Huskers Set for NCAA Championship

Nebraska Cornhuskers (93-30)
at NCAA Championship

Thursday-Saturday, April 14-16 – North Brunswick, N.J. (BrunswickZone Carolier Bowl)

Times (CT): Qualifying – Thursday 11:50 a.m., Friday 9:50 a.m. (Internet: NCAA.com)
Bracket Rounds: Friday (Rounds 1&2) 2:30 p.m., Saturday (Rounds 3-5) 8 a.m. (Internet: NCAA.com)
Championship Match: Saturday 5:30 p.m. (TV: ESPNU, Internet: WatchESPN.com, Watch ESPN app)

Huskers Set for NCAA Championship
The top-ranked Nebraska bowling team competes for a national title this weekend at the 2016 National Collegiate Bowling Championship, held Thursday through Saturday at Brunswick Zone Carolier Bowl in North Brunswick, N.J. The Cornhuskers will be competing in their 13th-consecutive NCAA Championship, one of two schools to have qualified for the championships every year since bowling became an NCAA-sponsored sport in the 2003-04 season. NU has won NCAA titles in 2004, 2005, 2009, 2013 and 2015.

The Huskers (93-30) are the top seed in this year’s championships. Arkansas State, Vanderbilt, Sam Houston State, Stephen F. Austin, McKendree, Central Missouri and North Carolina A&T will be joining the Huskers for the tournament in New Jersey. McKendree is in the NCAA Championships field for the first time, while Nebraska and Central Missouri are the only two programs to have qualified for the championships every season since 2004.

Julia Bond leads the Huskers with an average of 207.7 in traditional matches this season. Bond, a sophomore from Aurora, Ill., was named Most Outstanding Bowler at the 2015 NCAA Championships, where she compiled a 225.6 average. Gazmine Mason, a junior from Cranston, R.I., is second on the team with a 203.3 average this season.

NU has not competed in nearly a month, when it finished third in the 30-team Columbia 300 Music City Classic the weekend of March 18-20. The Huskers went 13-2 on the weekend with an average of 196.9, scoring a total pinfall of 15,559, the highest in program history. The Big Red defeated Stephen F. Austin by a score of 4-2 in the third-place match.

Senior Melanie Crawford led the way for Nebraska individually at the Music City Classic, finishing 11th overall with an average of 203.6. Mason finished 16th overall with an average of 197.7, while senior Bethany Hedley finished 17th with an average of 197.5.

Nebraska defeated Stephen F. Austin by a score of 4-2 in the championship match at the 2015 NCAA Championships. In addition to Nebraska’s five NCAA titles since 2004, the Huskers won national championships in 1991, 1995, 1997, 1999 and 2001.

Competition begins with qualifying rounds of traditional team matches, beginning at 11:50 p.m. (CT) on Thursday and 9:50 a.m. on Friday. Each team will compete against the other seven qualifying teams in a round-robin format, with qualifying results determining the seeding for Friday’s best-of-seven Baker format double-elimination tournament. The bracket rounds begin with the first two rounds Friday, starting at 2:30 p.m. (CT), followed by rounds 3-5 Saturday, beginning at 9 a.m. (CT). The championship match is set to begin at 5:30 p.m. (CT) on Saturday and will be broadcast live on ESPNU. A tape-delay broadcast of the championship final will air on ESPN Sunday at 5:30 p.m. (CT). Qualifying and bracket rounds will be streamed live on NCAA.com on April 14-15. Ticket information for the 2016 NCAA Bowling Championships can be found at NCAA.com/tickets. For live results, video updates and more from the championships, follow @NECSports on Twitter.

The Opening Frame

Nebraska’s National Championship History
In 19 years as a varsity sport, Nebraska bowling has been one of the top programs in the nation. Coach Bill Straub has guided the Huskers to unprecedented success, winning national titles in 1991, 1995, 1997, 1999, 2001, 2004, 2005, 2009, 2013 and 2015. Once bowling became an NCAA-recognized sport in 2003-04, the Huskers won back-to-back titles in 2004 and 2005, followed by titles in 2009, 2013 and most recently another in 2015. Nebraska is one of two programs to have qualified for the NCAA Championships every season since 2004.

Making History
Nebraska finished with a weekend pinfall of 15,559 at the Columbia 300 Music City Classic March 18-20, the highest total in school history. The Huskers finished with the highest total pinfall at the tournament, and third overall following bracket play on the final day of the tournament. NU’s previous high single-tournament pinfall occurred on Nov. 16-18, 2007, when they scored a 14,968 pinfall at the Maverick Challenge.

Huskers Return to the Top
Nebraska regained the top spot in the March 9 NTCA Top 25 poll after being ranked second in the previous two polls. The Huskers began the season as the preseason No. 1 team, but had not returned to the top spot since then. Arkansas State fell one spot to No. 2, while Vanderbilt and Sam Houston State held steady in third- and fourth-place, respectively. Stephen F. Austin jumped one spot to join the top five.

Bond Leads the Way
Sophomore Julia Bond leads the Huskers with an average of 207.7 in traditional matches this season. Junior Gazmine Mason is second on the team with an average of 203.3 this season.

2016 National Collegiate Bowling Championships - Teams Competing
Nebraska
Arkansas State
Vanderbilt
Sam Houston State
Stephen F. Austin
McKendree
Central Missouri
North Carolina A&T