2008 Woodie Awards
Bowlers begin peaking as season finale nears
Matt Twillman
Issue date: 3/23/06 Section: Sports
- Page 1 of 1
The Jennies' bowling team seems to be peaking just at the right time. Coming off an impressive second place finish in the Music City NCAA Invitational in Nashville, Tenn., the Jennies are looking forward to their final regular season event, the Brunswick NCAA Invitational.
The tournament, held in Lake Zurich, Ill., will feature the top seven ranked teams in the country, including the University of Nebraska and Fairleigh Dickinson, the only two teams ranked ahead of the No. 3 Jennies.
Before the Music City Invitational, the Jennies competed in the Morgan State Invitational and the Alabama A&M Holiday Classic, finishing fifth and fourth respectively.
"Those were sub-par performances for us," Coach Ron Holmes said. "We didn't play very well, and we were inconsistent, which has been one of our concerns since the start of the year."
The team had turned it around by the second day of the Music City tournament, a day when they defeated Nebraska and went 4-0 against teams ranked in the top 10.
Bryanna Caldwell was named the MVP of the event and made the All-Tournament Team by holding the top average of 231. Two other Jennies, Tina Peak and Kim Wirth, also made the team.
While Holmes said the Jennies weren't all on the same page in the previous two tournaments, they certainly made progress in Nashville.
"We were consistent and played together in Nashville," Holmes said. "We did a better job of getting everyone on the same page. If we repeat that this weekend, it will be the best thing to push us to an event title."
Holmes said the team will use the Baker format both this weekend and at the NCAA Women's National Championships. The Baker format features five bowlers, with each bowler rolling two frames a game. The first bowler will roll the first and sixth frames, the second bowler will roll the second and seventh, and so on.
"We'll need to work well together and play off each other to win, and we do those things with Baker format," Holmes said.
Holmes has also noticed improvement in his team, notably with Peak and Wirth, who he said have turned in solid performances lately. He is also happy with the way the young players have found their roles and gotten experience on a team with so much depth.
Hopefully that depth will prove to be the difference between the Jennies and their competitors both this weekend and in the national championships.
The tournament, held in Lake Zurich, Ill., will feature the top seven ranked teams in the country, including the University of Nebraska and Fairleigh Dickinson, the only two teams ranked ahead of the No. 3 Jennies.
Before the Music City Invitational, the Jennies competed in the Morgan State Invitational and the Alabama A&M Holiday Classic, finishing fifth and fourth respectively.
"Those were sub-par performances for us," Coach Ron Holmes said. "We didn't play very well, and we were inconsistent, which has been one of our concerns since the start of the year."
The team had turned it around by the second day of the Music City tournament, a day when they defeated Nebraska and went 4-0 against teams ranked in the top 10.
Bryanna Caldwell was named the MVP of the event and made the All-Tournament Team by holding the top average of 231. Two other Jennies, Tina Peak and Kim Wirth, also made the team.
While Holmes said the Jennies weren't all on the same page in the previous two tournaments, they certainly made progress in Nashville.
"We were consistent and played together in Nashville," Holmes said. "We did a better job of getting everyone on the same page. If we repeat that this weekend, it will be the best thing to push us to an event title."
Holmes said the team will use the Baker format both this weekend and at the NCAA Women's National Championships. The Baker format features five bowlers, with each bowler rolling two frames a game. The first bowler will roll the first and sixth frames, the second bowler will roll the second and seventh, and so on.
"We'll need to work well together and play off each other to win, and we do those things with Baker format," Holmes said.
Holmes has also noticed improvement in his team, notably with Peak and Wirth, who he said have turned in solid performances lately. He is also happy with the way the young players have found their roles and gotten experience on a team with so much depth.
Hopefully that depth will prove to be the difference between the Jennies and their competitors both this weekend and in the national championships.