Bowling to Resume Season This Weekend at Northeast Classic

The Youngstown State bowling team will begin the second half of its season this weekend as it travels to Deptford, N.J., for the Northeast Classic. Sacred Heart is serving as the host of the tournament at Bowlero Deptford, which will begin on Friday.

All of the Penguins' matches will be streamed live on the YSUsports YouTube channel, and results will be posted when they become available on the team's Twitter and Facebook accounts.

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Youngstown State begins the spring portion of its schedule after a successful fall semester that featured three top-three finishes in four tournaments. The Penguins went 41-13 in head-to-head matches in the fall, and they posted back-to-back runner-up finishes at the MOTIV Penguin Classic and the "Dezy Strong" Classic. YSU was last in action on Nov. 20 when it locked up a third-place finish at the Eastern Shore Hawk Classic.

The Penguins' accomplishments in the fall semester gave voters enough reason to elevate them two positions in the National Tenpin Coaches Association Top 25 Poll. YSU was ranked seventh in the December poll after starting ninth in the preseason poll. The seventh-place ranking ties for the highest in-season ranking in school history. The NTCA Power Index Rating, which is based on each team's record and strength of schedule similar to the NCAA's RPI, slotted the Penguins third after the fall.

The Northeast Classic will be the first of five tournaments in the spring leading up to the Southland Bowling League Championships. YSU will also bowl at tournaments hosted by Prairie View A&M, Arkansas State, Nebraska and Vanderbilt before the conference event on March 24-26.

Tournament Format

The Northeast Classic will follow the standard 13-match rotation this weekend at Bowlero Deptford with 10 matches of qualifying and three bracket matches. There will be five Baker matches on Friday beginning at 10:30 a.m., and total pinfall will determine the winners of each head-to-head match. Five traditional matches will follow on Saturday starting at 9:25 a.m. with pinfall again determining the winners. The total pins from the first 10 matches of the tournament will determine seeding for bracket play on Sunday, which begins at 8:25 a.m. The bracket matches will be contested in a best-of-seven Baker format.

Scouting the Field

Southland Teams (6): Arkansas State, Sam Houston, Stephen F. Austin, Tulane, Vanderbilt, Youngstown State

Ranked Teams (22 from NTCA December Poll): #1 McKendree, #2 North Carolina A&T, #3 Vanderbilt, #4 Nebraska, #5 SFA, #6 Arkansas State, #7 Youngstown State, #8 Sam Houston, #10 Maryland Eastern Shore, #11 Maryville, #12 Duquesne, #13 Delaware State, #14 Fairleigh Dickinson, #15 Mount St. Mary's, #17 Tulane, #18 Mercyhurst, #19 Medaille, #20 Central Missouri, #21 Sacred Heart, #23 UW-Whitewater, #24 Morgan State, #25 Merrimack

Teams Also Receiving Votes (3): LIU, Monmouth, Wilmington

Unranked Teams (9): Adelphi, Bryant, Chestnut Hill, Kutztown, Mount Aloysius, NJCU, St. Francis Brooklyn, Wagner

In what is claimed to be the second-largest tournament field for NCAA bowling teams since 2004, Youngstown State is one of 33 teams set to compete at Bowlero Deptford this weekend. The field features 22 teams that are ranked in the top 25 of December's National Tenpin Coaches Association Poll, including each of the top eight teams and 15 of the top 16. The Penguins are seventh in the rankings, and they are also one of six teams from the Southland Bowling League heading to The Garden State.

Teams are divided into two pools of 17, and Youngstown State is in the first pool that features many of the highly-ranked teams from the Central Region. The Penguins will bowl against 10 teams from the second pool in qualifying.

YSU's Schedule

Friday - Five Baker matches beginning at 10:30 a.m.

Kutztown - Lanes 35-36
LIU - Lanes 27-28
#25 Merrimack - Lanes 21-22
Wagner - Lanes 15-16
#15 Mount St. Mary's - Lanes 7-8

Saturday - Five traditional matches beginning at 9:25 a.m.

Monmouth - Lanes 41-42
#13 Delaware State - Lanes 37-38
#14 Fairleigh Dickinson - Lanes 25-26
Bryant - Lanes 19-20
#10 Maryland Eastern Shore - Lanes 9-10

Sunday - Three best-of-seven Baker matches beginning at 8:25 a.m.

Previously at the Northeast Classic

Youngstown State made its Northeast Classic debut in 2022, and it had a high-scoring weekend on its way to a third-place finish among 18 teams. The Penguins went 9-4 in head-to-head matches, and it topped No. 1 Sam Houston twice in bracket play on Sunday. YSU also had wins over No. 4 North Carolina A&T and No. 5 Vanderbilt at the tournament.

The Guins had their highest-scoring tournament in school history at last season's Northeast Classic with a 210.39 average per game. In the Baker format, YSU had its second-best Baker match total in school history with a 1,164 against Maryland Eastern Shore in 2022, and anchor Emma Wrenn averaged 22.70 pins per frame in Baker play for the second-highest Baker frame average for a tournament in school history. In traditional play, Wrenn shot a 1,076 set over five games to place 16th, and Megan Grams shot 1,065 to finish 23rd.

Recapping the Hawk Classic

Youngstown State registered a 10-3 head-to-head record and finished third out of 18 teams at the Eastern Shore Hawk Classic on Nov. 18-20, 2022, to conclude the fall semester schedule. The Penguins won seven of their final eight matches, and they went unbeaten in bracket play against Sam Houston, Delaware State and Fairleigh Dickinson. YSU was fifth after grinding through two days of low scoring during qualifying, and it moved up two positions for the final standings to post its third top-three finish of the fall.

Junior Madyson Marx was YSU's top individual finisher in traditional play in ninth place with a five-game set of 1,014. Sophomore Ellie Drescher placed 18th (975), and sophomore Jade Cote was 40th (895).

Up Next

Youngstown State will fly south for the prestigious PVAMU Invitational at The ITRC in Arlington, Texas, next weekend. The Penguins will be one of 12 teams in the exclusive field that features the top nine teams and 11 of the top 15 in December's NTCA Poll. The competition will begin on Jan. 27 at 12:15 p.m. Eastern.