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Nebraska Cornhuskers (49-20)
at Prairie View A&M Invitational
Friday-Sunday, January 29-31, Noon, 9:25 a.m., 8:25 a.m. – Arlington, Texas (International Training and Research Center)
Live Stream: Bowl.com
Huskers Set Sights on Prairie View Invitational
Lincoln - The second-ranked Nebraska bowling team returns to the lanes this weekend at the Prairie View A&M Invitational, held Friday-Sunday at the International Training and Research Center in Arlington, Texas. The tournament is hosted by No. 21 Prairie View A&M and will be live-streamed each of the three days on Bowl.com.
The Cornhuskers (49-20) come into the weekend having won three of their last four tournaments. Nebraska has won the Prairie View A&M Invitational each of the last three years and has finished in the top four every year since 2012.
Twelve teams will compete this weekend in Texas, including 10 teams ranked in the NTCA Top 25 coaches poll. Four of the top five teams in the nation will be at the tournament, including the Huskers, No. 1 Arkansas State, No. 3 Vanderbilt and Sam Houston State, which is tied for fourth. Other ranked teams competing include No. 8 Stephen F. Austin, No. 10 Maryland-Eastern Shore, No. 11 North Carolina A&T, No. 17 Monmouth, No. 19 Tulane and Prairie View A&M. Jackson State and Texas Southern will also be represented and are receiving votes in the latest poll.
NU defeated No. 4 Central Missouri in the seventh-place match at the Mid-Winter Invitational its last time out the weekend of Jan. 15-17. The Huskers went 9-4 on the weekend, but dropped a pair of matches in the championship tournament on the final day of competition.
Briana Zabierek led the Huskers with a 209.8 average at the Mid-Winter Invitational, good for 10th overall. Julia Bond finished 17th with a 202.2 average, while Bethany Hedley and Gazmine Mason finished 19th and 20th, respectively, with averages of 199.4 and 199.
Competition begins Friday at noon, with teams playing five sets of five-game Baker matches, followed by five traditional matches Saturday, beginning at 9:25 a.m. Friday and Saturday’s combined results will determine the seeding for Sunday’s bracket-play tournament to determine a champion, consisting of one team game and two best-of-seven Baker format matches, with play set to begin at 8:25 a.m.
Prairie View A&M Invitational - Teams Competing
1. Nebraska
2. Prairie View A&M
3. Arkansas State
4. Jackson State
5. Maryland-Eastern Shore
6. Monmouth
7. North Carolina A&T
8. Sam Houston State
9. Stephen F. Austin
10. Texas Southern
11. Tulane
12. Vanderbilt
The Opening Frame
Looking Ahead
The Huskers will take a week off and return to Texas Feb. 12-14 at the Stormin’ Ladyjack Classic in Houston. The Huskers finished second at the tournament last season. The tournament is hosted by Stephen F. Austin, which is ranked No. 8 in the nation.
Zabierek Leads the Way
Junior Briana Zabierek was Nebraska’s top finisher at the Mid-Winter Invitational two weeks ago, the second time this season in which she led the team in pinfall average. Zabierek finished the weekend with a 209.8 average, good for 10th overall. She also led the Cornhuskers with a 199.3 average at the season-opening Allstate Sugar Bowl Collegiate Bowling Invitational.
Team USA
Two current members of the Nebraska bowling team and two Husker alumni were named members of Team USA 2016 at the 2016 United States Bowling Congress Team USA Trials held Jan. 3-7. Junior Gazmine Mason and sophomore Julia Bond were selected to Junior Team USA 2016. Mason earned a spot based on her performance at the trials after she finished 19th overall among 109 competitors and seventh among competitors in her age group. Bond had already earned a spot on Junior Team USA 2016 based on her performance at the 2015 Junior Gold Championships. Bond finished 24th overall and 10th among competitors in her age group. Shannon Pluhowsky, a Husker from 2001-2005, finished fifth overall and was named to the team based on her performance at the trials. Kayla Johnson, a Husker from 2009-2012, earned a spot from the National Selection Committee based on a submitted resume.
Making History
Nebraska finished with a weekend pinfall of 14,494 at the Big Red Invitational Nov. 12-14, second-most in program history. The Huskers’ highest single-tournament pinfall occurred nearly eight years before on Nov. 16-18, 2007, when they scored a 14,968 pinfall at the Maverick Challenge.