Huskers Advance to Regional Final

Pittsburgh, Pa. - The Nebraska bowling team went 2-0 on its first day of competition at the Pittsburgh Regional, advancing to the regional final with a chance to go to the NCAA Bowling National Championships in Las Vegas, Nevada. 

The Big Red started off regionals with a mega-match against East Coast Conference champions, Kutztown. Kutztown previously played on Thursday, defeating Fayetteville to move on to face the Huskers. Nebraska started the traditional match with Brenna Hartzler, Anna Callan, Kayla Verstraete, Kayla Starr and Jillian Martin. Verstraete led the way for the Huskers, tallying six strikes and a 214. Callan (212) and Martin (200) also finished over the 200-pin mark, each adding four strikes respectively. Hartzler added a 189 to the team score, and Starr rounded out the lineup with a 180. NU combined for a 995, topping the Bears’ 790, to go up 1-0 in the mega-match. 

In the total-pinfall baker five match, the Big Red started off strong, taking down Kutztown, 195-159. Despite only three strikes in the second, Nebraska took down the Bears again, 199-163. In game three, the Cornhuskers recorded seven strikes, including three in a row, scoring a 223 to take a 617-503 total-pin advantage. The Huskers bowled a clean game four, recording three consecutive strikes twice and tallying eight total, topping Kutztown, 238-175. In the fifth, NU started off with four-straight strikes to roll a 212 over Kutztown’s 159, to win 1,067-837, and winning the mega-match, 2-0. 

The Huskers moved on to face Maryville in round two, the Saints defeating Arkansas State in their first round matchup. In the traditional match, Starr led the way for the Big Red, bowling a 181. Callan (168) and Martin (166) followed closely behind. Hartzler rolled a 148, and Verstraete added a 138 as the Huskers were topped by Maryville, 967-801, as the Saints gained a 1-0 advantage. 

Sticking with the original lineup, NU fought back in the total-pinfall baker five match, rolling a 187 over Maryville’s 165 in game one. In the second, the Huskers substituted Desiree Buchert for Verstraete, but fell to the Saints, 164-153. The Cornhuskers bounced back in the third game, tallying six strikes and bowling a 205 to take a 2-1 lead. In game four, Martin recorded three strikes in the 10th, but Maryville’s 221 was enough to take them over the Huskers, giving the Saints a two-pin advantage heading into the final game. In game five, Nebraska tallied seven strikes, including three in a row, to top Maryville, 212-183, and evening the mega-match, 1-1. 

In the best-of-seven baker match to break the mega-match tie, the Huskers started off strong, rolling a 167 over Maryville’s 142. In game two, Verstraete came back in for Buchert and the team bowled a 193 to take a 2-0 lead. Maryville rolled a clean 208, bringing the match to 2-1. In the fourth, Verstraete tallied her third straight strike, as the team threw eight strikes total, to bowl a clean 248. The Saints brought it back in game five, bowling a 213 to make the match 3-2 in favor of the Big Red. In the sixth, Hartzler bowled her fourth consecutive strike to lead Nebraska over Maryville, 181-160, as the Huskers advanced to the regional final, 2-1. 

Competition resumes tomorrow, April 4, at 1:30 p.m. CT as the Huskers take on the winner of Arkansas State/Maryville in a mega-match to head to the 2025 NCAA Bowling National Championships.  

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