Huskers Ready for Stormin? Ladyjack Classic

Nebraska Cornhuskers (58-23)
at SFA Stormin’ Ladyjack Classic

Friday-Sunday, February 12-14, 9:35 a.m., 9:25 a.m., 8:30 a.m. – Houston, Texas (Lanes Off Bellaire)

Huskers Ready for Stormin’ Ladyjack Classic

Lincoln - The second-ranked Nebraska bowling team returns to Texas this weekend for the SFA Stormin’ Ladyjack Classic, held Friday through Sunday at Lanes Off Bellaire in Houston, Texas. The tournament is hosted by No. 8 Stephen F. Austin.

The Cornhuskers (58-23) come into the weekend having won four of their last five tournaments, including a victory at their last tournament in the Lone Star State at the Prairie View A&M Invitational in Arlington Jan. 29-31.

Eighteen teams will compete this weekend in Houston, including 13 teams ranked in the NTCA Top 25 Coaches poll. Each 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 and Central Missouri, which are tied for fourth. Other ranked teams competing include Stephen F. Austin, No. 6 Fairleigh Dickinson, No. 7 Wisconsin-Whitewater, No. 11 North Carolina A&T, No. 14 LIU-Brooklyn, No. 17 Monmouth and No. 19 Tulane. Nebraska finished second at the SFA Stormin’ Ladyjack Classic last season.

NU returned to its winning ways at the Prairie View A&M Invitational two weeks ago, defeating top-ranked Arkansas State in the championship match to win the PVAMU crown for the fourth consecutive season. The Huskers went 9-3 on the weekend, defeating eight ranked teams in the process.

Julia Bond led the Huskers in the individual standings at the Prairie View Invite, finishing fifth overall with an average of 220. Gazmine Mason finished 18th overall with an average of 199, while Melanie Crawford finished just behind in 19th with an average of 198.5. Bethany Hedley contributed a 213.4 average in five traditional matches, while Briana Zabierek averaged 183.8 in four traditional matches.

Competition begins Friday at 9:35 a.m., with teams playing six sets of five-game Baker matches, followed by six 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 three best-of-seven Baker format matches, with play set to begin at 8:30 a.m.

The Opening Frame

Bond Returns to the Top
Julia Bond led Nebraska with a fifth-place finish at the Prairie View A&M Invitational two weeks ago, scoring an average of 220 to help the Huskers to their fourth straight PVAMU title. She won the high-game award at the tournament, bowling a 278 in Nebraska’s victory over Sam Houston State on Jan. 30. Bond also contributed a score of 269 in NU’s win over Monmouth.

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.

SFA Stormin’ Ladyjack Invitational - Teams Competing

Nebraska
Stephen F. Austin
Arkansas State
Central Missouri
Fairleigh Dickinson
Grambling State
Jackson State
Louisiana Tech
LIU-Brooklyn
Monmouth
North Carolina A&T
Prairie View A&M
Sam Houston State
Southern
Texas Southern
Tulane
Vanderbilt
Wisconsin-Whitewater

Looking Ahead
The Huskers will return to action next Friday through Sunday, Feb. 19-21, at the Warhawk Invitational in Kenosha, Wis. The tournament is hosted by Wisconsin-Whitewater, which is ranked No. 7 in the nation. The Huskers have not competed at a tournament hosted by Wisconsin-Whitewater since 2008, when they won the championship. NU also competed at tournaments hosted by UWW in 2003, 2004 and 2007. Shannon Pluhowsky’s Nebraska record for single-tournament average of 254 came at the 2003 Wisconsin-Whitewater Invitational on Nov. 9, 2003.