Friday, October 20
Kenner, La.
Stephen F. Austin
vs
Allstate Sugar Bowl Collegiate Invitational
SFA Bowling Begins Ninth Season Friday
10/19/2017 12:58:00 PM | Women's Bowling
Ladyjacks open up their 2017-18 season with the first of four tournaments this fall, taking on the Allstate Sugar Bowl Collegiate Invitational in Kenner, Louisiana
NACOGDOCHES, Texas – The 2017 Allstate Sugar Bowl Collegiate Invitational in Kenner, Louisiana, will be the first stop for the Stephen F. Austin women's bowling team as the Ladyjacks begin the 2017-18 season Friday. The ninth season of bowling at SFA features four tournaments this fall, followed by five regular-season events throughout the spring semester.
Hosted by Tulane University for the fifth consecutive year, the Allstate Sugar Bowl Collegiate Invitational will get underway Friday, Oct. 20 and will wrap up on Sunday, Oct. 22 at the AMF All Star Lanes. The three-day tournament will feature a total of 15 teams competing in Baker matches Friday, traditional team matches Saturday and bracket play matches Sunday. Seeding for Sunday's bracket play will be determined by total pins from Friday and Saturday's competition.
"We are looking forward to getting the season started," head coach Amber Lemke said about opening up the Ladyjacks' 2017-18 campaign Friday. "The ladies have put in a lot of hard work during the offseason and it has been noticeable as we started team practices."
Along with SFA and host Tulane, three other Southland Bowling League teams will be in Louisiana for the Allstate Sugar Bowl Collegiate Invitational including Louisiana Tech, Sam Houston State and Valparaiso. Southern University, Texas Southern, Alabama A&M, Bethune-Cookman University, Lincoln Memorial, Jackson State, Florida A&M, Duquesne, Prairie View A&M and UAB complete the 15-team field. Entering the season ranked No. 6 in the nation according to the National Tenpin Coaches Association (NTCA) Preseason Poll, SFA is one of six ranked teams competing in the tournament. Fifth-ranked Sam Houston State will be the top-ranked team in the tournament, followed by the Ladyjacks, No. 17 Tulane, No. 19 UAB, No. 20 Prairie View A&M and No. 25 Duquesne.
"We have attended Tulane's event every year they have hosted it and they do a tremendous job," continued coach Lemke. "The field this year is a good mix of teams. It's a good way to begin the season and see where we are at as a team."
The Allstate Sugar Bowl Collegiate Invitational will get started Friday at 9:15 a.m. with matches beginning at 9:55 a.m. Saturday's matches are slated to start at 8:55 a.m. as bracket play Sunday will be held from 8:30 a.m. until approximately 12 p.m., followed by an awards ceremony. A total of six, five-game Baker matches will be played by each team Friday with teams competing in six traditional team matches Saturday. Sunday's bracket play matches will be three best 4-of-7 Baker matches. Admission to the tournament is free.
A year ago, SFA was runner-up at the Allstate Sugar Bowl Collegiate Invitational, falling 4-1 to champion Tulane in the title match. The Ladyjacks posted a 9-3 overall record in the 2016 version of the tournament, earning a No. 2 seed for bracket play and topping top-seeded Vanderbilt 4.5-3.5 in the opening round.
Led by coach Lemke in her seventh season, SFA is poised for another strong run as a national title contender. The 2016 national champions have tallied a top-10 team finish in 43 consecutive tournaments, a streak that dates back to February of 2013. A season ago, SFA earned top-five finishes in eight of its 11 tournaments competed in. At the 2017 NCAA Championship, the Ladyjacks reached bracket play before bowing out with a pair of 4-3 losses. SFA claimed its best finish at the USBC (United States Bowling Congress) Intercollegiate Team Championships since 2012, reaching the semifinals for its third top-four finish at a national tournament in the last three seasons.
The Ladyjacks welcome back a total of seven letter winners from 2016-17, including three-time NTCA All-American First Team honoree senior Stephanie Schwartz (Racine, Wis.), who recently claimed four gold medals at the Pan American Confederation Youth Championship for USBC Junior Team USA. Also returning for SFA are seniors Kelsi Anderson (San Antonio, Texas) and Morgan Reising (Lewisville, Texas), in addition to juniors Paige Beeney (Salado, Texas) and Dakotah Hazlewood (Capron, Ill.). Along with the five upperclassmen, the Ladyjacks bring back sophomores Megan Eaglehouse (Cibolo, Texas) and Amber Whitcomb (Austin, Texas). A total of four true freshmen will take to the lanes for SFA this season with newcomers Dakota Faichnie (Innisfil, Ontairo, Canada), Sarah Gill (Attleboro, Mass.), Annie Leihardt (Georgetown, Texas) and Sarah Voiers (Chesterton, Ind.).
Following this weekend's Allstate Sugar Bowl Collegiate Invitational, SFA will head to Lebanon, Illinois, for the Brunswick Bearcat Open hosted by reigning NCAA champion McKendree University Friday-Sunday, Oct. 27-29. The Ladyjacks will then be back in action at Sam Houston State's Track Kat Klash Friday-Sunday, Nov. 3-5 in Houston, Texas. SFA will wrap up its fall portion of the 2017-18 schedule Thursday-Sunday, Nov. 9-12, in Kenosha, Wisconsin, at the Wisconsin-Whitewater Warhawk Classic. Following their fall slate, the Ladyjacks will have two months off from competition before returning to tournament play in January.
The spring championship season for SFA gets underway Jan. 12-14 at the Mid-Winter Invitational in Jonesboro, Arkansas. The following weekend, the Ladyjacks will take on the Kutztown Invite in Reading, Pennsylvania, Jan. 19-21, before participating in the Prairie View A&M Invitational Feb. 2-4 in Arlington, Texas. For the fourth-straight season, SFA will host the Stormin' Ladyjack Classic in Houston, Texas, Feb. 16-18. Beginning the month of March, the Ladyjacks will compete in the USBC Sectionals March 10-11 prior to heading to Smyrna, Tennessee, for Vanderbilt's Columbia 300 Music City Classic held March 16-18. It will be SFA's final regular season tournament before the 2017 Southland Bowling League Championship in Dallas, Texas, March 23-24. Should the Ladyjacks qualify, the 2018 NCAA National Championship tournament takes place April 12-14 in St. Louis, Missouri. SFA will wrap up the 2017-18 season at the USBC Intercollegiate Team Championships in Lincoln, Nebraska, April 19-21.
Complete Allstate Sugar Bowl Collegiate Invitational information, including schedule and results, can be found via the tournament's home page here.
Stay tuned to SFAJacks.com, as well as SFA's social media platforms, for complete coverage of Ladyjack bowling throughout the 2017-18 season.
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