Huskers Remain First At Mid-Winter Invitational

Jonesboro – The Nebraska bowling team sits in first place after the second day of the Mid-Winter Invitational.

“Today was another solid day for the team,” Head Coach Paul Klempa said. “The lanes were more difficult for us today than yesterday and we made a few more mistakes than yesterday, but overall it was still a good performance. Good enough to keep ahold of first place and win three of four matches. We expect a big finish to the event tomorrow morning.”

NU is currently first, ahead of No. 16 Stephen F. Austin by 174 pins. No. 2 Arkansas State sat in third with No. 11 Youngstown State and top-ranked McKendree rounding out the top five.

Klempa went on to say, “Crystal (Elliott) and Cassidy (Ray) were steady contributors all day today and that helped us to win matches and post some solid scores.”

Bowling for the Huskers were Michelle Guarro, Kendyl Hofmeister, Kayla Verstraete, Ray and Elliott.

Elliott leads the team sitting in sixth with a pinfall of 1,105. Ray is in 10th scoring 1,073 on the day. Verstraete sits in 21st with a total pinfall of 1,034 followed by Hofmeister (26th, 1,027) and Guarro (34th, 982).

To begin the day, the Huskers took on No. 8 Sam Houston State and earned a 1,006-999 victory. Verstraete led the team with a score of 235 with Elliott in second, scoring 211. Ray scored 205 followed by Guarro (185) and Hofmeister (170).

Next up for NU was top-ranked McKendree and the bowlers powered forward to a huge 1,080-945 win. Elliott bowled a day-high 258 as she led the team with Verstraete (247) right behind her. Ray also had a game over 200 with 208 as Hofmeister bowled a 190 and Guarro a 177. All the bowlers struck out against McKendree in the tenth frame, propelling them to victory.

In their third matchup of the day, the Huskers faced No. 11 Youngstown State where they suffered their lone loss of the day, falling 1,096-1,138. Hofmeister bowled the highest score for the Huskers for the day with a 268. Ray (224) was second followed closely by Elliott (208), Guarro (200) and Verstraete (196).

Drury was the last match for NU on the day where the team earned a 1,010-956 victory to go 3-1 on the day. Elliott held a score of 226 with Guarro (210) and Hofmeister (204) having games over 200 as well. Ray was fourth for the Huskers with 199 and Verstraete scoring 171.

NU had a bye for the last match of the day but shot 1,029. Ray led the team with 237 as Guarro scored 210 followed by Elliott with 202. Rounding out the bowlers was Hofmeister (195) and Verstraete (185).

The Huskers continue bowling at 8:25 a.m. on Sunday against No. 16 Stephen F. Austin before bracket play begins.

Mid-Winter Invitational Day Two Standings

1. No. 5 Nebraska (10,715)

2. No. 16 Stephen F. Austin (10,541)

3. No. 2 Arkansas State (10,431)

4. No. 11 Youngstown State (10,287)

5. No. 1 McKendree (10,204)

6. No. 8 Sam Houston State (10,078)

7. No. 23 Wisconsin-Whitewater (10,015)

8. No. 17 Tulane (9,990)

9. No. 14 Maryville (9,843)

10. Drury (9,392)

11. No. 22 Central Missouri (9,386)