Ladyjacks Eye Track Kat Klash, Continue Fall Tournament Slate

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NACOGDOCHES, Texas – After a bright start to the 2018-19 season two weeks ago in New Orleans, the SFA bowling team will attempt to pick back up where it left off this weekend in Houston at Sam Houston State's Track Kat Klash. The Ladyjacks will take on the three-day, 18-team tournament held at the Emerald Lanes beginning Friday, Nov. 2 with the event concluding on Sunday, Nov. 4.

SFA, who is currently ranked No. 6 nationally according to the National Tenpin Coaches Association's (NTCA) preseason poll, is one of 12 teams among the nation's top 25 bowling in Houston this weekend. Seven of the country's top 10 programs will converge at the Track Kat Klash as the sixth-ranked Ladyjacks will be joined by second-ranked McKendree, No. 3 Nebraska, fourth-ranked Sam Houston State, No. 5 Arkansas State, seventh-ranked Maryland-Eastern Shore and No. 10 Tulane. Other nationally-ranked teams in action at the Emerald Lanes will be 16th-ranked UAB, No. 17 Louisiana Tech, 22nd-ranked Maryville University, No. 23 Monmouth and 25th-ranked Texas Southern.

Youngstown State, Prairie View A&M and Alabama State will also be competing at the event and are each receiving votes in the national poll, while Alabama A&M, Grambling State and Southern University complete the tournament's field. Host Sam Houston State and 2016 NCAA national champion SFA are two of the Southland Bowling League's six teams taking part in the tournament as Arkansas State, Louisiana Tech, Tulane and Youngstown State will likewise be representing the league.

Five, five-game Baker matches starting at 9:55 a.m. CST will kick off the Track Kat Klash Friday, Nov. 2, followed by five traditional team matches Saturday, Nov. 3 beginning at 9:30 a.m. Bracket play will determine a tournament champion Sunday, Nov. 4 with three rounds of best 4-of-7 bracket play Baker matches getting underway at 8:30 a.m. Seeding for Sunday's bracket play will be based on teams' pinfall total from Friday and Saturday's Baker and team matches.

Friday's Matches
The Ladyjacks have been placed in pool B and will take on Southern University in their opening match on lanes 27 and 28. SFA will then bowl against 10th-ranked Tulane on lanes 31 and 32, before matching up against No. 7 Maryland-Eastern Shore on lanes 17 and 18 and 22nd-ranked Maryville University on lanes 33 and 34. To close out the opening day of competition, the Ladyjacks will take on Prairie View A&M on lanes 11 and 12.

Tournament History
The Track Kat Klash is in its eighth year of existence and is being hosted at the Emerald Lanes for the fourth-straight year after previously being held at the Huntsville Lanes in 2011 and 2012 and the Palace Lanes in Houston in 2013. The host Bearkats captured team titles the first two years of the event, while Arkansas State took home top honors in 2013 and Nebraska won back-to-back tournament championships in 2014 and 2015. Sam Houston State won the Track Kat Klash once again in 2016 and then the Huskers in 2017. The Ladyjacks placed fifth out of 21 teams in the 2017 version of the event and was seventh out of 17 teams in 2016. Competing in the tournament each of the previous seven seasons, SFA has finished no better than fifth at the annual event.

The Venue
Emerald Bowl has been home to some of the most significant events in NCAA bowling history. The inaugural NCAA Bowling Championship in 2004 was played inside the lanes and in 2006 the NCAA championship returned to Emerald Bowl.

Last Time on the Lanes
At the Allstate Sugar Bowl Collegiate Invitational in New Orleans, the Ladyjacks opened up their 2018-19 campaign by turning in a second-place finish among 14 total teams, which included seven nationally-ranked programs. SFA earned five match wins over top-25 opponents and claimed a pair of match victories over fourth-ranked Sam Houston State. After earning the No. 2 seed for bracket play, the Ladyjacks ousted the Bearkats with a 4-1 opening round win to reach the title match, where they were narrowly edged 4.5-3.5 by No. 17 Louisiana Tech. Completing the tournament with an 8-5 record and racking up 12,351 total pins, SFA had each of its five starting bowlers finish among the top 22 of 98 total competitors. Both seniors Dakotah Hazlewood and Paige Beeney were named to the Allstate Sugar Bowl Collegiate Invitational All-Tournament Team after each finished in the top five of the individual standings. Hazlewood placed second with a 203.4 average in five traditional team games, while Beeney was fifth with a 195.2 game average.

Up Next…
The Ladyjacks will wrap up their fall schedule of tournaments next week in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, at the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater's Warhawk Classic held Friday-Sunday, Nov. 9-11. After having the remainder of November and December off from competition, SFA will return to the lanes for tournament action Jan. 11-13 in Jonesboro, Arkansas, for Arkansas State's Mid-Winter Invitational.

Stay tuned to SFAJacks.com, as well as SFA's social media platforms, for complete coverage of Ladyjack bowling throughout the fall.

-SFA-

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Ladyjacks Eye Track Kat Klash, Continue Fall Tournament Slate

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