No. 2 Vanderbilt closed out its 2025-26 regular season by hosting the Music City Classic, which spanned from March 6-9 and featured 33 teams, 14 of which were top 15-ranked teams. Vanderbilt ended Day 1 in third place in the standings and stayed there for the entirety of the meet.
Day 1
Day 1 of play consisted of five sets of Baker matches, where the ‘Dores racked up 5,254 pins to finish the day in third place. The Black and Gold started their day with a dominant 1,033-928 win over Maryland-Eastern Shore, ending with scores of 211, 231 and 200. Next up for Vanderbilt was No. 1 Jacksonville State. Although the ‘Dores cruised to a 237-182 game 1 win, they dropped the next three games against the Gamecocks. However, Vanderbilt fought back with scores of 216, 191, and 219 to give it a three-pin lead headed into game 5. Ultimately, though, the Commodores fell to Jacksonville State 1,054-1,140 after the Gamecocks shot a 280 in the last game.
After the loss, though, Vanderbilt responded nicely, cruising to wins over No. 4 Wichita State (1,057-1,006), Quincy (972-879) and Alabama A&M (972-879). The 4-1 record on the day secured Vanderbilt in third place, behind Jacksonville State and Sam Houston University.
Day 2
Day 2 consisted of five traditional games where the Commodores accumulated 100+ points in each of their matches to hold steady in third place. Freshman Katelyn Abigania was impressive as she led her team with scores of 205, 266, 215, 228 and 211 on the day to put her in third place on the individual leaderboard. Sydney Bohn also had an impressive day for the Black and Gold, coming off the bench after the first game and posting scores of 224, 200, 206 and 253.
Vanderbilt started its day with a win over No. 14 Sam Houston State, 1004-923, led by Danielle Henderson, who scored a 222. The ‘Dores cruised to another victory in their second matchup of the day when they downed Carroll 1,088-1,004, led by a 266 game from Abigania. Avery Comaguin and Bohn also tallied scores of 235 and 224, respectively, in the Black and Gold’s matchup against Carroll. Vanderbilt added its third win of the day when it beat No. 21 UAB 1,059-926.
The ‘Dores stumbled in the back half of their day, dropping a match to Belmont Abbey 1,072-1,002 — their sole loss of the day. However, they recovered with a dominant win over Fairleigh Dickinson 1,082-865 to round out their day. Four players, Bohn, Natalie Kent, Abigania and Henderson bowled 200+ games in the statement finish.
“I felt like the shot making was more important today than it was yesterday,” head coach John Williamson said. “Scores weren’t as high across the field, but I think we were still able to execute at a high level. I thought that we adjusted well and didn’t let what happened yesterday roll over into today, which is sometimes hard to do.”
Day 3
Vanderbilt started its day with a match against Arkansas State, but it struggled to get anything going, falling to the Red Wolves 4-1. It did rebound in its next round with a 4-0 sweep of No. 12 North Carolina A&T to secure a spot in the consolation match against a familiar team in Arkansas State.
Vanderbilt won game 1, 220-183 but dropped three straight games to the Red Wolves. It did not surrender, though, bringing itself back into contention with back-to-back games of 200+ pins and ultimately winning its final game 234-225.
Abigania was named to the all-tournament team with scores of 205, 266, 215, 228 and 211 on the weekend and a third-place individual finish. The honor was Abigania’s third of the season.
At the end of the tournament, Vanderbilt also honored its two seniors, Alyssa Ballard and Victoria Varano. The team also honored Williamson, who has already announced that he will be transitioning away from his longtime role as head coach of the Commodores following the end of the season.
“I appreciate Alyssa and Victoria for their four years,” Williamson said. “Senior day is always one of those special days, because it’s a culmination of all their hard work. They’ve had a lot of success and gotten to do a lot of really neat things. It’s great to see them celebrate with their families and friends.”
Next for the Commodores is the postseason, where it will take on the Conference USA Bowling Championships March 17-22 in Harahan, Louisiana.