The No. 8 ranked Sam Houston women’s bowling team opens its third season of action this weekend as the Bearkats travel to Kenner, La., for the Tulane Invitational.
The three-day event will be held at the AMF All-Star Lanes. The tournament will follow the normal schedule of 5x4 baker game matches on Friday, 5-player team matches on Saturday and best of 7 baker bracket play on Sunday.
“The girls are tremendously excited about starting the season,” Sam Houston head coach Brad Hagen said. “With three freshman and two new transfers on the team, the newcomers are eager to show what they can do against national caliber competition.”
The 11-game field at the Tulane Invitational features five nationally ranked teams including No. 2 Arkansas State, No. 10 Stephen F. Austin, No. 17 Prairie View A&M and No. 18 Bethune Cookman along with the eighth-ranked Bearkats.
Sam Houston is the only NCAA Division I women’s bowling program to finish among the top 10 teams in the nation each of their first two years of competition. The Bearkats finished their inaugural year in 2010-11 No. 7 in the nation after earning a berth in the NCAA Elite Eight national tournament. Last year, the Kats finished the 2011-12 campaign with a No. 9 final ranking, just missing a second trip to the NCAA tournament.
Senior Michelle Secours and juniors Neishka Cardona and Kimi Davidson return from that squad. Newcomers include transfers Rebecca Pittser and Kelsey Smith and freshmen Erin Brown, Anna Groce and Hannah Harrison.
