Huskers Return to Competition

Friday-Sunday, October 25-27, 9:40 a.m., 9:30 a.m., 8:30 a.m. (CT) Fairview Heights, Ill.  (St. Clair Bowl)

The Nebraska bowling team will begin the 2019-20 season this weekend, competing at the Bearcat Hammer Open this Friday through Sunday. The tournament is hosted by No. 2 McKendree and will take place at St. Clair Bowl in Fairview Heights, Ill.

The teams joining the Huskers in Fairview include five of the top 25 teams in McKendree, Wisconsin-Whitewater, Central Missouri, Maryville, and Alabama Birmingham (UAB). Belmont Abbey, Dominican, Kentucky Wesleyan, Lewis, St. Francis Brooklyn and Upper Iowa will compete in the purple pool.  Alabama A&M, Augustana, North Central College, Tusculum and Valparaiso will compete with the Huskers in the gold pool.  

The Huskers' season begins with a baker-style match against Lewis. The team will then go on to face Upper Iowa, Kentucky Wesleyan, and St. Francis Brooklyn. A match against No. 18 Maryville will round out the baker gameplay portion of the tournament for the Huskers on Friday.

Saturday's traditional matches will begin with a position round within the pools.  The Huskers will then face No. 2 McKendree, Belmont Abbey, Dominican, No. 12 Central Missouri.

Competition begins Friday morning at 9:40 a.m. with five sets of five-game Baker matches, followed by five traditional matches on Saturday morning, beginning at 9:30 a.m. Combined results from Friday and Saturday will determine the seeding for Sunday's bracket-play championship tournament, where each team will play three rounds of best-of-seven Baker matches beginning at 8:30 a.m.

Bearcat Hammer Open Teams Competing

No. 2 McKendree
No. 4 Nebraska
No. 10 Wisconsin-Whitewater
No. 12 Central Missouri
No. 18 Maryville
No. 19 Alabama Birmingham
Prairie View A&M (RV)
Belmont Abbey
Dominican
Kentucky Wesleyan
Lewis
St. Francis Brooklyn
Upper Iowa
Alabama A&M
Augustana
North Central College
Tusculum
Valparaiso

Huskers Return to the Lanes with New Spark 
As the 2019-20 season approaches for the Nebraska bowling team, the Cornhuskers have their sights locked on winning a sixth NCAA championship after landing in third last season.

The Huskers are under new leadership this season with Paul Klempa taking over as head coach following the retirement of four-time NTCA Coach of the year Bill Straub. Klempa has been with the program since 1992 as a bowler for the Huskers. After earning All-America honors his senior year, Klempa was hired as the assistant coach in 1997-the first season Nebraska became a varsity sport at Nebraska.

"The 2019-20 season outlook is very promising," Klempa said. "After a solid season in 2018-19, which found our team competing deep into the NCAA tournament and ending with a 3rd place finish, we bring back several key contributors and add some very talented newcomers to the lineup."

The Huskers also find new leadership under new assistant coach and legendary former-Husker Shannon Pluhowsky. A decorated bowler and previous four-time All-American for the Huskers, Pluhowsky has gone on to win numerous honors, including a spot on Team USA. Pluhowsky will provide the team with unparalleled guidance this season on their search for another National Championship.

"She brings a wealth of competitive experience from all around the world and will help our program in every facet," Coach Klempa said. "Shannon is a world-class athlete with multiple titles and awards, including being the most decorated player in the history of Nebraska Bowling. It is tremendous to bring Shannon back home to share her knowledge and expertise with the student-athletes in the program."

The Huskers return two All-Americans this season in Raquel Orozco and Allison Morris. Orozco helped the Huskers to the semi-final match of the NCAA Championship in 2018-19 and finished the 2018-19 season with an impressive average of 206.6. During the regular season, Orozco bowled a season-best of a 222.6 at the Colombia 300 Saints tournament in January.

Morris returns to the lanes with a dominant junior season under her belt. She took two tournament titles in the 2018-19 season at the Warhawk Classic and the Sunshine State Classic. Her average of 238.8 at the Warhawk Classic is the seventh-highest single-season average in program history.

The team also returns senior Estefania Prieto. Prieto made an appearance in all 10 of the Husker's events last season, ending the season with an average of 199.1. The Husker also took two top-five and three top-10 finishes in the 2018 season.

This season, Michelle Guarro and Cassidy Ray look to build on their impressive 2018-19 seasons and secure spots it the Husker's five-person rotation.

Junior transfer Leah Glazer joins the Huskers also looking to break into the rotation and help the team to a first-place finish at the National Championship. 

Letterwinner Gwen Maeha also looks to break into the starting lineup. After redshirting the 2018-19 season, Brynn Lambrecht and Kendyl Hodmeister will get their first shot at playing time in the 2019-20 season.

New additions to this year's squad include freshmen Amara Smith-Speights and Kendyl Hofmeister.

The Huskers must work to replace senior Meghan Straub who played a major role in the Huskers' success in the past seasons. Straub was a first-team All-American and leader on and off the lanes.

"Nebraska's 2019-20 roster is truly one of the deepest in program history," Klempa said. "There will be a high level of competition for playing time as we go forward and begin our season. I am excited to see how everything plays out and what this group can accomplish this season. I really like the chemistry of this team and the talent is outstanding from top to bottom."

The Cornhuskers also hope to continue their dominance off the lanes as well. Eight bowlers made the Scholar-Athlete Honor Roll in the Fall of 2018 and seven were named members of the All-Academic Big Ten team. All 10 members of the 2018-19 team earned spots on the Tom Osborne Citizenship Team.

This accomplished and cohesive team comes together for the 2019-20 season looking to take back the title of National Champions.

Nebraska begins the 2019-20 season at the Bearcat Hammer open, hosted by McKendree in Fairview Heights, Ill. (Oct. 25-27).        

The Huskers will then head to Houston, Texas for the Track Kat Klash before wrapping up the 2019 calendar year with the Stephen F. Austin Stormin' Ladyjacks Invitational in Kenosha, Wisc.

The spring semester kicks off with the Storming Blue & Gold in Las Vegas, Nev. Before heading to Arlington, Texas for the Prairie View A&M Invitational, the Huskers will travel to Chesterfield, Mo. for the Columbia 300 Saints.

Nebraska will then head Jonesboro, Ark. for the Mid-Winter Classic, hosted by Arkansas State to wrap up their traveling tournaments of the regular season.

The Huskers will again play host to the annual Big Red Invitational on March 1-3 at Hollywood Bowl in Lincoln. Nebraska took second-place last season and will be looking to reclaim the champion title of their only home tournament of the year. The event is free all weekend to fans and promotional activities and giveaways are scheduled.

The 2020 NCAA Championship is set for April 9-11 in Detroit, Mich. Nebraska is the only program to have qualified for the national championship in each of the 16 seasons that the NCAA has sponsored bowling. The Huskers have advanced to the semifinals 15 times and reached the title match in five of the last seven seasons.