NEWSOM SURPRISE
ITRC DAY 1 FOOTAGE
ITRC DAY 2 FOOTAGE
ITRC DAY 3 FOOTAGE
ARLINGTON, Texas - The Prairie View A&M bowling team finished ninth in the inaugural Prairie View A&M Invitational at the ITRC this past weekend in Arlington, Texas.
Along with preparing his team for one of the most important events of the season, head coach Glenn White also had to deal with the task of organizing and overseeing the first-ever collegiate tournament in the history of the International Training and Research Center. Six of the top 10 teams (Nebraska, Arkansas State, Maryland Eastern Shore, Central Missouri, Valparaiso and Vanderbilt) in the country were in attendance in addition to live coverage from Bowl.com and NCAA.com throughout the tourney's three days.
"I am very pleased with the outcome of the tournament,” said White. “Of course, I would've hoped that the team performed better but overall I think we competed well considering the quality of the field.”
Junior bowler Cynthia Veney was the top bowler for the Lady Panthers as she finished with an average of 199.6. Veney had high games of 221 and 225 while junior Roonesia Newsom followed with a mark of 196.6. This weekend's tourney was extra special for Newsom as her father, who was serving in Iraq on military duty, made a surprise appearance at the beginning of the tournament. (footage link is above)
With all of the fanfare surrounding the tournament, the Lady Panthers defeated No. 13 Norfolk State from the MEAC in Baker play on day one followed by two wins over Jackson State and TSU on the final day to finish ninth. The Lady Panthers also suffered close losses to powers Arkansas State and Central Missouri.
“Having eight ranked teams from the Top 20 in a field of 12, including the defending national champions Maryland Eastern Shore and the current No. 1 ranked team, Valparaiso, is a challenge,” added White. “The competition was tough but I felt we held our own as we finished with the same win-loss record as Valpo, which is the No. 1 ranked team.”
Despite having the weight of the tournament from all aspects on his back, White was pleased with the experience and looks forward to next year.
“I've received nothing but positive reviews from the participating coaches and attending fans regarding how well the tournament was organized and operated,” he said. “I have to greatly thank the staff at the ITRC for their assistance in this event. I look forward to planning for next year and ways of improving to make it even better. I would also like to thank our sponsors (Columbia 300, Amazing Awards, The Fort Worth PV Alumni Chapter, The Dallas PV Alumni Chapter, the Church of Revelations and the Lewis Family) for their support."
Prairie View A&M returns to action in the SWAC East Round-up in Jackson, Miss. on Feb. 17.
