Youngstown State University
PVAMU Invitational
Marx Earns MVP Honors to Highlight Final Day at PVAMU Invitational
1/29/2023 6:20:00 PM | Bowling
Junior Madyson Marx became just the second tournament MVP in program history, and the Youngstown State bowling team won two more matches on the final day of the prestigious Prairie View A&M Invitational on Sunday. The three-day tournament was held at The ITRC in Arlington, Texas.
Marx was second in the individual standings heading into Sunday, and she bowled a 201 in the lone remaining traditional match to move up one spot and claim the tournament title. She finished with a six-game set of 1,322, which was six pins higher than North Carolina A&T's Katie Robb. Marx is the first YSU bowler to be a tournament champion since Emma Wrenn in 2019.
"We started the day strong and finished the day strong, and, through the ups and downs, stayed together as one," said YSU head coach Doug Kuberski. "With the lanes playing differently day to day and lane to lane, shotmaking, communication and togetherness are key, and we are doing a solid job across the board."
"After some much-needed rest, we're gonna go over our notes and get back after it, with our focus on continuing to grow together."
As Marx bowled her 201 to cap the individual title, the Penguins topped No. 4 Nebraska 1,039-986. Lyndsay Ennis bowled a 258, the highest total by a Penguin over the weekend, and Jade Cote (232) and Hope Bunk (205) were also above 200 as YSU beat the Huskers for the first time this season.
The high team score brought the Penguins into a tie with Stephen F. Austin for fourth place after 11 matches of qualifying with 10,944 pins. SFA was given the tiebreaker due to a head-to-head win over YSU on Friday, which gave the Lady Jacks a berth into the championship bracket and sent the Penguins into the bracket to determine fifth through eighth place.
As the fifth seed in the playoff bracket, YSU dropped its opening match in the best-of-seven format 4-0 to North Carolina A&T. The Penguins then outlasted Arkansas State in seven games in the battle for seventh place.
Freshman Hope Bunk finished ninth individually with a 1,245 set, and sophomore Jade Cote placed 27th with a 1,169. Lyndsay Ennis bowled a 1,158 set to finish 30th, and Kirsten Moore was 44th with an 1,104 set.
Nebraska was the top qualifier, but Vanderbilt finished as the tournament champion by beating McKendree and SFA in the playoff bracket. Stephen F. Austin was second, Nebraska was third and McKendree finished fourth. North Carolina A&T won both of its bracket matches to jump from eighth in qualifying to fifth for the final standings, and Sam Houston was sixth. Finishing behind YSU in seventh were Arkansas State, Louisiana Tech, Fairleigh Dickinson, Mount St. Mary's and Prairie View A&M.
Youngstown State's next tournament will be at Arkansas State's Mid-Winter Invitational on Feb. 17-19.
