in front of second-place Central Missouri (6,259) and McKendree (5803).
The Huskers will be back in competition on Saturday morning at 8 a.m. (CT) in Lincoln at Sun Valley Lanes. The tournament will wrap-up around noon, following the conclusion of the team and individual events.