PENSACOLA, Fla. – Bowling season arrived for the Southern University Lady Jaguars when they took the lanes for the Rattler Classic hosted by Florida A&M in Pensacola, Florida on Friday. Southern (4-1) would start the five Baker matches slow but would finish strong against tough competition.
 
"Despite a slow start, we were in position to win the first match but fell short," Head Coach Barry Doyle said. "I could see the team chemistry kick in during the middle of that first match. From there, team chemistry and energy carried us through."
 
The first match of the day was against Emmanuel College, who received votes in the preseason National Ten Pin Coaches Association rankings. Southern got off to a slow start, shooting 166 and 124 against EC 188 and 180. The Lady Jaguars would find their grove the final three games shooting 178, 225 and 177. That would not be enough, Emmanuel would counter with 145, 215 and 189 to take the first match 917-870.
 
Tournament host, Florida A&M was up next for the Lady Jaguars. They would carry their momentum over and dominate the Rattlers from start to finish. SU would come out with games of 196, 180 and 189, compared to FAMU 160, 147 and 145 games. The scores would flip in the fourth game with the Lady Jaguars struggling to find their mark, 195-159 in favor of FAMU. Southern would correct that quickly in the final game, starting out with a spare and then stringing together five strikes in a row and finish with a 210. SU would take the second match, 934-809.
 
The Lady Jaguars would once again come out on fire. This time, Southern would start their first game with five straight strikes against Jackson State. SU would throw games of 199, 222, 223 and 181 for the first four. JSU would keep things close with games of 181, 203, 210 and 166. The fifth game would go in favor of the Tigers, but SU would win the match 981-956.
 
Grambling would be the next team standing in the way. The Lady Jaguars would continue their dominance against the Tigers, sweeping all five games with the lowest margin of victory being 26 pins. Southern would roll games of 173, 198, 179, 149 and 201 for a 900 series. GSU would throw 141, 159, 96, 123 and 155 for a 674 total.
 
Looking to close out the first day on a four-match win streak, the Lady Jaguars would find just enough to pull through. Southern started the match with a 189 and 183 before the lanes finally gave out. SU would finish out the day with scores of 160, 165 and 169 for a five-game total of 866. Texas Southern was no match for the Lady Jaguars as they shot 158, 169, 154, 148 and 157 for a 786 total.
 
"Jayden Hauck did not take long to get comfortable and start striking in bunches," Doyle continued about his team's performance. "Raja Anderson jumped in the second set and contributed with big shots the rest of the day. Nyla Wilson, Alanna Coward and Jailyn Rogers picked up right where they left off last season, bowling with confidence."


UP NEXT
The Rattler Invitational continues tomorrow morning when the Lady Jaguars look to continue their hot start to the season. Saturdays competition will consist of five 5-person team matches.

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