SMYRNA, Tenn. – The Jacksonville State bowling team closed its regular season with a title on Sunday, when the Gamecocks stormed to the championship of Vanderbilt's Columbia 300 Music City Classic.
The top-ranked and top-seeded Gamecocks (93-23) recouped after an early 4-1 Baker loss to No. 3 and second-seeded Youngstown State. They bounced back with a 4-2 win over third-seeded and fifth-ranked North Carolina A&T to set up a rematch with YSU and capitalized the second time around.
Wrapping up the regular season in its inaugural bowling campaign, Jax State jumped out on the Penguins and held on for a 4-2 win that gave the Gamecocks and head coach
Shannon O'Keefe their seventh title in 10 scheduled events. They will now turn their focus on the postseason, which starts with the Conference USA Championship later this week in New Orleans.
Sunday was another time for O'Keefe's veteran-laden team to sine under pressure. The Gamecocks, after a dominant two days of qualifying at the Music City Classic, ran into a speed bump early on the final day and relied on that veteran leadership to lead them. Two of those veterans were honored after the tournament, with graduate senior
Rebecca Hagerman earning all-tournament honors and graduate senior
Maranda Pattison being tabbed Tournament MVP.
Youngstown State knocked the Gamecocks down to start the day, winning the first three games in its semifinal match, despite not breaking 200 until the third game. The Penguins capitalized on a slow start by Jax State, claiming wins of 192-161, 197-194 and 225-190 to open up a 3-0 lead. The Gamecocks battled to a 199-194 win in the fourth game to extend the match, but YSU used a 235-213 performance in game five to seal its spot in the title match.
The Gamecocks got another chance at playing for the title, facing an NCAT squad that had just handled fourth-seeded Sam Houston. The two went back-and-forth to start, with the Aggies winning the first game 222-192 and Jax State evening the match with a 171-159 game-two win.
NCAT reclaimed the lead with a 208-193 win in the third game, forcing Jax State to make an adjustment. O'Keefe made a lineup change for the fourth game, moving Pattison into the anchor position, and she put her team on her back from there. The tournament MVP led Jax State to three-straight wins (227-220, 258-235 and 265-197) to put away the Aggies and propel the Gamecocks into a rematch with YSU for the tournament title.
Behind the lineup of
Isabel Allen,
Crystal Elliott,
Dannielle Henderson, Hagerman and Pattison, Jax State took control early in the final, getting an impressive performance in a 246-178 win in game one. After the Penguins tied the match with a 239-235 win in the second game, the Gamecocks pushed them to the brink of defeat by winning the third (207-177) and fourth (214-182) games.
YSU used a 180-169 win in game five to remain alive, but Jax State put the title away with a 177-152 win in the sixth game.
The Gamecocks will now get ready for a quick turnaround to the CUSA Championship, which will be held at Colonial Lanes in Hanrahan, La., just outside of New Orleans. Jax State will likely be the No. 1 seed in the tournament and will start play in the double-elimination, nine-team bracket on Friday at 9 a.m. against the winner of Thursday's match between the No. 8 and No. 9 seed.
The tournament will be the toughest of all conference championships in collegiate bowling, with a nine-team field that features nine teams in the top 17 in the latest NTCA Coaches Poll. Each of the top four teams in the poll (No. 1 Jax State, No. 2 Arkansas State, No. 3 Youngstown State and No. 4 Vanderbilt) will lead the field. Seeding will be based on RPI, which also currently ranks projects Jax State at the top.
