Following a runner-up finish in its season-opening tournament two weeks ago, the Youngstown State bowling team will be back in action this weekend at the Destination Florida: Sunshine State Classic event. The three-day tournament is being held at AMF Sky Lanes in Orlando, Fla., and Sacred Heart is serving as the host.
All 13 of YSU's matches will be streamed live on the YSUsports YouTube channel, and results will be posted throughout the weekend on the @ysubowling X feed.
Tournament Preview
Previewing the Field
Youngstown State will get an early look at the majority of its fellow Conference USA teams this weekend as six of the conference's nine teams will compete at the Sunshine State Classic. YSU bowled against second-ranked and fellow C-USA member Arkansas State two weeks ago at the Penguin Classic, and YSU will see No. 1 Vanderbilt, No. 5 Stephen F. Austin, No. 7 Jacksonville State and No. 22 Tulane this week in Orlando.
In addition to the high-ranking Conference USA teams, the Sunshine State Classic will also feature No. 11 Duquesne, No. 15 Fairleigh Dickinson, No. 17 Sacred Heart and No. 23 Delaware State in its 18-team field.
Ranked Teams (10): #1 Vanderbilt, #2 Arkansas State, #5 Stephen F. Austin, #6 Youngstown State, #7 Jacksonville State, #11 Duquesne, #15 Fairleigh Dickinson, #17 Sacred Heart, #22 Tulane, #23 Delaware State
Teams Receiving Votes (4):Â Daemen, Monmouth, Saint Francis (Pa.), UAB
Unranked Teams (5):Â Alabama A&M, Emmanuel, Florida A&M, Texas Southern
Conference USA Teams (7):Â Arkansas State, Jacksonville State, Louisiana Tech, Stephen F. Austin, Tulane, Vanderbilt, Youngstown State
Youngstown State is in Pool A, along with Arkansas State, Daemen, Delaware State, Emmanuel, Monmouth, SFA, Tulane and UAB.
Format and Schedule
The Sunshine State Classic will follow the standard 13-match rotation this weekend at AMF Sky Lanes. There will be five Baker matches on Friday beginning at 9:25 a.m., and total pinfall will determine the winners of each head-to-head match. Five traditional matches will follow on Saturday starting at 8:25 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.
Friday, 9:25 a.m. - Five Baker matches
- #11 Duquesne | Lanes 13-14
- Texas Southern | Lanes 25-26
- Saint Francis (Pa.) | Lanes 21-22
- #7 Jacksonville State | Lanes 11-12
- Alabama A&M | Lanes 27-28
Saturday, 8:25 a.m. - Five traditional matches
- Position round within pool
- #1 Vanderbilt | Lanes 29-30
- #17 Sacred Heart | Lanes 5-6
- #15 Fairleigh Dickinson | Lanes 19-20
- Florida A&M | Lanes 7-8
Sunday, 8:25 a.m. - Three best-of-seven Baker matches
YSU's History at the Sunshine State Classic
This will be Youngstown State's second time competing at the Sunshine State Classic and its first trip to Orlando since Feb. 8-10, 2019. In the first semester under current head coach Doug Kuberski, the Penguins finished 10th in the field of 14 teams competing at Boardwalk Bowl. YSU beat third-ranked Nebraska in a Baker pinfall match to highlight its wins. Individually, Nikki Mendez was YSU's top finisher with a 21st-place set of 972.
Recapping the Penguin Classic
Youngstown State finished second at its season-opening tournament, the Penguin Classic at its home center of Holiday Bowl two weeks ago. YSU held the second-highest pinfall behind Arkansas State after each of the first two days of qualifying, and it maintained a hold on the second position with three more matches of qualifying on Oct. 15. That pitted the Penguins against Arkansas State, and the Red Wolves prevailed 4-0 in the best-of-seven Baker match for the tournament title.
The Penguins finished with a head-to-head record of 9-4 at the tournament, and they had the second-best average in the field at 201.3 per game. That was 5.7 pins higher than Nebraska, which finished third at the tournament. YSU had the best total in traditional play with 4,997 pins, and it had the second-highest Baker total.
Ranked Wins: YSU beat No. 25 Morgan State and No. 16 Mercyhurst in Baker, and it topped No. 11 Duquesne and No. 19 Central Missouri in traditional play.
Individual Highlights: Senior Kirsten Moore became the third bowler in program history to earn tournament MVP honors when she topped the individual field with a five-game set of 1,099. That was 39 pins higher than the second-place finisher. Junior Madison Doseck finished eighth with a 1,029 set and was six pins shy of making the all-tournament team.
Record Book Updates:
- Megan Grams, Lyndsay Ennis, Madison Doseck, Kirsten Moore and Madyson Marx bowled a 278 Baker game against Morgan State, which was the fifth-highest total in program history. That group went on to shoot 1,170 for the match, which was the second-highest Baker total in the record book.
- Moore's 219.8 average was the 10th-best tournament average ever by a Penguin. Her 1,099 set was the eighth-best total for a five-game tournament in program history.
Scouting the Penguins
Team Overview: The sixth-ranked Youngstown State bowling team returns all nine bowlers from last year's squad that set a school record for win percentage and advanced to the finals at the NCAA Lansing Regional. Fifth-year senior Megan Grams leads the veteran group along with fourth-year seniors Madyson Marx and Kirsten Moore, who are coming off seasons in which they were named Honorable Mention All-Americans by the NTCA. The team also has four juniors (Jade Cote, Madison Doseck, Ellie Drescher and Lyndsay Ennis) and a pair of sophomores (Hope Bunk and Hannah Miller) returning, and Amanda Granata is the Penguins' lone newcomer. Coach Doug Kuberski, the Southland Bowling League Coach of the Year in 2019-20 and 2022-23 and the NCAA Division I Coach of the Year in 2019-20, is entering his fifth full season at Youngstown State.
Summarizing 2022-23: Youngstown State made its third straight NCAA Tournament appearance and advanced to the Elite Eight for the second time in program history to punctuate a successful 2022-23 campaign. The Penguins posted their best winning percentage in program history by winning 65.9% of their matches while competing against one of the five toughest schedules in the country. Statistically, YSU also set school records for Baker frame average, spare percentage and fill-frame percentage. Depth was a key component of last season's success as four different Penguins earned all-tournament team accolades. The Penguins were ranked ninth or better in every NTCA poll last season, and they were seventh in the final poll.
News & Notes:
- YSU had the top grade-point average out of all bowling programs in the country in 2022-23 - LINK
- Seniors Madyson Marx and Kirsten Moore had two of the most accomplished seasons ever by a Penguin in 2022-23. Both were named Honorable Mention All-Americans by the NTCA, and Marx was a First-Team All-Southland Selection. - LINK
- Moore became the third Penguin in program history to earn MVP honors at a tournament when she was the top individual finisher at the Penguin Classic to open the season. - LINK
- Jade Cote has bowled in two international events for Team Canada since August. Earlier this month, she earned a silver medal at the IBF World Championships in trios. - LINK
- YSU is ranked sixth in the NTCA Preseason Top 25 Poll, which is its highest preseason ranking in program history - LINK
Up Next
Youngstown State will be idle next week, and it will bowl in back-to-back tournaments in November to finish up the fall slate. The Penguins will compete at the SFA Ladyjack Classic on Nov. 10-12 in Kenosha, Wis., and they'll bowl at the Eastern Shore Hawk Classic in Falls Church, Va., on Nov. 17-19.
