SMYRNA, TENN. --- The #14 Minnesota State University women's bowling team squared off against some stiff competition in the second day of the Columbia 300 Music City Classic, dropping four of six matches in falling to 44-41 on the 2009-10 campaign. All six matches were Baker Format (four game, total pinfall). The Mavericks also fell to 11th place out of 20 teams in the field with a total pinfall of 9,481. #4 Nebraska is leading the field with 10,759.
MSU opened up the day with a pair of victories, first taking down #10 Valparaiso 686-634. The Mavericks fell behind after the first game of the match, but roared back with a 228 in the second game - recording a clean sheet in the process - to take a 44-pin lead at the midway point, an advantage they would not relinquish. Freshman Hali Clark and senior Ashley Clinchoc each had four strikes in the win over the Crusaders.
Minnesota State then followed with an 685-638 trimumph over Winston-Salem State. Once again, the Mavericks trailed after the first game - this time by six pins - and once again they responded with back-to-back games of 188 and 224 to take a 72-pin advantage into the final game, and they were able to hold on to the win from that point. In the third game, MSU bounced back from an open frame in the first to notch nine consecutive marks down the stretch en route to posting its highest game total of the day. Junior Sarah Izydorek had six strikes in eight frames against WSSU.
From that on, the schedule got noticably more difficult as the Mavericks lost their final four matches against four teams ranked in the top 11 in the nation - including three of the top five. MSU battled hard against #3 Fairleigh Dickinson, dropping a 753-731 decision despite posting its highest score of the day. Izydorek had marks in all eight frames she bowled against FDU, with three strikes to her credit.
A match with #4 Nebraska then ensued, with the Cornhuskers coming out on top of a 760-723 decision. The Mavericks bowled fairly well throughout the match, holding a 13 pin lead after two games, and finishing with match-high 206, but it was not enough as Nebraska closed with games of 222 and 190 to earn the win. Clark rolled eight marked frames in that match, with four of those being strikes.
Against #11 Saint Francis, Minnesota State got off to a hot start with scores of 212, 154 and 201 leading the squad to a 43-pin lead heading into the final game. However, the Mavericks struggled in the final game, and Saint Francis rolled back for a 716-681 victory.
In the final match of the day, MSU once again faced a top-five squad, this time #5 Delaware State, and once again the higher-ranked opponent came out on top via a 734-655 score. One highlight from the DSU match was Hoover throwing nine strikes to close out the day on a high note.
The Mavericks will conclude the 2009-10 season tomorrow with three Baker Matches (best 4-games-out-of-7 format), beginning at 8:30 a.m. MSU faces #15 Alabama A&M in its first contest of the day, and then will find out its two remaining opponents following its first match.
