QUOTES FROM THE 2010 NCAA WOMEN’S BOWLING CHAMPIONSHIP FOLLOWING THE MORNING SESSION ON THURSDAY, APRIL 8, 2010:
University of Nebraska head coach Bill Straub on being the only undefeated team through four matches: “We made a lot of good shots and a lot of good moves in terms of making adjustments to the lanes. I certainly have no complaints, and I’m real proud of the team.”
Straub on the 280 bowled by sophomore Valerie Calberry in a match three victory over Arkansas State: “She made a bundle of good shots throughout the day. She had a lot of good scores, and in that particular game, all of her good shots kind of ran together. She played pretty close to that way all morning.”
Straub on sophomore Danielle van der Meer bowling a 258 in a match two win over Vanderbilt after opening with a 156 in game one: “The coach got smarter. Part of it is the lane, and for a while there, I wasn’t exactly the smartest man on the planet. Sometimes the easiest way to make adjustments is when there is consistency in shot-making regardless of the sport. It took a little while for me to get a handle on what I thought [my team] needed to know. Maybe it was fleeting, but for a while, we were in really good shape.”
Straub on what he hopes to accomplish in the day‘s remaining three matches: “We just want to continue to display a calm, workmanlike attitude. It doesn’t matter whether we lost or won the first four games. It’s got to be one ball at a time if we want to be successful.”
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Arkansas State University sophomore Samantha Santoro on opening with a tournament-best 290 in a match one win over Delaware State: “It’s funny, because I didn’t feel that good in practice I wasn’t hitting my mark very often, but once we got going, I kind of felt good right after the first frame. I always want to bowl well all year, but coming to Nationals, this is where I want to be at my best. I felt good with my start.”
Santoro on whether she usually is a fast starter in competition: “I try to be. Usually I get better as the day goes on, but right now, I just want to keep it going.”
Santoro on producing the high individual game early in the tournament: “I’m excited, but as a team, I would like us to win all three of our matches this afternoon. Individually, I’d honestly like to shoot a 300, but my goal is to try to stay above 200 for the rest of the day.”
Arkansas State University head coach Justin Kostick on the 290 performance by Santoro: “It was great, especially since our team got the win in that game which is the most important part of it. Whenever your anchor player is on, that’s what you need, especially in terms of tomorrow. You need your anchor player to throw doubles in the 10th frame in the clutch. Against Central Missouri, she threw a double in the 10th [frame], although one was Brooklyn. She’s usually good in the pressure, so as long as she has a good look, I like her chances all weekend.”
Kostick on his team‘s performance in the morning session: “We’re 3-1 and in second place. Obviously we ran into Nebraska and they train-wrecked us a little bit, but we came back with a 1090 of our own to put us in good shape. I like where we’re at, and hopefully we can go 3-0 this afternoon so that even if Nebraska goes 3-0, we can control our fate and get no lower than the second seed heading into tomorrow.”
Kostick on how a team reacts when an opponent is on a strong run like Nebraska was on in match three: “We actually made some subs, and we make a lot of adjustments. The lanes changed a lot in that four game set. A lot of girls were making 1-and-1 and 2-and-1 left moves, which is a move both with your feet and with your eyes. We made a lot of moves out on the lanes and on the approach chasing at the oil line all morning. You’re just trying to prepare for that next match.”
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New Jersey City University head coach Frank Parisi on his team’s performance in the morning session: “When you look at total pins, we actually were very consistent. We actually went down a little each game, but the two teams we bowled against in the first two matches were outstanding. In this sport, you can’t play any defense and hats off to them for bowling the way they did. We were very consistent and we did what we needed to do by winning those middle two matches. I’m fine with the way my team has performed so far.”
Parisi on whether the early scores are higher than he expected: “They’re slightly higher than I expected, but these are the eight best teams in the country, so you’re going to see good scoring. Good players adjust to the oil pattern as the day goes along, so you’re going to see high scores.”
Parisi on what he hopes his team will accomplish in the final three matches of the afternoon: “I just want to stay consistent. As long as we stay consistent like we’ve been in the first four matches, whatever happens, happens. We just want to stay consistent and let the chips fall where they may.”
