Bowling coach John Williamson has his sights set on another national championship.

by William Williams
photography by John Russell

John Williamson’s tiny office is crammed with dozens of bulging bowling ball bags, shoes and other equipment. A major tournament in Jackson, Miss., looms, and the coach of Vanderbilt’s varsity women’s bowling team is putting the final touches on the logistics of the journey.

Being on the road is nothing new for Williamson, who spends much of his time either driving back and forth to Smyrna, Tenn., where the team trains, or traveling to matches in several states, including Alabama, Arkansas and Wisconsin.

This year, every match is key. Vanderbilt’s bowling team is defending a national championship season that finished with a 74-14 record and a win over the University of Maryland-Eastern Shore for the title. It was Vanderbilt’s first NCAA national crown in any sport, and Williamson delivered it after only three seasons.

The team’s history-making win has elevated the level of appreciation Commodore fans have for the sport. But few know the demands placed on these student athletes. “Our workouts are probably a lot harder than people would expect,” Williamson said.

The bowlers undergo twice weekly weight-training sessions with a strength and conditioning coach in addition to three-hour practice sessions four days a week. Tournaments take place on weekends, with each day entailing five to eight hours of competition, requiring “a lot of stamina and mental endurance” of the players, Williamson said.

“Bowling has different physical demands than football and basketball,” he said. “We try to mentally challenge our players because bowling is a mentally tough sport.”

Part of Williamson’s job is navigating the NCAA compliance manual, an 800-page tome that rivals in weight a 16-pound bowling ball. The manual lays out the rules governing the sport, including the recruiting process, which is unlike the talent search commonplace in more high-profile college sports.

Only 20 states sponsor varsity high school bowling, so many college programs cannot rely on in-state talent. Adding to the recruiting challenge is the reality that most of the 54 NCAA Division I women’s bowling programs opt to divide their scholarships among the various team participants.

Without the lure of lucrative professional careers post-graduation, collegiate bowlers are an exceptionally dedicated bunch, playing not only for the competition, but also for the love of the sport.
“Bowling is a very limited professional sport, even for men. There is not a lot of money to be made,” Williamson said. “Some of our athletes have aspirations to make the U.S. national team, but for most, their competitive bowling career is likely done when they are finished here.”

Vanderbilt’s top three bowlers are Josie Earnest, Karen Grygiel and Michelle Peloquin.

Earnest, a 19-year-old sophomore, is considered the top player on the Commodore team. She was steered toward the game by her father, who owns a bowling center in her small hometown of Vandalia, Ill.

Though Earnest’s high school did not have a bowling team, she earned a spot at age 15 on Junior Team U.S.A. Her talent caught the attention of coaches from not only Vanderbilt, but also the University of Nebraska, another women’s collegiate bowling national heavyweight that has won two NCAA titles.

Bowling, as well as the opportunity to study at a world-class educational institution, drew Earnest to Vanderbilt.

“I knew when I signed the scholarship papers, school and bowling would be my job,” she said.

Earnest has excelled at both. In the classroom, she maintains a 3.0 grade point average. Working the pins and alleys, she averages a 200 game. At the practice facility in Smyrna, Earnest keeps no less than 30 balls on hand and maintains a bevy of bowling shoes, the soles of which are interchangeable.

“A lot of guesswork for tournaments is in deciding what equipment to use,” Earnest explained.
Because there are no other women’s bowling teams within the SEC or Tennessee, the Commodores have no natural geographic rivals. In addition to the aforementioned superpower, Nebraska, the Vanderbilt bowlers get fired up when facing another top competitor: Fairleigh Dickinson University, the largest private university in New Jersey.

Looking down the road – or down the alley, if you will – Williamson has reason to be hopeful for more good things. For one, all signs point to the Commodores reaching the NCAA Tournament in Omaha again this spring. As of press time, the team was ranked No. 1 in the nation, with a 33-9 record. And next season looks promising as well, with the recent signing of top prospect Brittni Hamilton from Webster, N.Y.

Beyond that? Perhaps the van commutes to Smyrna will be no more.

“A practice facility on campus would be a great thing for our program and the school,” Williamson said. “We’ll keep our fingers crossed on that one.”

Until then, the Vanderbilt women’s bowling team will keep rolling along and building momentum, with a focused coach, dedicated young women – and a national championship.

Despite struggling on the lanes, Nashville-based freelancer and Nashville City Paper columnist William Williams successfully completed a college course in bowling.

Posted 01/01/08