The NCAA Bowling Final Four is set
Top-ranked McKendree will be joined by Vanderbilt, Stephen F. Austin and Fairleigh Dickinson in the NCAA Final Four.
It might be April, but college bowling is still in action and four NCAA programs are still dancing.
#1 McKendree, #4 Vanderbilt, #8 Stephen F. Austin and #13 Fairleigh Dickinson will meet at Wayne Webb's Columbus Bowl in Columbus, Ohio next weekend, April 15-16.
The four regionals featured everything you’d want to see in postseason competition.
Fairleigh Dickinson upsets Nebraska
The #2 Cornhuskers will have a quiet flight home to Lincoln, as the Knights dethroned the defending champs.
Nebraska found a great look with weak, shiny equipment in the semifinal. From my perspective, their look didn’t appear to be much different in the final. But five missed single-pins cost them in their 60-pin traditional game loss.
The FDU faithful grew incrementally louder during the five-game Baker match. As the Knights applied pressure, the Cornhuskers could not string enough strikes to keep up.
This marks FDU’s first Final Four since 2012, when Danielle McEwan roamed the New Jersey halls.
Vanderbilt knocks off Arkansas State
I’ve long believed the 2022 Commodores to be the most talented team in the nation. They boast championship experience, a half-dozen Junior Team USA players (maybe more!) and a tenured coaching staff.
Two weeks ago, Vanderbilt ran undefeated through the loaded Southland Conference, which features six of the top-nine teams in the latest NTCA Coaches poll.
Now, after knocking out last year’s runner-ups, they’ll return to the Final Four for the first time since 2019. Just one player remains from that roster, Angelique Dalesandro, and she’s back on the lanes following a foot injury.
Stephen F. Austin powers past Louisiana Tech
In the 2019 Final Four, Stephen F. Austin defeated Maryland Eastern Shore. SFA went onto win the 2019 national title, and they’ll be back again in 2022 — this time starting two players from that UMES squad: Chloe Skurzynski and Isabel Hughes.
SFA emerged from the loaded Dallas regional undefeated. The #8 Ladyjacks were the lowest ranked team in the field, yet did not lose a single point against #3 Sam Houston State, #5 North Carolina A&T and #7 Louisiana Tech.
Carlene Beyer, the lone holdover from that 2019 national championship squad, rolled 242-240-262 in her three traditional games, and she maintained that blistering pace through Baker games. She was SFA’s MVP this weekend, and you’d be hard pressed to have found a more dominant player in the nation.
McKendree survives against Mount St. Mary’s
#11 Mount St. Mary’s gave a valiant effort, sweeping #1 McKendree in the regional final. But, by virtue of winning both matches yesterday, the Bearcats would have to be beaten twice.
And they would not be denied — McKendree won they winner-take-all Baker match in six games, securing a second consecutive Final Four berth.
Led by the all-world coaching duo of Shannon and Bryan O’Keefe and All-American lock Hope Gramly, the Bearcats will head to Columbus as the likely favorites.
This Final Four field checks every box.
- The #1 team? Hello, McKendree.
- The most talented team? What up, Vanderbilt.
- A bit of a Cinderella? Welcome, Fairleigh Dickinson.
- MY SISTER’S TEAM? HOWDY, STEPHEN F. AUSTIN.