The bowling team will take center stage in Youngstown State Athletics this weekend as it becomes the first Penguins team to compete since the COVID-19 shutdown in March. YSU begins its campaign full of lofty goals on Friday at the Bearcat Hammer Open, which will be hosted by McKendree at St. Clair Bowl in Fairview Heights Ill.

Live video of the Penguins' 13 matches over the weekend will be streamed on the YSUsports YouTube channel, and results will be shared on the @ysubowling Twitter account.

Youngstown State enters its fifth season as the 10th-ranked team in the National Tenpin Coaches Association Top 25 Preseason Poll. Six bowlers overall and three starters return from last year's team that finished the shortened season ranked 10th in the country in both the Top 25 Poll and the RPI. The Penguins were competing for an at-large berth into the NCAA Tournament in March when the NCAA shut down the season due to the pandemic. YSU's last bowling tournament ended on March 8, and the last competition by any Youngstown State team was March 11 when the women's tennis team played at San Diego State.

When the Penguins throw their first ball on Friday, it will end a sporting event drought of seven months, one week and five days – or 226 days total - at Youngstown State.

Tournament Format

Youngstown State will bowl in 13 matches in a modified tournament format. The Penguins will bowl in five Baker matches on Friday starting at 10:40 a.m. Eastern, and they'll follow that withfive traditional matches on Saturday beginning at 10:30 a.m. Eastern. Sunday's action will start at 9:30 a.m. Eastern, and YSU will bowl in one traditional match to finish qualifying. Teams will then bowl two best-of-seven Baker matches to determine the final placings.

Previewing The Field

There will be a small but challenging field at the Bearcat Hammer Open this weekend as eight teams will compete. McKendree finished the 2019-20 season as the near-unanimous No. 1 team in the country, and the Bearcats occupy the top spot again to begin 2020-21. No.7 Stephen F. Austin and No. 18 Maryville join the Penguins and McKendree as top 25 teams in the field, and Valparaiso, Drury, Lewis and Upper Iowa will also compete. Stephen F. Austin and Valpo are members of the Southland Bowling League with Youngstown State.

Youngstown State is in the same pod as Southland Bowling League members Stephen F. Austin and Valparaiso, and Drury is also in the group. YSU will bowl each of those teams once in qualifying, and the Penguins will bowl Lewis, Maryville, McKendree and Upper Iowa twice each in the qualifying rounds.

Schedule

Friday – Five Baker matches beginning at 10:40 a.m. Eastern

• Match 1 vs. Valparaiso - Lanes 39 & 40
• Match 2 vs. Stephen F. Austin - Lanes 31 & 32
• Match 3 vs. McKendree - Lanes 35 & 36
• Match 4 vs. Lewis - Lanes 31 & 32
• Match 5 vs. Upper Iowa - Lanes 27 & 28

Saturday – Five traditional matches beginning at 10:30 a.m. Eastern

• Match 1 vs. Drury - Lanes 39 & 40
• Match 2 vs. Maryville - 27 & 28
• Match 3 vs. Upper Iowa - Lanes 35 & 36
• Match 4 vs. Lewis - Lanes 27 & 28
• Match 5 vs. McKendree - Lanes 39 & 40

Sunday – One traditional match, followed by two bracket matches beginning at 9:30 a.m. Eastern

• Match 1 vs. Maryville - Lanes 27 & 28
• Match 2 vs. TBA
• Match 3 vs. TBA

Penguin News & Notes

Roster Breakdown: Youngstown State has six returners from last year's team that launched the program into national relevance. Emma Dockery brings the most experience to the group as a regular member of the lineup over her first three years as a Penguin. Junior Emma Wrenn joined Dockery as the only bowler to compete in all 50 team matches last season, and senior Sarah Florence bowled in 39. Juniors Alexis Sullivan and Emma Wasielewski, sophomore Megan Grams, and freshmen Madyson Marx and Kirsten Moore join the trio of Dockery, Wrenn and Florence on the roster.

Returners Provide Core Group: Dockery, Florence and Wrenn will provide a solid core in 2020-21 as each bowled in at least 39 of the Penguins' 50 matches last season. Dockery will be in her fourth season as a starter, and Wrenn set the single-season school record for total pinfall in 2019-20 in what was her first campaign as a Penguin. Florence, a first-year transfer like Wrenn, had two of the top four tournament pinfalls and had two top-six individual finishes. Grams played a bigger role in the spring as she bowled in 11 of the final 17 matches.

Kuberski Named National, SBL Coach of the Year as Penguins Post Best Season: As Youngstown State ascended from 23rd in the NTCA preseason poll to as high as seventh in March, head coach Doug Kuberski was named the National Coach of the Year and the Southland Bowling League Coach of the Year. Even with the abbreviated season, Kuberski helped Youngstown State set school records with 81 head-to-head victories - an astonishing 32 more than any other season - and a .653 winning percentage in 2019-20. YSU had 15 wins over top-10 opponents during the season, matching its total from its previous three seasons combined. Kuberski became the program's head coach in December 2018, and last season was his first full campaign at the helm.

First Tournament Success: The Penguins have performed well in their first four season lid-lifters, and they'll try to carry on the success in 2020-21. Youngstown State opened their first three seasons at Kutztown's Bud Whitman Memorial, and it went at least 6-4 in head-to-head matches at those tournaments. In 2019-20, YSU won the Columbia 300 Penguin Classic at their home center. It was the Penguins' first-ever tournament victory, and it came in the first tournament at Holiday Bowl in Struthers, Ohio.

Previously at St. Clair Bowl: Youngstown State has competed at St. Clair Bowl once previously in its history when McKendree hosted the Brunswick Bearcat Open on Oct. 27-29, 2018. The Penguins went 3-9 in head-to-head matches, which included a victory over No. 21 St. Francis Brooklyn, and finished 18th in the 23-team field. Ashley Kolb was YSU's top individual finisher with a 928, which was two pins higher than Emily Dietz's 926. Emma Dockery was a freshman on that team and totaled 861 in five games.