SMYRNA, Tenn. – After building a big lead on Friday, the Jacksonville State bowling team went 4-1 in Saturday's traditional matches and will be the top seed at the Columbia 300 Music City Classic on Sunday.
The top-ranked Gamecocks dropped their first match of the day at the Smyrna Bowling Center to 10
th-ranked Sam Houston and then rattled off four-straight wins to close the day. They totaled 5,036 pins on Saturday to run their overall total to 10,421 and secure the No. 1 seed in Sunday's bracket.
Jax State will face No. 2 seed and third-ranked Youngstown State to open Sunday's bracket portion in a best-of-seven Baker match. The winner will advance to the title match, while the loser will get another shot to advance by playing the winner of third-seeded North Carolina A&T and Sam Houston.
In Saturday's traditional matches, graduate student
Rebecca Hagerman carried the Gamecocks. The native of Loves Park, Ill., totaled 1,143 pins through five games, an average of 228.6 pis per game and good enough to secure a spot on the All-Tournament Team on Sunday. She had the third-highest total pinfall in the field of over 250 bowlers.
The day started with the loss to Sam Houston, the Gamecocks' first blemish of the weekend. The Bearkats pulled out the 1,018-937 win after Jax State got scores of 229 from Hagerman, 197 from
Anna Warkel, 175 from
Maranda Pattison, 170 from
Crystal Elliott and 166 from
Keyla Covarrubias.
The Gamecocks bounced back in the second match of the day and coasted to a 1,027-802 win over Long Island. Hagerman's 257 paced the win, while Elliott pitched in a 215 and Pattison a 205. Warkel added a 178 and
Dannielle Henderson bowled a 172 in her first action of the weekend.
The top-two seeds in the tournament went toe-to-toe in match three, and Jax State edged Youngstown State by a score of 1,077-1,037. Henderson led the Gamecocks in the win with a 237, not far ahead of Pattison's 231 and Hagerman's 225. Elliott's 195 and
Isabel Allen's 189 pushed them past the Penguins.
Jax State kept on winning the fourth match, posting a 1,072-1,031 win over 15
th-ranked Maryland-Eastern Shore. Henderson shined again, rolling a 247, while Pattison's 237 was just behind. Warkel scored a 214, Hagerman a 203 and Elliott a 174 in the victory.
The day wrapped up with a 923-854 victory over Emmanuel, one that was sparked by Hagerman's 229. Pattison added a 203, Warkel a 170, Henderson a 162 and
Kayla Smith a 159.
The Gamecocks will wrap up the regular season with Sunday's bracket portion of the Music City Classic and will be chasing their seventh tournament title in just their first season as a program.
