Bowling in Seventh Place Heading into Final Day of Mid-Winter Invitational
1/13/2018 9:44:00 PM | Women's Bowling
Ladyjacks post 2-3 record in traditional team matches Saturday, earn No. 7 seed for Sunday’s bracket play with 9,722 pinfall total
JONESBORO, Ark. – On the second day of play at Arkansas State's Mid-Winter Invitational, the Stephen F. Austin bowling team picked up a pair of wins but finished with a 2-3 record in five traditional team matches, improving to 6-4 overall in the highly-competitive tournament. The Ladyjacks claimed another 4,783 pins to bring their two-day pinfall total to 9,722 and secure the No. 7 seed for Sunday's bracket play at the Hijinx Family Entertainment Center.
SFA, who is ranked seventh nationally according to the December National Tenpin Coaches Association (NTCA) top-25 poll, started the day 2-0 after claiming a victory over fellow Southland Bowling League member and ninth-ranked Tulane and defeating Drury University.
With a lineup of junior Paige Beeney (Salado, Texas), freshman Dakota Faichnie (Innisfil, Ontario, Canada), junior Dakotah Hazlewood (Capron, Ill.), and freshmen Sarah Voiers (Chesterton, Ind.) and Sarah Gill (Attleboro, Mass.) in the opening three matches of the day, the Ladyjacks started off strong by registering 1,024 pins against No. 9 Tulane. With the Green Wave gaining 933 pins in the match, SFA secured the 91-pin victory after getting a team-high 251 game from Faichnie, in addition to a 201 by Beeney and a 200 from Gill.
In their second match of the morning, the Ladyjacks took down Drury by a count of 903-874. A match-high game of 192 was bowled by Voiers, while Gill contributed a 183 and Faichnie a 181. However, it would be the final match win of the day for SFA as the Ladyjacks suffered three-straight defeats.
Facing its second SBL team of the day, SFA was narrowly edged 985-965 by 19th-ranked Louisiana Tech. Despite Beeney bowling to the tune of 237 and Hazlewood chipping in a game of 217, the Ladyjacks were unable to match the pin total of the Lady Techsters. Reigning NCAA national champion and second-ranked McKendree University handed SFA its second loss of the day as the Ladyjacks came up just eight pins short of the Bearcats (1,012-1,004). Four of SFA's bowlers recorded games of 200 against McKendree with sophomore Megan Eaglehouse (Cibolo, Texas) leading the way with a 206 as Beeney and Voiers both bowled a 203 and Hazlewood claimed a 202.
Taking on their third SBL opponent of the day, the Ladyjacks bowled their lowest score at 887 as tournament host and third-ranked Arkansas State finished the match with 989 pins. No SFA bowler posted a game score higher than 186 against the Red Wolves, bringing a close to the second day of competition.
Beeney averaged a game score of 199.4 Saturday to rank 34th among 114 total bowlers, while Hazlewood (191.8) and Voiers (190.8) were 45th and 48th, respectively. Nebraska's Kelly Belzeski averaged a 233.8 to finish as the top bowler, followed closely by Belzeski's teammate Allison Morris (232.2) and UAB's Taylor Russell (230.2).
In a tournament field consisting of 13 of the top 25 teams in the nation, top-ranked Nebraska secured the No. 1 seed for bracket play, while No. 4 Vanderbilt is the second seed and fifth-ranked Sam Houston State is seeded third. Nebraska owns 10,589 total pins to sit atop the 20-team field with the Commodores totaling 10,413 pins through the 10 matches and the Bearkats tallying 10,256.
The Ladyjacks will vie for a fifth-place finish at the Mid-Winter Invitational Sunday beginning at 8:30 a.m. SFA will bowl three best 4-of-7 Baker matches, facing UAB, tied 14th nationally and seeded eighth, first. Should the Ladyjacks defeat the Blazers, SFA will take on the loser of No. 5 seed Arkansas State and sixth-seeded Tulane. Teams' pinfall total from the first two days of competition determined seeding for Sunday's bracket play.
SFA's play at the Mid-Winter Invitational can be watched live via the team's Facebook page here.
Stay tuned to SFAJacks.com, as well as SFA's social media platforms, for complete coverage of Ladyjack bowling throughout this winter and spring.
Mid-Winter Invitational – Day Two Results
Traditional Team Matches
Match One | No. 7 SFA 1,024 – No. 9 Tulane 933
Paige Beeney 201, Dakota Faichnie 251, Dakotah Hazlewood 183, Sarah Voiers 189, Sarah Gill 200
Match Two | – No. 7 SFA 903 – Drury University 874
Paige Beeney 176, Dakota Faichnie 181, Dakotah Hazlewood 171, Sarah Voiers 192, Sarah Gill 183
Match Three | No. 19 Louisiana Tech 985 – No. 7 SFA 965
Paige Beeney 237, Dakota Faichnie 142, Dakotah Hazlewood 217, Sarah Voiers 189, Sarah Gill 180
Match Four | No. 2 McKendree University 1,012 – No. 7 SFA 1,004
Paige Beeney 203, Dakotah Hazlewood 202, Sarah Voiers 203, Sarah Gill 190, Megan Eaglehouse 206
Match Five | No. 3 Arkansas State 989 – No. 7 SFA 887
Paige Beeney 180, Dakotah Hazlewood 186, Sarah Voiers 181, Sarah Gill 167, Megan Eaglehouse 173
-SFA-
Players Mentioned
/ Women's Bowling
/ Women's Bowling
/ Women's Bowling
/ Women's Bowling
/ Women's Bowling
/ Women's Bowling
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