Huskers Finish Second at Mid-Winter Invitational

Jonesboro - The Nebraska bowling team earned a second-place finish at the Mid-Winter Invitational.

"This was another outstanding weekend for the team," Head Coach Paul Klempa said. "We lost another tightly contested championship match like last weekend. But the team basically led the event wire-to-wire for all three days and had a solid 9-3 match play record. We have asserted ourselves as one of the best teams in the country, if not the best team in the country the past several weeks."

Klempa went on to highlight the team saying, "Crystal (Elliott) made the All-Tournament team again and everyone contributed this weekend. Although we are disappointed to finish second for the second consecutive week, we know the team has improved each week and we now turn our singular focus to preparing for the NCAA's."

Crystal Elliott led the team, placing third and earning All-Tournament honors with a pinfall of 1,370. Cassidy Ray matched her season high with a finish of seventh, scoring 1,309. Kendyl Hofmeister placed 23rd (1,233), followed by Kayla Verstraete in 24th (1,233) and Michelle Guarro in 34th (1,180).

To begin the day, NU defeated No. 16 Stephen F. Austin 1,104-954. Elliott picked up where she left off yesterday, bowling a team-high 265 followed by Ray with 236. Rounding out the team was Hofmeister with 206, Verstraete (199) and Guarro (198). With this victory, the Huskers would be seeded first going into bracket play.

NU faced Youngstown State in the first bracket match. The bowlers fell in the first game 139-179 to go down 0-1 but rebounded by taking the second game 238-212. The Huskers powered forward taking the next three games 228-223, 235-157 and 212-164 to a 4-1 victory over YSU.

The Huskers advanced to the championship match where they took on No. 2 Arkansas State. Both teams were evenly matched in game one as ASU narrowly edged out NU 216-215. The Huskers earned a 212-198 victory in the second game to even the score at 1-1. NU fell in the next two games 192-218 and 161-210 before a 212-209 win to bring the match to 2-3. The bowlers fell in the sixth game 201-246 to take home second place in the tournament. 

The Huskers await the announcement on March 31 to see what their seeding will be for regionals. The selection show will by at 3:00 p.m. that day on the NCAA website. Regionals and the finals will both be held at AMF Pro Bowl in Kansas City, MO.

Mid-Winter Invitational Final Results

1. No. 2 Arkansas State
2. No. 5 Nebraska
3. No. 16 Stephen F. Austin
4. No. 11 Youngstown State
5. No. 1 McKendree
6. No. 23 Wisconsin-Whitewater
7. No. 8 Sam Houston State
8. No. 17 Tulane
9. Drury
10. No. 14 Maryville