Huskers Earn Third Seed After Qualifying Round

North Brunswick, N.J. – The Nebraska bowling team split its two traditional matches Friday morning, earning the Huskers the third seed for the bracket round of the National Collegiate Bowling Championship at Brunswick Zone Carolier Bowl in North Brunswick, N.J. NU went 4-3 overall in qualifying.

The Cornhuskers (97-33) will face Central Missouri in the first round of the championship tournament Friday afternoon at 2:30 p.m. (CT). Sam Houston State earned the top seed after the qualifying round, while Arkansas State is second.

In the first match of the day, the Huskers rallied from an early deficit to cruise past McKendree with a score of 1,048. The Bearcats led the match by 17 pins entering the sixth frame, but Melanie Crawford closed the match with eight-consecutive strikes to lead the Huskers with a score of 245. Julia Bond put up a 212 to help the Big Red.

To close the qualifying round, NU dropped a back-and-forth match to Arkansas State by just one pin, 1051-1,050. Crawford again drove the Huskers in the high-scoring contest, scoring a 232. Gazmine Mason chipped in a 223 for the Huskers, while Bond left no frames open in the match for a score of 208.

The Huskers posted a 3-2 record in the first session of the qualifying round on Thursday. NU picked up wins over Central Missouri, Vanderbilt and Stephen F. Austin after dropping matches to North Carolina A&T and Sam Houston State to begin the day.

Bond finished first individually in the qualifying round, posting an average of 228.4. Briana Zabierek finished seventh with an average of 213.9 and Bethany Hedley finished eighth with an average of 213.

The winner of the Nebraska-Central Missouri match will move on to face the winner of the Arkansas State-North Carolina A&T match at 4:10 p.m. (CT). The bracket round continues Saturday, beginning at 8 a.m. (CT).