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Fairleigh Dickinson University head coach Mike LoPresti on his team starting with two wins before ending the morning session with two defeats: “It was night and day, only the reverse….day and night. We didn’t transition well when the lanes changed and we were slow in moving. The only positive thing is that it was only the first round, and there are many rounds to go.”
LoPresti on his team producing a 1085 score in a match two win over Maryland-Eastern Shore: “That was a big match. Maryland-Eastern Shore is a high-scoring team. We usually don’t play that high, but we were able to stay with them and beat them at the end. It took a lot out of us. I tried to rev up the team in the next game and I was worried about a letdown. We moved to the other side of the bowling center where the lanes were a little different, and again we were slow in adjusting.”
LoPresti on whether he expects scoring to change as the tournament progresses: “I think the early rounds will play about the same as teams have learned the pattern. I think at the end of the day, the scores will be through the roof.”
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University of Central Missouri head coach Ron Holmes on the performance of his team in the morning session: “I thought we started out well, but we didn’t shoot spares very well as the day went along. We lost a couple of close matches by about 10 pins that could have gone our way if we would have picked up a few more spares.”
Holmes on what he hopes his team will accomplish in the remainder of the preliminary round: “We’re just trying to get a feel for the lanes and we’ll see how this afternoon goes. I think this afternoon’s conditions will be little bit more reflective of the conditions tomorrow.”
Holmes on whether he expects the scores to increase as the day goes on: “I do. The players will start to lock in on the conditions and that always leads to better scoring.”
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University of Maryland-Eastern Shore head coach Sharon Brummell on her team’s start to the tournament: “I think we started off playing a lane in the wrong place. Finally we figured it out, but I was a little disappointed this morning. Again, I think we figured some things out.”
Brummell on a match two loss to Fairleigh Dickinson: “I wasn’t disappointed in that performance. We bowled well, but they just bowled better. Sometimes that happens.”
Brummell on the high individual scores produced early in the tournament: “They are a lot higher than I thought they would be. Normally, we haven’t had scores this high early in the championship.”
Brummell on whether she expects the scores to level off as the tournament progresses: “I think the scores are just going to keep going up. Players are going to keep figuring the lanes out, which means the scoring will just keep getting higher.”
Brummell on her team’s approach to the afternoon session: “I’d like to start off better than we started this morning. I just want us to make good shots and keep going the way we were going in our last three matches before the break.”
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Delaware State University head coach Ricki Williams-Ellison on her team’s performance early in the tournament: “I thought it was phenomenal. The girls worked hard and made good shots. We just need to find a way to strike a little bit more.”
Williams-Ellison on whether the scores are higher than she expected: “Actually they’re not. They’re right at the level I expected after looking at the oil pattern. Believe it or not, I actually thought the scores would have been a tad bit higher.”
Williams-Ellison on whether the scores will continue to increase as the tournament progresses: “They definitely will. Every day they will go up as the players gain experience.”
Williams-Ellison on what she hopes her team will accomplish in the afternoon session: “I just want our girls to get comfortable with the setting, with the teams, and with the surroundings. I just want them to get their feet wet today so that they‘ll feel comfortable going into tomorrow.”
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Vanderbilt University head coach John Williamson on his team’s start to the tournament: “I thought we started with a little bit of nerves, but that is to be expected when you’re playing at the national championship. We settled down a little bit and executed. In the first two matches, we could have shot good scores and still lost because our opponents put up pretty good numbers. We just have to get back to executing what we can do and hopefully this afternoon will end up better.”
Williamson on whether he expected the scoring to be as high as it has been early in the tournament: “Yes, because over the last couple of years, it seems as if the scoring has been higher in the national championship than in the regular season. That is something that we need to take advantage of.”
Williamson on what he hopes his team will accomplish in the afternoon session: “I want to end on a positive note, so if we can put three good matches together this afternoon, I really don’t care where we sit. Seeding really doesn’t matter tomorrow.”
Williamson on Vanderbilt being ranked number one in the latest National Tenpins Coaches Association poll and whether that ranking places a target on his team: “I don’t think so. Maryland-Eastern Shore was number one in the last poll, and any team here is good enough to be number one. We really don’t pay too much attention to polls.”
