Merriville, Ind. --- The #17 Minnesota State University women’s bowling team won its first two matches before falling to #3 Nebraska in the title tilt in its bid to repeat as Crusader Classic champions, taking second-place out of the seven-team field. All matches today were played in the Baker Format (best four-out-of-seven games). Sophomore Hali Clark was named to the 2010 All-Crusader Classic Team for her efforts on the weekend. MSU now moves to 14-11 on the season.
MSU opened the day as the #3 seed in the brackets, and took out Arkansas State, which is ranked #6 in the nation, 4-2 (223-195, 178-198, 254-231, 216-183, 189-234, 210-166). The Mavericks had only four open frames out of 60 bowled against ASU, including a stretch of 20 consecutive marks at one point. Clark and freshman Danie Schulz each marked in all 12 frames in the opener, and both also had six strikes.
Host Valparaiso, the #11-ranked team nationally, awaited Minnesota State in the next round, and the Crusaders jumped out to a quick 3-0 lead. However, the Mavericks were able to come back with four consecutive wins to rally for the 4-3 (186-232, 186-216, 159-224, 204-184, 202-183, 195-140, 225-177) triumph. In the final two games of the match, senior Sarah Izydorek closed out with three strikes in the 10th frame.
In the championship contest, MSU eeked out a win in the first game thanks in large part to a clean sheet, but Nebraska roared back with three wins to take a 3-1 lead. The Mavericks extended the match to six games with a win in the fifth, but the Cornhuskers closed out the match in the sixth to claim the tournament title with a 4-2 (208-211, 223-158, 223-169, 194-173, 195-217, 225-136) victory.
The Mavericks will return to action on Friday, December 3rd, when they travel to Jackson, Miss., to take part in the Capital City Collegiate Classic.
