A new star shines for Husker bowling

The No. 1-ranked Nebraska women’s bowling team went on the road to compete at the Music City Classic in Nashville, TN last weekend. Fresh off their Central Missouri championship the previous week, the Huskers were locked in and ready to roll.

A bright young star emerged for the Cornhuskers. Sophomore Gazmine Mason placed 1st in the individual standings last Saturday. She averaged 230.60 over five games. With scores of 219, 244, 224, 247 and 219 she earned MVP honors at the end of the three-day-event.

Unfortunately, the tournament was affected by a late Winter storm completely changing the format. Several teams did not arrive until Saturday and a couple of teams had to cancel completely. Instead of a tournament based upon three days of competition, the Music City Classic operated as 3, single-day tournaments. According to the NCAA rule book, no champion could be awarded on Sunday due to that change.

In Friday’s competition, the Big Red came in second behind Sam Houston State. In the 5 game Baker format, Husker bowling went 4 -1 with a total pin fall of 5,124 for a 205 average per game.

With nearly all the teams in place on Saturday, the format changed from Baker match to standard league match competition. Nebraska ran into a bit of trouble during the 5 games Saturday afternoon. Open frames occurred due to difficulty in hitting spares. At day’s end, the Huskers found themselves in 7th place with a game average of 201.8 and a total pin fall of 5,044.

Husker Bowling shoes (courtesy Liz Kuhlkin)

The Big Red made a sparkling comeback on Sunday. Returning once again to the Baker match format, the Huskers placed FIRST. A perfect record of 4-0, the no.1 team in the nation showed the assembled bowling field how it’s done. With a pin fall of 5,310, the Huskers had the top average score of 212.4 per game.

More from Husker Corner

• Former Nebraska football star returns to the program in new role
• Travis Hunter injury uproar has some Nebraska football fans reminding Colorado about Adrian Martinez
• Nebraska Football: Freshman RB in line for big playing time
• Nebraska Cornhuskers News: Heinrich Haarberg has believer in Rhule, more
• Nebraska Football: Matt Rhule faces tough decision between Heinrich Haarberg and Jeff Sims

It was the last regular season bowling tournament for two Husker seniors, Liz Kuhlkin and Andrea Ruiz. Anchoring the Huskers all season long, these two young women have mentored the underclassmen and built life-long relationships. Over the three-day event, Liz Kuhlkin placed 12th individually with a 213 average while Andrea Ruiz bowled an average of 195.

Husker bowling has some down time for a couple of weeks now. The NCAA Women’s Bowling Selection Show is not scheduled until March 25. They will be practicing and waiting to see if they are chosen to compete in the NCAA Bowling Championships April 9-11 in St. Louis, MO. Stay tuned for further updates and as always, GO BIG RED!!