Bowling Begins November Slate at SFA Ladyjack Classic in Wisconsin

fallThe Youngstown State bowling team will try to sustain its great start to the 2023-24 season as it gets back into action this weekend at the SFA Ladyjack Classic in Kenosha, Wis. The three-day tournament at Sheridan Lanes will begin on Friday, and it will be the first of back-to-back competitions for the Penguins as they enter the final stretch of their fall season.

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.

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The No. 6 Penguins are coming off an impressive win at the Destination Orlando: Sunshine State Classic tournament two weeks ago, and they posted a runner-up finish at the Penguin Classic to open the season on Oct. 13-15.

Tournament Preview

Previewing the Field

Youngstown State will compete against some of the best teams in the country once again this week as it begins its November slate in Wisconsin. Seven top 10 teams according to the National Tenpin Coaches Association Preseason Poll will make up nearly half of the 16-team field.

Ranked Teams (11): #1 Vanderbilt, #2 Arkansas State, #3 Nebraska, #5 Stephen F. Austin, #6 Youngstown State, #7 Jacksonville State, #9 Maryville, #13 Newman, #14 McKendree, #20 UW-Whitewater, #22 Tulane

Teams Receiving Votes (1): Lewis

Unranked Teams (4): Aurora, Carthage, Marian, Valparaiso

Conference USA Teams (7): Arkansas State, Jacksonville State, Stephen F. Austin, Tulane, Valparaiso, Vanderbilt, Youngstown State

Format and Schedule

The Penguins once again will follow the standard 13-match rotation this weekend at Sheridan Lanes. There will be five Baker matches on Friday beginning at 11:35 a.m. Eastern, and total pinfall will determine the winners of each head-to-head match. Five traditional matches will follow on Saturday starting at 10:25 a.m. Eastern 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 9:30 a.m. Eastern. The bracket matches will be contested in a best-of-seven Baker format.

Friday, 11:35 a.m. ET - Five Baker matches

#2 Arkansas State | Lanes 5-6
Lewis | Lanes 9-10
#20 UW-Whitewater | Lanes 15-16
#9 Maryville | Lanes 17-18
#22 Tulane | Lanes 19-20

Saturday, 10:25 a.m. ET - Five traditional matches

#5 Stephen F. Austin | Lanes 21-22
#7 Jacksonville State | Lanes 7-8
Aurora | Lanes 13-14
#3 Nebraska | Lanes 17-18
Carthage | Lanes 5-6

Sunday, 9:30 a.m. ET - Three best-of-seven Baker matches

YSU's History at the Ladyjack Classic

This will be the Penguins' fourth time competing at the Ladyjack Classic in the last five seasons, with the COVID-19-affected campaign of 2020-21 being the only absence. Youngstown State has finished in the top half each time and had a high finish of fifth in 2021-22.

2019-20: Team finish - 7th of 15; Head-to-head record - 8-5; Top individual finisher - Rachel Darrow (16th)

2021-22: Team finish - 5th of 16; Head-to-head record - 10-3; Top individual finisher - Lyndsay Ennis (17th)

2022-23: Team finish - 6th of 14; Head-to-head record - 9-5; Top individual finisher - Kirsten Moore (8th)

Recapping Destination Orlando

Youngstown State had arguably its best regular-season weekend in school history two weeks ago when it went a perfect 3-0 on Sunday to win the Destination Orlando: Sunshine State Classic at AMF Sky Lanes. The Penguins captured their third tournament title in program history and their first since 2019. YSU took down No. 1 Vanderbilt, No. 5 Stephen F. Austin and No. 7 Jacksonville State on Sunday in the best-of-seven bracket to claim the championship. YSU had the second-highest Baker pinfall on day one, and it had to grind through some low scores during the middle matches of traditional play to remain in the top four and have a chance at a title run. The Penguins averaged 207.81 to beat Vanderbilt and SFA 4-2 and sweep Jax State 4-0 in the championship match. Vanderbilt was the third seed in the bracket, SFA held the top seed, and Jacksonville State was the second seed.

Ranked Wins: The Penguins beat No. 7 Jacksonville State in the Baker total pinfall format on Oct. 27, and they topped No. 1 Vanderbilt, No. 5 Stephen F. Austin and the seventh-ranked Gamecocks again in the best-of-seven Baker round on Oct. 29.

Individual Highlights: Junior Jade Cote was named the tournament's Most Valuable Player as she anchored the Penguins on their title run for most of the weekend. She averaged a school-record 23.22 pins per frame in Baker, and her overall scoring average of 22.30 was the second-best mark in program history. In the traditional format, Kirsten Moore led the Penguins for the second straight tournament with a 1,052 set, which tied for 14th in the individual standings. Three of her teammates were close behind as Lyndsay Ennis (17th), Cote (20th), and Madison Doseck (22nd) all finished in the top 22.

Record Book Updates:

The Penguins averaged 204.14 per game at the tournament, which was their fourth-best overall average for a tournament that follows the standard 13-match format.
YSU's team total of 5,167 in the Baker total pinfall round on Oct. 27 was the fifth-highest total in school history.
Jade Cote set a school record for a single tournament by averaging 23.22 pins per frame in Baker. The previous mark was 22.94 by Emma Dockery at the 2021 Big Red Invitational.
Cote's overall average of 22.30 was the second-best mark ever by a Penguin, behind only her average of 22.57 at the 2022 Big Red Invitational.
Megan Grams, Ellie Drescher, Lyndsay Ennis, Kirsten Moore and Cote bowled a 274 game in Baker against Duquesne on the tournament's opening day. That was the sixth-highest Baker game in program history.
Grams, Madison Doseck, Ennis, Moore and Cote then bowled a 268 later in the day against Jacksonville State for the 12th-best Baker game in the record book.
YSU's best overall match total at the tournament was 1,106 in the team format by Doseck, Cote, Moore, Ennis and Grams on Oct. 28.

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 was ranked sixth in the NTCA Preseason Top 25 Poll, which is its highest preseason ranking in program history - LINK

Up Next

Youngstown State will conclude the fall portion of its schedule next week at the Eastern Shore Hawk Classic in Falls Church, Va., on Nov. 17-19.