Lockport, Ill. - The No. 1 ranked Nebraska bowling team went 4-1 in its first day of competition at the Storm Flyer Classic, tallying a pinfall of 5,056 and finishing in eighth place.
The Cornhuskers started Friday morning against Wright State in its first five-game total pinfall baker match. NU started with Karina Capron, Kayla Starr, Kayla Verstraete, Anna Callan and Jillian Martin. The Huskers started off game one with three-straight strikes en route to scoring a 198 over the Raiders’ 183. Martin recorded three strikes of the team’s seven in game two, as the Big Red again topped Wright State, 204-145. Nebraska rolled a 201 in game three, bringing the overall match lead to 603-499. Despite a three strike spurt at the end of game four, the Raiders topped NU, 227-203. In the final game, the Huskers tallied four strikes at the end of the game, three coming from Martin, as the Big Red scored a 214, and topped Wright State, 1,020-915.
In the second match, the Huskers matched up with No. 5 Youngstown State. In the first, Nebraska subbed in Brenna Hartzler for Capron as the team scored a 211 and topped Youngstown State, 211-184. Martin led the way for NU in game two, but the Penguins topped the Huskers, 178-173. The Cornhuskers strung together four consecutive strikes in the middle of game three as Nebraska rolled a 228, taking a 612-515 lead. In the fourth, each Husker tallied at least one strike, but Youngstown State edged NU, 217-216. In game five, the team rolled a 200 and finished off the Penguins, 1,028-903, moving to 2-0 on the day.
Nebraska met No. 8 Sam Houston in match three of the day. The Huskers bowled a clean game one and recorded six strikes and a 203. The Cornhuskers started the second game with three strikes and topped Sam Houston, 211-149, improving their match lead to 414-299. In the third, the Big Red rolled a 197 over the Bearkats’ 159, increasing their total-pin advantage to 153. Sam Houston tallied five strikes in a row in game four as the Bearkats topped the Huskers, 235-188, despite Martin’s four strikes. Sam Houston once again went on a five-strike run in the final game, but the Cornhuskers’ eight strikes led them over the top again, 236-235, as NU defeated the Bearkats, 1,035-928.
In game four, the Huskers faced off against No. 3 Jacksonville State. The Cornhuskers scored a 200 over the Gamecocks’ 193 in game one to take an early match lead. Callan struckout in both of her frames in the second as Nebraska added on to their lead after rolling a 213. In game three, the Big Red replaced Hartzler in the lineup with Haley Swindle, but Jacksonville State’s 258 topped the Huskers. In game four, Nebraska tallied nine total strikes, five coming at the end of the game, as the Cornhuskers topped the Gamecocks, 235-224, bringing Jacksonville State’s overall match lead to 885-832. In the final game, the Big Red scored a 183 and it wouldn’t be enough as Jacksonville State took down the Huskers, 1,084-1,015.
In the final match of day one, NU took on Elmhurst. The Cornhuskers bowled a clean game one as the team scored a 217 over the Bluejays. Nebraska tallied only two strikes in game two, both by Martin, as the Huskers fell to Elmhurst, 165-145, as the Bluejays took a 20 pin lead in the overall match. In the third, the Big Red bounced back with a 186 and topped Elmhurst, 186-168, to regain the overall match lead. Nebraska bowled another clean game in the fourth as the Huskers topped Elmhurst again, 198-156. In game five, the Cornhuskers scored a 213 as the Big Red took down the Bluejays, 959-873, to finish the day with a 4-1 record.
The Huskers return to the lanes tomorrow morning at 9:25 a.m. (CT) against No. 14 Wisconsin-Whitewater in a traditional match followed by matches against Indianapolis, Lewis, Oklahoma Christian and Carroll.
Stay up to date with the action by following the Nebraska Women's Bowling Twitter (@HuskerBowling), Instagram (@huskerbowling) and Facebook.
Storm Flyer Classic Top 10 Standings (Pinfall After First Day of Competition)
No. 2 Jacksonville State (5,439)
No. 7 Wichita State (5,329)
No. 6 North Carolina A&T (5,304)
No. 10 Maryville (5,291)
No. 5 Youngstown State (5,177)
Oklahoma Christian 5,067)
No. 9 Stephen F. Austin (5,059
No. 1 Nebraska (5,056)
No. 8 Sam Houston (5,006)
No. 2 Vanderbilt (4,993)