LAS VEGAS – The top-ranked Jacksonville State bowling team started the 2024 calendar year with its third-straight win on Wednesday, when the Gamecocks claimed the Stormin' Blue & White Vegas Classic.
 
The Gamecocks (42-9) capped a 9-3 week at the South Point Bowling Plaza with bracket play wins over No. 2 Vanderbilt and No. 7 Nebraska to secure the third tournament title in the history of a program that has seen just four tournaments in total. Jax State has played in the title match in all four, winning the last three.
 
Wednesday started with a 4-0 sweep of the second-ranked Commodores, starting with a convincing 243-202 win in the first game. The Gamecocks followed with a 193-166 win in the second-game and then closed Vandy out with a 218-194 game-three win and a 214-162 win in the fourth game.
 
Jax State had a bye into the championship match after beating Vandy and waited for Nebraska to earn its way into the matchup. Jax State opened a 2-0 lead on the Huskers after winning game one, 193-162 and game two, 191-176. 
 
Nebraska answered with a 197-182 win in the third game before the Gamecocks pushed them to the brink of elimination with a 267-215 win in the fourth game. The Huskers kept the match alive, winning the fifth game 212-170 and then forcing a winner-take-all seventh game with a 223-203 win in the sixth game.
 
The Gamecocks rolled in game seven, posting a 254-192 win and handing the Huskers their first loss of the Vegas Classic.
 
Three Gamecocks made the All-Tournament Team, with fifth-year seniors Rebecca Hagerman and Crystal Elliott earning first-team honors and fellow fifth-year senior Maranda Pattison was a second-team selection. Hagerman was named Tournament MVP after leading the 123 players with 1,158 total pins and a 231.6 average in traditional play. Elliott was second with 1,149 pins and a 229.8 average, while Pattison's 1,070 pins and 214.0 average were sixth.
 
The Gamecocks will return to the lanes on Jan. 19-21 at Sacred Heart's Northeast Classic in Deptford, N.J.