Youngstown State University
Louisiana Tech
Penguins Advance to Regional Final With Two Wins on Wednesday
4/7/2021 12:00:00 AM | Bowling
The Youngstown State bowling team beat No. 4 Louisiana Tech and No. 5 Fairleigh Dickinson in the 2021 National Collegiate Women's Bowling Championship Regional on Wednesday and has earned a spot in Thursday's Regional Final.
The Penguins, who are competing in the NCAA Tournament for the first time in the program's five-year history, are now one win away from advancing to the final four championship bracket. YSU took both mega-matches 2-0 on Wednesday at AMF Pro Bowl Lanes in North Kansas City, Mo.
With teams needing to win two points in the mega match format featuring a standard five-person game for total pinfall, five Baker games for total pinfall and best-of-seven series of Baker games, the Penguins swept both the Lady Techsters and the Knights. YSU beat LaTech 966-918 in the traditional format and 974-945 in Baker to advance to the winners bracket against Fairleigh Dickinson. The Penguins then posted the second-best traditional match in school history with a 1,146-1,080 win to take the lead on FDU, and they closed the match with a 1,050-955 win in Baker.
"The ladies are doing an excellent job of playing their game and staying in their zone, and they are having some fun too," said YSU head coach Doug Kuberski. "After an evening of rest and reflection, we will prepare ourselves to get right back after it tomorrow. I'm so proud of not only what our ladies are doing, but also how they are doing it."
YSU vs. Louisiana Tech
In a battle of Southland Bowling League teams making their NCAA Tournament debuts, the Penguins were resilient in their 2-0 victory over Louisiana Tech.
In the traditional round, YSU won in four of the five spots of the lineup, and freshman Kirsten Moore had the highest score in the match with a 246. The Penguins started the match with 17 straight marks to build an early lead, but the Lady Techsters turned the match in their favor in the middle frames with seven strikes in eight chances.
After working through seven opens in the fourth through sixth frames, YSU's entire lineup struck in the seventh and had clean frames in the eighth in ninth as the Penguins got back in the game. LaTech's last two bowlers opened in the ninth, and the Lady Techsters also had three opens in the 10th to open the door for Youngstown State. YSU also had two opens in the 10th, but Emma Dockery threw a double and Moore and Emma Wrenn both went strike-spare as YSU won 966-918.
With a 1-0 lead in the match, YSU beat the Lady Techsters in four of the five Baker games and had a 39-pin edge in game two as it won 974-945 in total pinfall.
The Penguins shook off a four-bagger by LaTech in the first game of Baker to win 192-190, and the Lady Techsters bowled a 142 in game two as the Penguins had a 181 to build a 41-pin lead. YSU then had eight strikes for a 226 in game three, and it followed with a 204 to create a 55-pin lead through four games. YSU finished off the match with a 171 in game five.
Traditional Point
| Player | YSU | LaTech | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Marx | 189 | 176 | +13 |
| Moore | 246 | 182 | +64 |
| Florence | 152 | 215 | -63 |
| Dockery | 200 | 174 | +26 |
| Wrenn | 179 | 171 | +8 |
| Total | 966 | 918 | +48 |
Baker Point
| Game | YSU | LaTech | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 192 | 190 | +2 |
| 2 | 181 | 142 | +39 |
| 3 | 226 | 217 | +9 |
| 4 | 204 | 199 | +5 |
| 5 | 171 | 197 | -26 |
| Total | 974 | 945 | +29 |
YSU vs. Fairleigh Dickinson
The Penguins had perhaps their best back-to-back efforts of the season against Fairleigh Dickinson as it beat the Northeast Conference champions 1,146-1,080 in traditional play and 1,050-955 in Baker to win the match 2-0.
The traditional point saw outstanding efforts from both squads as nine of the 10 bowlers on the lanes topped 200. YSU senior Sarah Florence bowled a career-high 257 to lead all players, and Moore bowled a 235 to top FDU's third bowler in the lineup by 42 pins. YSU had all five of its bowlers top 200 for just the second time ever, and the 1,146 total was the second-highest pinfall for a traditional match in program history. Each Penguin had at least a three-strike string during the set.
Following back-to-back opens to start the traditional point, YSU had 37 straight marks until Wrenn left the 3-10 split as the anchor bowler in the eighth frame. Dockery picked up a big 4-7-9 split in the seventh to keep the string of marks going, and Florence threw seven straight strikes from the second through eighth frames on her way to the 257. After Wrenn's open in the eighth, YSU closed the match with 10 straight marks, which included a double in the 10th by Florence and a turkey by Dockery.
After a close 199-195 edge in game one of the Baker point, YSU took control with advantages of 223-170 and 255-192 to take a 120-pin lead through three games. The Penguins lost just five pins off the lead in game four with a 189, and their 184 in game five was plenty to hand FDU just its fourth loss of the season in 40 matches. All eight YSU players appeared in the fifth Baker game against the Knights.
Traditional Point
| Player | YSU | FDU | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Marx | 205 | 248 | -43 |
| Florence | 257 | 226 | +31 |
| Moore | 235 | 193 | +42 |
| Dockery | 236 | 211 | +25 |
| Wrenn | 213 | 202 | +11 |
| Total | 1146 | 1080 | +66 |
Baker Point
| Game | YSU | FDU | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 199 | 195 | +4 |
| 2 | 223 | 170 | +53 |
| 3 | 255 | 192 | +63 |
| 4 | 189 | 194 | -5 |
| 5 | 184 | 204 | -20 |
| Total | 1050 | 955 | +95 |
Youngstown State will now bowl at 4 p.m. on Thursday in another mega-match against the winner of Fairleigh Dickinson and Sam Houston. If the Penguins happen to lose the match at 4 p.m., they will bowl again in a rematch in a best-of-seven Baker series to decide which team will advance to the final four. All matches on Thursday will be streamed live on NCAA.com.
