Huskers Take Third at Big Red Invite

Lincoln – The No. 6 Nebraska Bowling team placed third at the Big Red Invitational, going 8-5 over the three-day event with a pinfall of 13,951 and a 205.2 average. 

The Huskers began the day with a traditional match against No. 1 Jacksonville State. Starters for the Big Red were Haley Swindle, Karina Capron, Brenna Hartzler, Kayla Starr and Jillian Martin. The lanes were not kind to the Huskers, as multiple splits led to open frames that allowed the Gamecocks to secure a dominant lead that they did not give up. Jax State won 1,231-947, moving Nebraska’s record to 7-4. Starr led the Huskers with 215 pins, followed by Martin with 206. Capron and Hartzler both rolled 181 while Swindle finished with 164. 

Having completed the round-robin portion of the event, the Huskers moved on to bracket play as the two seed, where they faced fourth-seeded Wichita State for a chance at the tournament championship. NU took game one 203-176 before playing a close game two that ended in a tie at 233 after a clutch triple in the tenth from Martin. Game three was in Nebraska’s control early, but a costly open frame allowed the Shockers to rebound and even the series 1.5-1.5 with 211-205 win. Desiree Buchert was subbed in for Capron to start game four, but the Huskers still struggled with open frames. WSU capitalized and claimed a 180-159 victory to take a 2.5-1.5 series lead. The Shockers did not let up in game five, getting eight consecutive strikes on their way to a convincing 264-178 win. WSU clinched the series with a decisive 289-196 victory to send NU to the third-place match. 

Against No. 7 Maryville, the Big Red swapped Swindle for Lani Breedlove. The first game was taken by the Huskers 223-180, spearheaded by four consecutive strikes to open the game. Game two was plagued by splits and open frames from both teams, but it was Nebraska that came out on top, winning 176-172 to take a 2-0 series lead. The Saints answered with a narrow win of their own with a 192-192 win in game three to make the series 2-1. Maryville kept its momentum going into the fourth game, evening the series with a 215-187 win. The Huskers responded with a 203-190 victory to come within a game of securing third place. The Saints tied the match with a 207-190 score to force a game seven. The Huskers pulled through 214-199 to win 4-3 and record their third top-three finish of the year.

Three Huskers finished in the top 15 individually, led by Martin, who finished first with a pinfall of 1,396 and an average of 232.7 for her 3rd career individual event title.  Martin’s strong weekend netted her both a spot on the all-tournament team and tournament MVP honors. Swindle finished eighth with a total pinfall of 1,308 and a 218 average while Hartzler finished 14^th with a pinfall of 1238 with a 206.33 average. 

Nebraska travels to Greensboro, N.C., next weekend to wrap up the regular season at the Stallings Invitational hosted by North Carolina A&T. Competition begins Friday, Feb. 27 at 8:55 a.m. (central), continues Saturday at 7:25 a.m. (central) and ends on Sunday after play starts at 7:25 a.m. (central). 

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