QUOTES FROM THE 2010 NCAA WOMEN’S BOWLING CHAMPIONSHIP FOLLOWING THE AFTERNOON SESSION ON THURSDAY, APRIL 8, 2010:
University of Nebraska head coach Bill Straub on his team’s opening day performance: “Right now I’m pleased that this day is done. This is getting to be a very long day. It’s getting warmer in the [center], and we have kids that are pretty tired. They certainly are pleased with the way they played. They held themselves together well in that respect, and we certainly are pleased with that.”
Straub on the teams being asked to compete in seven games in one day: “Seven is a lot of games, there is no question about that, but it’s regular team games, so that helps.”
Straub on Nebraska earning the top seed entering play on Friday: “We’re pleased. Absolutely pleased.”
Straub on whether being the top seed places a target on his team: “I don’t think so. There certainly are some residual benefits to being the top seed, and hopefully we‘ll be able to take advantage of some of them.”
Nebraska senior Cassandra Leuthold on her team claiming the top seed entering play on Friday: “We had a good day.”
Leuthold on the players being asked to compete in seven games in a single day: “I’ve been here at nationals for the past three years, and this is a new format for everyone. It is a really long day which requires endurance, and unfortunately, I kind of went a little bit downhill in the last two games. I’m dealing with a back injury and I’m probably borderline hyperglycemic, but regardless I needed a little more energy out there at the end of the day”
Leuthold on the condition of the lanes throughout the day: “Every pair was consistent except for lanes 53 and 54. Lanes 53 and 54 were difficult for me. In the first match, I wound up leaving seven 10-pins in one game and that was after changing three balls. It was a little difficult to deal with. In our second match on that pair against Central Missouri, in the10th frame, I threw a pocket shot and left a 7-10 split. There’s nothing you can do about that, but every other pair played pretty consistently.”
Leuthold on whether her team set a goal of earning the top seed coming into play today: “No, our goal was just to have fun. That’s exactly what we did.”
Leuthold on whether there is an advantage to being the top seed heading into play on Friday: “There really is no advantage. You have to go out and throw the ball the same way, no matter where you’re seeded. We still need to take things one frame at a time.”
Leuthold on competing in the baker format tomorrow: “I am excited. I love the feeling of survival if you advance. I like going out there and pulling together, clinging to each other for dear life, and hoping that each shot is good enough to make it to the next match and onto the next round. I think we’re ready and we’re going to do okay.”
Leuthold on the importance of winning the first match on Friday: “It is completely irrelevant. My goal and the goal of every other one of my teammates is to throw the ball the best that we can, hit the 1-3 [pocket] and pick up whatever spares we need. It is as simple as that.”
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Arkansas State University head coach Justin Kostick on his team’s strong finish to the day: “I’m pleased. Like I said earlier, I wanted to go 3-0 in the afternoon to hold our own space for the two seed, but we ended up winning our last match, so I like where we’re at in the bracket and I like our chances in that regard.”
Kostick on the physical endurance needed to compete in seven matches in a single day: “It’s not just physical endurance, because one of the things that I teach is the fundamental aspects of the game, and I think if you’re more fundamentally prepared, the better you will perform under pressure. I compare it to a [former NFL great] Jerry Rice scenario. Jerry Rice used to find out someone else’s workout and take it one step further. I try to do the same thing with our players. Whatever other teams do, I try to take our team one step further.”
Kostick on whether he is comfortable with his team’s seeding heading into play on Friday: “We have the two seed, and I think we will face either Maryland-Eastern Shore or Delaware State. We got a pretty good look on the fresh [oil]. We have a lot of girls that like to bowl straight through the pocket, so I like where we’re at.“
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New Jersey City University head coach Frank Parisi on whether he was pleased with his team’s performance throughout the day: “Absolutely. I think we ran out of gas a little bit in the last match, but Vanderbilt bowled a terrific game. We went 4-3 against this top-notch field, and the way we bowled the first six games, I’m very happy about it. I just hope we can duplicate it again tomorrow. I don’t see why we can’t.“
Parisi on bowling seven matches in one day: “There is no day in the season where we bowl seven games in one day, and I think it showed for our team. Hopefully we’ll have a good meal and get a good night’s sleep and come out fresh tomorrow.“
Parisi on whether he is comfortable with his team’s seeding heading into Friday: “I think we’re going to be seeded fourth, so we earned one of the higher seeds in the first round. We would have liked to have been second or third, but there is nothing we can do about it now. We have our seed, and we’ll go with what we got.”
