Smyna, Tenn. --- The Minnesota State University women’s bowling team – which earlier in the day re-entered the NTCA National Poll at #19 – stands in 14th place out of 20 teams following the first day of competition at the Columbia 300 Music City Classic. The Mavericks went 2-4 on the day, with all six matches played in Baker Format (four games, total pinfall), moving their record to 28-38 on the year.
In the opener against #8 Arkansas State, Minnesota State scored higher than the Red Wolves in two of the games, and tied them in the third. However, the difference proved to be in the third game of the match when ASU uncorked a 276, which proved to be the difference in an 818-748 win for Arkansas State.
MSU rebounded by knocking off #16 Alabama A&M 715-669 in the second contest. The Mavericks trailed all the through the match, before ripping off a 203 in the fourth game to rally for the victory.
A 780-703 loss to Monmouth followed before Minnesota State would record its second win of the day, this time downing Texas Southern in a tight 776-754 decision. Neither team lead by more than six pins until the final game, with MSU closing out the match with consecutive 201 scores to rally for the win.
Defending national champion and unanimous #1 Fairleigh Dickinson was MSU’s next opponent, and the Mavericks held tough early, trailing by only eight after the first game. But FDU scored well throughout the entire match, rolling to a 830-704 win.
The sixth and final match of the day saw Southern rally for a 667-653 over Minnesota State. The Mavericks held the lead throughout, entering the final game with a 56-pin advantage. But Southern rolled off a game-high 193 in the finale, and were able to escape with the 14-pin victory.
The Mavericks will continue play in the Columbia 300 Music City Classic tomorrow with six more matches to be played in the Five-Person Team Game Format.
