No. 21 UAB Kicks Off 2020 with a Third Place Finish at the Wildcat Classic

Friday, February 7

Orlando, Fla.

TBA

UAB

Wildcat Classic

No. 21 UAB Kicks Off 2020 with a Third Place Finish at the Wildcat Classic

2/10/2020 9:02:00 AM | Women's Bowling

2020 Wildcat Final Standings

BIRMINGHAM- No. 21 UAB started their spring schedule with a 9-3 record over the weekend, finishing in third place at the Wildcat Classic in Orlando.

The Blazers began the competition on Friday with five baker matches. UAB started the day with a win over No. 16 Tulane (978-943). After a strong win over a ranked opponent, the Blazers continued their dominance throughout the day with impressive wins against Tusculum (885-860), Bethune-Cookman (939-843), and No. 7 Stephen F. Austin (911-854) consecutively. After starting 4-0 for the day, UAB would lose a close match to Florida A&M (950-899). The Blazers were in fourth place and an impressive 4-1 going into the second day of competition.

After a blazing start on Friday, UAB continued to show why they are worthy of their national ranking. The Blazers finished 3-1 for the day. UAB started the traditional match day with a bye in which they bowl for total pinfall only with 955. The Blazers picked up a win against St. Francis-Brooklyn (917-808) before losing to No. 19 Maryville (903-892). UAB would recover from the lost and win two consecutive matches against Daemen (906-829) and Medaille (985-883) to end the day 3-1 and 7-2 overall heading into the last day of competition.

On Sunday, the Blazers had another traditional match against No. 13 Sacred Heart before the bracket round. UAB picked up a 966-847 dominating win to go into the bracket round with confidence. The Blazers would face off against Sacred Heart for a rematch in the bracket round. UAB would go down 0-3. However, the Blazers wouldn't go down without a fight. UAB would win three straight matches to force a game seven but ultimately lose the rematch to Sacred Heart 4-3 (171-176, 144-189, 183-213, 157-145, 189-177, 191-189, and 174-185) to play for third or fourth place at best. The Blazers would go on to win against No. 19 Maryville 4-2 (196-200, 166-226, 202-198, 180-174, 177-168, and 186-159) to finish in third place.

Individually, Samantha Johnson would lead the way with a total pinfall of 1,169 to finish in 8th place. Rachel Strogin (1,139), Taylor Russell (1,129), Jamie Krasnigor (1,118), and Annie Hurley (1,066) finished 13th, 14th, 16th, and 20th, respectively, to finish the Blazers in the top 25 individually.

UAB will continue their schedule on February 14 for the Mid-Winter Invitational in Jonesboro, Ark. hosted by Arkansas State.

For more information on the UAB bowling team, follow the Blazers on Twitter (@UAB_Bowl), Instagram (@UAB_Bowl), or like them on Facebook (Facebook.com/UABBowling2011).