It’s not exactly “home alley advantage”, but Nebraska’s top-ranked bowling team will not have to travel far as it vies for the program’s third NCAA Championship on April 10-12 at Thunder Alley in Omaha, Neb.

Nebraska is serving as the host of the national championship for the first time since the NCAA began the sport in 2004. The Huskers’ campus in Lincoln is about an hour’s drive from Omaha.

“It’s very fortunate,” said Nebraska head coach Bill Straub.  “I’ve been friends with the proprietor at the venue hosting the event for a long time and he’s always been a big supporter of Nebraska bowling, and he had the opportunity to really get involved in hosting something like this. He wants to help in anyway he can.”

The tournament begins April 10 with two qualifying rounds that will be used to seed Friday’s competition of double-elimination bracket play.  The team who averages the most on Thursday will be the No. 1 seed, while the team who averages the least will be the No. 8 seed.   The championship round on Saturday, April 12, at 7 p.m. CT, will be broadcast live on ESPNU. 

Nebraska earned their fifth straight NCAA championship berth this season, and will compete alongside Maryland-Eastern Shore, Arkansas State, Central Missouri, Minnesota State-Mankato, New Jersey City, Sacred Heart and Vanderbilt.

The Huskers won NCAA titles in 2004 and 2005 and are poised to compete for another trophy this season.  Nebraska has won six of seven tournaments this year despite fielding a youthful squad of one senior, two sophomores and four freshmen.

“It’s an extraordinarily young team,” said Straub.  “I think it’s both good and bad.  They’re young enough to not quite know for sure what they’re into, but they’re also young enough that you’re not quite sure – if they do catch on—how they’re reaction is going to be because predicting what an 18-year-old is going to be doing at a nerve-wracking time is difficult.  So far, they’ve acted well beyond their years in the maturity area and I could not be more pleased.”

Senior Lindsay Baker has been one of the top bowlers in the nation throughout her entire career.  The native of Amherst, N.Y., started college with a bang as the 2005 National Tenpin Coaches Association Rookie of the Year, and then was selected the NTCA Player of the Year in her sophomore campaign.  This season, Baker won the Morgan State Invitational, and placed second in the Cheeseland Classic.

“I hope it isn’t too biased, but I think she’s the best player in the country,” said Straub.  “She’s the one who has had the most experience, and she’s really talented.  It’s one thing to ask freshmen to follow along behind someone that’s older than they are who might not be as talented, but in this case, she is very talented and it helps with the learning process.”

Although Nebraska is the top-ranked squad in the nation, bowling, like golf is a truly “offensive” sport, and it will take consistent individual play from an entire roster to claim the title.

“There’s no defense in golf or bowling,” said Straub.  “You’re trying to do your best to accommodate what the conditions are asking you to do.  On the golf course, you’re looking around for trees and water and sand, and try to avoid those.  Bowling has variables that aren’t as easily detectable, but it’s how well you’re able to accommodate what the lane is asking you to do.  You really don’t have a lot of control of the opposition.  There’s no defense, so it’s just as successful on offense as you can be.” 

Straub has confidence that his team has the ability to vie for the program’s third NCAA title, and hopes other factors do not hinder their campaign.

“They certainly have the talent to be successful -- it’s just a matter of whether or not they can handle the situation not being very experienced,” said Straub.

Vanderbilt won the title in 2007, defeating the University of Maryland, Eastern Shore, in the championship match.