Woodbridge, Va. – No. 10 Louisiana Tech bowling team ended the fall portion of the schedule with a fourth-place finish at the Hawk Classic hosted by the University of Maryland Eastern Shore on Sunday at Bowl America Woodbridge.
Louisiana Tech opened the day in fourth and needed to stay there to make it to the championship bracket. The Bulldogs put together a 1,043 to secure the final spot by 48 pins.
With the game coming down to the 10th frame, Patricia Rosales needed two marks to secure the win over Saint Francis. She did that and some by striking out to give the Bulldogs the 1,043-1,031 victory. Allie Leiendecker started with the front six before settling with a 246. Danielle Jedlicki had the front five herself before two 10-pins, and a nine ended the run on her way to a 235. Kylee Trexler finished with a four-bagger for a 205.
With the bracket set, the Bulldogs would take on No. 7 Jacksonville State with the chance of bowling for the tournament title. The Gamecocks secured the one seed by outperforming the field by 400 pins during the qualifying portion.
The Bulldogs started slow in the 243-214 defeat in the first game, but they would begin to find their mark late that would carry over. LA Tech came out with the front four in game two before a couple of tough breaks ended their run at perfection. The Bulldogs tied the match up 267-200. Jax State would take the next three games to take the match 4-1, 221-173, 228-225, and 202-182.
LA Tech found their footing against No. 1 Vanderbilt early with a 226-189 win to open the match. Things started to turn the Commodores way in game two, taking it 201-179. Tech would start to string strikes together, but two splits would hit them in game three, falling 222-201. Vanderbilt would take game four 247-205. Vanderbilt finished the match with the back 10 in game five to take it 268-209 and give them the match 4-1.
QUOTABLES
Head Coach Matt Nantais …
"To end up in fourth is not what we wanted but is very respectable considering the strength of this field. We had a few issues with repeating shots throughout the day but all in all, I am proud of how the team performed and it lets us know what we need to work on for the second half. Our chemistry was the best it's been all year even with some adversity and challenges throughout the week they came together as a team. I look forward to seeing what this group is going to do in the second half."
UP NEXT
The Bulldogs will be off through December and return to the lanes on Jan. 7 at the Stormin' Blue and White Vegas Classic hosted by Mount St. Mary's.
SOCIAL MEDIA
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