The Shockers knew they had to bowl quickly in order to catch their flight home. So the men and women brought brooms to help sweep the Las Vegas Invitational. This was the second of two-back-to-back Vegas tournaments in the Shocker holiday tour. This is the men’s second title and the women’s third.
The Glenn Carlson Las Vegas Invitational’s qualifying portion totaled of nine team games broken down into two days. Day one consisted of six team games while day two brought an additional three. The men had a consistent performance and led from start to finish. Their nine game total pin fall was 9,539, with no team game under a 1,000. This earned the men the top seed by a mere 19 pins against number two seed Webber International University. The women did not have it as easy en route. After day one, the women were in fifth place, 215 pins behind the leader Webber International. Nonetheless, the women managed to climb up to the number two seed after the remaining three team games reducing Webber’s lead to 119 pins. The women’s shot 8,926 pins for the nine team games.
The top 16 men’s teams and top 8 women’s teams advanced to Baker game elimination match play. As the top seed, the men earned a bye into the quarterfinals. In both divisions, the quarterfinals consisted of the best three-out-of-five Baker games. The Shocker men swept their first match over the 14th seed, University of North Texas, 3-0. The women faced the number seven seed Calumet College and fought their way to a 3-2 victory.
Here the advancing teams saw a change in tournament format; the advancing teams now faced the best two-out-of-three Baker match play format. The men were consistent and swept number four seed William Penn University, 2-0. The women followed the men’s example, winning their match against number three Midland College, 2-0.
In the championship match, both the men and women faced Webber University. In match number one, the men continued to play with authority. They started off with the front seven and never looked back, winning their first match with a 233 game. After a spare to start the second game, the men threw four-in-row and managed to keep their solid lead, ending with a 223 game. The women had a slow start in match one, but Junior Jazreel Tan (Singapore) punched out in the tenth frame to secure their victory. The women started their second game in a dominant fashion, starting with the front six. Not to be outdone by the men, the women finished the match with a 256.
Two Shockers made the All-Tournament Team. Senior Geoffrey Young (Denton, Texas) represented the men’s team, leading the field with a 2,092 total (232 average) for nine games to capture the tournament’s Most Valuable Player Award. This is Young’s first MVP and third All-Tournament Team. Junior Jazreel Tan represented the women and made the All-Tournament team with a 1,926 total (214 average). This is her sixth All-Tournament Team.
The Shockers will take a well-deserved break before resuming competition. Their first competition of 2012 will be the Blue and Gold Classic in South Bend, Ind. Both the men and women return as defending champions.
