Arkansas State, Vanderbilt undefeated through two rounds of SBL Championship

Sam Houston and Stephen F. Austin will face off in the
third round of the SBL Championship.
Photo b y Robert H Kelly
Copyright 2015 All Rights Reserved.

By Robert H Kelly
Copyright 2015 TexSport Publications

HOUSTON, TEXAS (March 21, 2015) Day one of the Southland Bowling League Championship was contested at Del-Mar Lanes in Houston on Saturday, March 21, 2015 and saw No. 1 Arkansas State and No. 3 Vanderbilt advancing to the third round, both having defeated their first and second round opponents to remind undefeated. 

In the first round, Arkansas State downed No. 8 seed Louisiana Tech by the score of 4-1 (264-156, 147-187, 189-178, 204-166, 212-199) while Vanderbilt took down Tulane 4-1 (157-126, 168-149, 176-186, 199-161, 204-142).

In other first round matches, No. 4 Sam Houston State defeated No. 5 Valparaiso 4-2 (234-170, 194-173, 167-176, 195-234, 179-176, 220-241) while No. 7 Monmouth beat No. 2 Stephen F. Austin 4-1 (204-198, 170-203, 194-185, 218-184, 206-179).

The second round found Valparaiso eliminating Louisiana Tech 4-2 (215-181, 197-210, 191-195, 185-159, 237-174, 244-135). SFA also sent Tulane home with their second loss of the day by the score of 4-3 (156-169, 202-190, 202-174, 173-174, 189-183, 181-200, 214-202).

The third round, which kicks off at 2:30 p.m. CDT on Saturday, March 21 will see the two undefeated teams, Arkansas State and Vanderbilt, facing off. The four teams who stand at 1-1 will bowl, with the losers going home. The consolation bracket consists of Valparaiso facing Monmouth and SFA facing SHSU.

Arkansas State is currently ranked number three in the nation by the National Tenpin Coaches Association (NTCA) poll. SFA is ranked fifth nationally in the poll, with Vanderbilt ranked sixth and defending NCAA champion Sam Houston is ranked seventh.

Semi-final and final matches will be contested on Sunday, March 22 beginning at 9:30 a.m. CDT.