Youngstown State was on the wrong end of four head-to-head matches on Saturday but bowled well enough to remain in the top four of the team standings on Saturday at the Destination Orlando: Sunshine State Classic tournament.
It was the second day of the tournament and featured five traditional matches at AMF Sky Lanes. The Penguins dropped their first four decisions but finished the round with a 1,106 set to remain in contention for the tournament championship. Youngstown State is fourth heading into Sunday's best-of-seven Baker bracket.
"The ladies showed a lot of heart to hang tough through adversity today and shoot a solid 1,100 to put ourselves in position heading into tomorrow," said YSU head coach Doug Kuberski. "Days like today are going to happen over the course of the season, and we believe in the power of the normal curve while we increase our sample size for the season. We had a solid meeting to go over our notes after today's block, and we're excited for championship Sunday. I like our chances to finish strong."
The Penguins began into a red-hot Stephen F. Austin team to start the morning as the Ladyjacks set a school record with a 1,252 set and had Juliana Kerrigan shoot a 300. YSU shot 1,010 against SFA, and it had to grind through three straight sets in the 900s. YSU bowled 904 in its next match in a loss to Vanderbilt, and it fell 1,063-977 to Sacred Heart and 1,118-984 to Fairleigh Dickinson. The Penguins needed a big set to stay in contention, and they fired a 1,106 for the highest total in the house in match five to beat Florida A&M by 143 pins.
Kirsten Moore was Youngstown State's top finisher with a 1,052 set over five games, which slotted her 15th in the individual standings. She was two spots ahead of teammate Lyndsay Ennis, who was 17th with a 1,047 set. Jade Cote was 20th with a 1,039, and Madison Doseck finished 22nd with a 1,035.
Youngstown State totaled 10,148 pins in its 10 matches of qualifying, which was 200 pins behind third-place Vanderbilt and 51 pins ahead of fifth-place Duquesne. The Penguins will begin Sunday's bracket against Vanderbilt at 8:25 a.m.
