NU Wins Fifth Consecutive Prairie View Invitational

Arlington, Texas - For the fifth time in as many years, the Nebraska bowling team won the championship at the Prairie View Invitational, taking down Vanderbilt in a 4-0 sweep on Sunday at the International Training and Research Center in Arlington, Texas.

The third-ranked Cornhuskers finished the weekend with an 11-2 record and a pinfall of 12,929, with 10 wins over ranked teams. The 12-team field featured 11 ranked teams, including each of the top-five teams in the nation. The tournament win is the Huskers' second in a row, including a win at the Mid-Winter Invitational the week of Jan. 13-15.

The Huskers began the day with a victory over 10th-ranked Maryland-Eastern Shore by a score of 936-866 in a traditional team match to lock in the second seed for the bracket-play best-of-seven Baker format championship tournament.

In the opening round of the championship tournament, the Huskers took down top-ranked Arkansas State by a score of 4-2. NU won the first three games before the Red Wolves took games four and five, but NU clinched a spot in the championship match with a 245-178 victory in game six.

Gazmine Mason finished eighth overall with an average of 202.7 on the weekend. Julia Bond finished 14th overall with an average of 198.8, while Kelly Belzeski was 19th with an average of 197.3 and Meghan Straub was 20th with an average of 196.3.

The Huskers will return to action in two weeks at the SFA Stormin' Ladyjack Invitational in Conroe, Texas, the weekend of Feb. 10-12. Nebraska finished third overall at the tournament last season and second in 2015.

Prairie View Invitational at the ITRC Final Standings
1.   Nebraska
2.   Vanderbilt
3.   McKendree
4.   Arkansas State
5.   Fairleigh Dickinson
6.   Sam Houston State
7.   Maryland-Eastern Shore
8.   Stephen F. Austin
9.   Jackson State
10. North Carolina A&T
11. Prairie View A&M
12. Texas Southern