Nebraska bowling hosts first-ever televised home meet this weekend
LINCOLN, Neb. (KOLN) - This weekend Nebraska bowling is hosting their only home meet of the season. The Big Red Invitational starts Friday in Lincoln and the tournament will make history with more eyes on it than ever before.
Hollywood Bowl on North 48th Street will host the eight-team tournament, which starts Friday.
The Big Ten Network is also televising part of the tournament. They will be airing the 11:00 a.m. match on Sunday when the Huskers take on Valparaiso. This is BTN’s first time broadcasting women’s collegiate bowling. It’s a feat the Huskers are proud of.
“It’s just exciting for people to be able to see our sport, and just know that we’re a sport,” said Alexis Buchert, a redshirt freshman.
“It means a lot honestly because bowling is not a sport that gets a lot of recognition,” said junior bowler Amara Smith Speights. “I’m grateful for the opportunity, so the world can see what we’re about, and to honestly to see how cool the sport is.”
The players even met with their sports psychologist ahead of the match.
“He was talking to us about the difference of being nervous and being excited, and using the things that make us nervous about performing on TV and channeling that into excitement,” Smith Speights said.
The winner of the invitational will be the team with the highest average over the three days. Nebraska begins play Friday at 9:00 a.m. against Quincy. They’re looking forward to feeding off the energy from the crowd.
“A lot of people are big fans of the program and there are other people who have not watched us,” said Julia Bond, Nebraska’s assistant coach. “This is our only home event, so I think it’ll be a big deal and everyone will have a good time.”
Teams competing include:
No. 1 McKendree
No. 3 Nebraska
No. 7 Arkansas St.
No. 9 Youngstown St.
No. 22 Wisconsin Whitewater
No. 25 Central Missouri
Quincy
Valparaiso
“It’s going to be exciting and there’s going to be a lot of high intensity matches, so I’m just really excited,” Buchert said.
The tournament starts at 8:00 a.m. Friday and goes through Sunday. It’s free and open to the public.
