Trio of Huskers Earn All-America Honors

New Brunswick, N.J. – Nebraska’s Julia Bond was named a National Tenpin Coaches Association first-team All-American at the NCAA Awards Banquet on Wednesday night. Gazmine Mason earned third-team All-America honors, while Briana Zabierek earned honorable mention All-America honors for the Cornhuskers.

Bond, a sophomore from Aurora, Ill., leads the Huskers with an average of 207.7 in traditional matches this season. She recorded eight top-20 finishes in nine tournaments for the Big Red this season, including four top-five finishes. Bond was named a third-team NTCA All-American last season.

Mason, a junior from Cranston, R.I., earned third-team All-America honors for the second-consecutive season. She is second on the team with an average of 203.3 in traditional matches this season. Mason has recorded three top-five finishes on the year, and earned MVP honors at the Crusader Classic the weekend of Nov. 6-8.

Zabierek, a junior from Lockport, Ill., posted an average of 202 in the regular season, and recorded four top-10 finishes for the Huskers.

Stephanie Schwartz from Stephen F. Austin was named the NCAA Division I Player of the Year, while Arkansas State’s Justin Kostick was voted the Division I Coach of the Year. Kostick competed for Nebraska’s men’s bowling team from 1999-2004 and was coached by Nebraska head coach Bill Straub throughout his collegiate career.

Nebraska begins competition at the 2016 National Collegiate Bowling Championship on Thursday, with the qualifying round set to begin at 11:50 a.m. (CT). Friday’s action consists of two qualifying matches beginning at 9:50 a.m. (CT), before the bracket round starts at 2:30 p.m. The bracket rounds continue on Saturday at 8 a.m., while the championship match is set for Saturday at 5:30 p.m. (CT), and will be televised live on ESPNU.