ARLINGTON, Texas — Louisiana Tech's bowling team finished in ninth place at the Prairie View Invitational on Sunday at the International Training and Research Center.
The 12th-ranked Bulldogs (47-30) went 2-1 on the day with wins over Texas Southern and No. 14 Duquesne. Abbie Leiendecker finished in seventh with a 1,364 for a 227.33 average. Kylee Trexler rolled a 1,340 (223.33 avg.) to end the weekend in 10thg. Rachel Ong shot 1,283 (213.83 avg.) for a 21st-place finish.
LA Tech opened the day with a 1,018-894 loss to No. 3 Nebraska. Paulina Avalos was high with a 191. Trexler, Leiendecker, and Jenna Stretch were all in the 180s.
The Bulldogs ended the qualifying portion of the tournament in ninth and bowled the Tigers to start bracket play. Tech began strong with a 194 to win the first game but would drop the next two to fall behind. Strikes began falling for the 'Dogs to win the next three with 213, 237, and 186.
That would set up a match with the Dukes that would go six. Duquesne would take game one, 219-190. Louisiana Tech would take game two with an 189 and follow that up with a 201-195 win to take the lead. Leiendecker struck on the first ball in the 10th and spared in the fill to lock up the game. Two opens early in game five hurt Tech in a 234-215 loss. The 'Dogs would flip the script and close the match with a 233-215 victory.
QUOTEABLES
Head Coach Matt Nantais
"This tournament is one of the premier events of the year, and there are no easy victories here. As a team, we delivered our best bowling of the year over the first two days. On Sunday, we started a little slow but managed to regroup and finish strong with two victories to end the day above .500. Competing in a field dominated by top-10 teams in the nation, this was no small feat. While there's still work to be done before our next quick turnaround, the progress we've made and the direction we're heading in are undeniably positive."
UP NEXT
Louisiana Tech will finish off three straight weekends of tournament action with a trip to St. Louis for the Columbia 300 Saints Invite hosted by No. 9 Maryville at Bowlero Lakeside. The Bulldog matches will be streamed live on the LA Tech Bowling YouTube page.
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