The end of the road is coming soon for the seniors of Vanderbilt's No. 1 ranked bowling team.

But it's been a successful road, the most successful in the history of Commodore sports, including the school's only national championship ever in 2007.

So after winning their record fifth tournament of the season at the Columbia 300 Music City Classic on March 15 by edging out No. 2 Nebraska, the first time Vanderbilt had ever won its host event, there were feelings of nostalgia.

"I think it was an emotional day for us seniors but not in a bad way," said senior Michelle Peloquin. "It was a great way to end the regular season and hopefully provides a good push-off for Nationals. It was strange to think that the experiences I have had here will soon be coming to end, and in that way, there were some sad feelings."

Senior Karen Grygiel and Tara Kane had similar sentiments.

"The victory was bittersweet," Grygiel said. "It was a great win for us, but it was still sad to think that this journey is almost over. I cannot believe how fast these past four years have gone by."

"I would say there was some melancholy realizing that it was our last regular tournament as seniors, but the excitement and celebration from the tournament win kind of overrode those feelings," Kane said. "The mood became more of a feeling of long-awaited, worthwhile achievement rather than a sad close to our regular season."

Peloquin, Grygiel, Kane and Kaitlin Reynolds made up the bowling program's first recruiting class in 2005 and have helped lead the team to new heights ever since then.

All four have been a part of countless memorable moments over their tenure with Vanderbilt. Peloquin was named to the All-Tournament team when the Commodores won the national championship. Grygiel was named Most Valuable Player of the Hawk Classic Invitational in November of 2007 to help the team win the tournament. Kane is a three-time All-American and looking for a four-peat. And Reynolds came in relief in the national championship win with two strikes that helped the Commodores pull away from the pack.

"It's very rewarding to be part of such a successful class. In some ways I don't think it has sunk in yet. I give myself and the other seniors a lot of credit for doing what we have done," Peloquin said. "We all took a chance by coming here when the program was first beginning and when reflecting on what we have been able to do in such a short period of time, I see it as truly unique and special."

Wednesday, the team received its fourth straight bid to the NCAA Championships, an elite field that consists of the eight best squads in the country. That marks an appearance at Nationals for every year this senior class has been at Vanderbilt.

For these athletes, it's been a journey they will take with them the rest of their lives.

"It has been amazing, and I feel truly blessed to have been able to be on a team with such talented, intelligent and wonderful people," Grygiel said. "Being a part of this team has been one of the best experiences of my life and I would not trade it for anything else in the world."