BESSEEMAR, Al. (2/26/12) – The
Arkansas State bowling team won its second tournament of the year after
defeating Central Missouri and Vanderbilt on the final day of competition at
the Holiday Classic tournament hosted by Alabama A&M on Sunday.
The victory
marked the first time this season that the ASU bowling team won a tournament on
Sunday after its previous victory at the Big Red Invitational in Lincoln, Neb.,
concluded on a Saturday. This also marked the seventh straight tournament in
which A-State had finished third or better in this season.
“It feels
good to finally get that win on Sunday,” ASU bowling coach Justin Kostick said.
“We've been in every tournament we have played in this year and to finally
close out a victory on Sunday feels really good.”
In the
championship match against Vanderbilt the Red Wolves battled the Commodores and
tough lane conditions. The right lane proved to be the better lane and A-State
used that to its advantage after winning the sixth game and having its choice
of lanes for the final game.
“The right
side had proven to be the better scoring throughout the match,” Kostick said. “The
left side was tight on scoring all day and we went with the right side in the
final game and it paid off.”
In the
seventh game ASU bested Vanderbilt 223-200 to edge the Commodores 4-3 in the
match. A-State opened the match with a 211-190 loss, but bounced back to even
the match at 1-1 with a 232-191 victory. Vanderbilt responded with a 188-156
win, but the Red Wolves again tied the match with a 211-187 win in game four.
The Commodores won game five 214-162, but ASU rallied in game six for a
dominating 268-200 to force the decisive seventh game.
In the day's
opening match against Central Missouri the Red Wolves faced a similar path to
victory. A-State needed seven games to defeat Central Missouri and again
Kostick choose the right lane in the seventh game because scoring conditions
have proved better on the right side. ASU defeated the Jennies 279-157 in the
seventh game to move on the championship game against Vanderbilt.
Sophomore Ashley Rucker was named to
the all-tournament team for the second time this season after finishing the fourth
in the individual standings with a 211 per game average. The Red Wolves
improved to 68-20 on the year and pushed their winning percentage to .773
percent on the season.
A-State will bowl in its final
tournament of the regular season in Smyrna, Tenn., March 16-18 for the Music
City Classic hosted by Vanderbilt University.
