‘Back to the basics’ practice key to NU bowling team’s continued success

Paige Cornwell

DAILY NEBRASKAN

Coach Bill Straub went back to the basics when preparing his Nebraska bowling team for its competition in the Griffin Invitational.

Straub said the team needed to start "from the socks up" if they wanted to improve after their fifth-place performance in the Mid-Winter Classic tournament, which Straub called a "failure across the board."

The team went back to the fundamentals and began holding more team and individual practices.

It paid off. The Cornhuskers placed first at the Griffin Invitational two weeks ago, scoring more than 100 pins higher than second-place Arkansas State. Senior Cassandra Leuthold also placed first individually for her second first-place finish of the season.

"If you manage what you are trying to do, progress will be made," Straub said.

The lane conditions were tough for the team, Leuthold said, but she was able to accommodate changing elements of the lane.

"Luckily, I had the right ball and the right hand, so I was able to excel," she said. "I thought I did exceptionally well."

The team is now practicing for this weekend's Morgan State Invitational in Baltimore. The competition is one of the numerous tournaments the defending national champions won last year, and so far, Straub said the team's track record has been good.

"Hopefully, their hard work can be sustained," he said.

This past week, the team has been holding smaller sessions of five or six players where each player gets her own lane. Fewer people allows for a greater amount of repetitions and individual attention.

Leuthold has been working with Straub to focus on her ball roll. When a ball rolls down the lane, she said, the center of axis could be tilted, and tilting it too much can affect where the ball goes. How the ball rolls down the lane also depends on the angle at which it's thrown and the amount of revolutions.

"I'm working on consistency," Leuthold said. "The more consistent, the better."

The Huskers are still working on the fundamentals. Because they went back to the basics, Straub said, they won.

"We're going to do well," Leuthold said. "Knock on wood. But I think it is going to be a good turnout."

paigecornwell@dailynebraskan.com