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Fairleigh Dickinson University head coach Mike LoPresti on his team finishing on a high note: “It really was a rollercoaster day for us. Hopefully the high note that we finished on can carry over into tomorrow.”
LoPresti on his team’s mindset heading into play on Friday: “Today is a positive day. This is a very important day for seeding because the higher seeds have a huge privilege in terms of the selection of lanes, what lane to finish on, and tiebreaker lanes. But if you’re going to have a rough day, the first day of this tournament is the day to have it. It ended up being a positive day for us, even with a losing record, because we have some momentum going into Friday.”
LoPresti on the play of freshman Danielle McEwan: “I thought she was outstanding today. She really only had one rough game where her spare game collapsed on her. She rebounded real well, and she’s a key player in our attack. She finished with a 230, and she looked like she had her footing back. That’s certainly going to help us tomorrow.”
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University of Central Missouri head coach Ron Holmes on competing in seven games in a single day: “This is a long format, and it’s a little tougher on the athletes, especially those who haven’t been through this before.”
Holmes on his team’s seeding heading into play on Friday: “It is what it is. We certainly would have liked to have played better today, but the inexperience of our youthful roster showed. Tomorrow, anything goes, and sometimes the higher seeds do well, and sometime they get knocked around a little bit. Tomorrow will be very interesting.”
Holmes on the importance of winning the first match on Friday: “I think it sets up everything. If you can win that first match, you put yourself in pretty good shape to at least get your feet underneath you. If you can survive the first match, it works well for you. Otherwise, you have to scramble to get to the final.”
Holmes on the condition of the lanes throughout play on Thursday: “I thought they were very fair and very playable. You had to make good quality shots and stay aggressive. If that’s what you did, you were rewarded.”
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University of Maryland-Eastern Shore head coach Sharon Brummell on her team’s performance throughout play on Thursday: “As far as our win-loss record, I’m not real happy with that, but I’m not real sad about it either, because I know we were second overall in total pins. We can knock the pins down, and tomorrow is a new day. The tournament starts tomorrow, and I think our kids will come back knowing what they have to do tomorrow. I think we’ll be okay.”
Brommell on whether the experience of competing in past national championship tournaments helps her program: “This is our seventh straight year in the national championship, so of course experience helps. Coming in, it’s not like we’re simply here to have fun. We’ve been here and done that, so you kind of get used to participating is this just like a regular tournament.“
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Delaware State University head coach Ricki Williams-Ellison on whether her first national tournament experience was everything she expected: “It was actually much, much more. The tournament was run very smoothly, and I love how much space we have in this center. I really like this format as well. It’s exceeding all of my expectations.”
Williams-Ellison on her team competing in seven matches in one day: “It was different. There actually was a break for lunch, which gave us a chance to sit down, have a meeting, recap the four games from this morning, and come back with a new attitude. Seven team games is something completely new for our girls. I thought we fought well through it, but we certainly have work to do.”
Williams-Ellison on her team’s seeding entering play on Friday: “I am excited about our seeding. I think it is going to let our girls know that they need to come out and fight tomorrow.”
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Vanderbilt University head coach John Williamson on his team’s finish to the day: “We showed some resiliency after handling some adversity at the start of the day. We finished the first block with two good games and then we came out and had a good game at the start of the afternoon session. We made some fundamental mistakes which cost us early, but we came back strong and finished the day by beating a very good Jersey City team..”
Williamson on the endurance needed to compete in seven matches in a single day: “We don’t ever play this many matches in a single day during the season, so it kind of comes down to a battle of wills. You have to be mentally tough. Every team has to do the same thing, so you really can’t complain too much.”
Williamson on his team’s seeding entering play on Friday: “I think we’re going to be the three seed, but one through eight, it really doesn’t matter. Last year, I think the bottom four teams all won, so seeding really doesn’t matter that much. ”
