The Youngstown State bowling team will try to make another run at the Southland Bowling League Championship this weekend as the conference's eight teams compete for the automatic berth into the National Collegiate Bowling Championship. The double-elimination tournament will take place Friday through Sunday at Rowlett Bowlarama in Rowlett, Texas.
Live video for the large majority of the matches the SBL Championship will be streamed on the InsideBowling YouTube Channel (https://www.youtube.com/c/insidebowling), and regular updates will be provided on YSU's social media channels.
Based on the NCAA's RPI, the Penguins are the fourth seed in the tournament for the third consecutive year, and they will open tournament play against fifth-seeded Sam Houston on Friday at 9:30 a.m. Eastern. YSU's second match on Friday will be at 2:30 p.m. against either top-seeded Vanderbilt or eighth-seeded Valparaiso. Last season, as the fourth seed the Penguins advanced to the championship match for the first time in program history.
The winner of the Southland Bowling League Championship will receive the conference's automatic bid into the NCAA Tournament, which will begin on April 7 at one of four regional sites (Arlington, Texas; Lansing, Mich.; Pittsburgh, Pa; and Rochester, N.Y).
Tournament Format
The Southland Bowling League Championship is a double-elimination tournament, and the first six rounds will be decided in the mega match format. Teams will bowl one standard five-person game for total pinfall, then five Baker games for total pinfall. If one team wins both the traditional point and Baker point, they will advance to the next round. If the teams split the standard and Baker games, they will move on to a best-of-seven series of Baker games to determine the winner.
Schedule
All eight teams will begin play at the Southland Bowling League Championship on Friday at 9:30 a.m. Eastern. The double-elimination tournament will continue with round two at 2:30 p.m. Eastern on Friday, and two matches will also be held on Saturday and Sunday. If the team emerging from the losers' bracket wins against the team advancing to the finals from the winners' bracket, a third match will be held on Sunday to determine the champion. That winner-take-all contest will be a best-of-seven Baker match.
Round One - Friday at 9:30 a.m. Eastern
- Match 1 - No. 1 Vanderbilt vs. No. 8 Valparaiso | Lanes 7-8
- Match 2 - No. 4 Youngstown vs. No. 5 Sam Houston | Lanes 11-12
- Match 3 - No. 3 Stephen F. Austin vs. No. 6 Louisiana Tech | Lanes 15-16
- Match 4 - No. 2 Arkansas State vs. No. 7 Tulane | Lanes 19-20
Round Two - Friday at 2:30 p.m. Eastern
- Match 5 - Match 1 Loser vs. Match 2 Loser | Lanes 19-20
- Match 6 - Match 3 Loser vs. Match 4 Loser | Lanes 11-12
- Match 7 - Match 1 Winner vs. Match 2 Winner | Lanes 15-16
- Match 8 - Match 3 Winner vs. Match 4 Winner | Lanes 7-8
Round Three - Saturday at 9:30 a.m. Eastern
- Match 9 - Match 5 Winner vs. Match 7 Loser | Lanes 15-16
- Match 10 - Match 6 Winner vs. Match 8 Loser | Lanes 19-20
Round Four - Saturday at 2:30 p.m. Eastern
- Match 11 - Match 7 Winner vs. Match 8 Winner | Lanes 19-20
- Match 12 - Match 9 Winner vs. Match 10 Winner | Lanes 5-6
Round Five - Sunday at 9 a.m. Eastern
- Match 13 (8 a.m.) - Match 11 Loser vs. Match 12 Winner | Lanes 7-8
Round Six - Sunday at TBD
- Match 14 - Match 11 Winner vs. Match 13 Winner | Lanes 17-18
Round Seven - Sunday at TBD
- Match 15 (if necessary) - Match 14 Winner vs. Match 14 Loser | Lanes 13-14
Tournament Field
All eight teams from the Southland Bowling League will compete this weekend for the conference's automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament. The bracket is seeded based on the NCAA RPI.
Vanderbilt holds the top seed, and it will open against eighth-seeded Valparaiso. Fourth-seeded Youngstown State and fifth-seeded Sam Houston are also in the top-half of the bracket, and YSU will play against either Valpo or Vanderbilt in the second round.
On the bottom half of the bracket, Arkansas State is the second seed in the tournament and will open against seventh-seeded Tulane. The final pairing will feature the third-seeded Ladyjacks from Stephen F. Austin and the sixth-seeded Lady Techsters from Louisiana Tech.
The Southland is well-respected in the National Tenpin Coaches Association Top 25 Poll that was released on March 10. Vanderbilt holds the second spot in the coaches vote, and Arkansas State, Stephen F. Austin and Youngstown State are fourth through sixth. Sam Houston is also in the top 10 in the ninth slot, and Louisiana Tech is 12th.
The Penguins went 15-10 against Southland teams in head-to-head matches during the regular season. YSU was 2-0 against its opening-round opponent Sam Houston, beating the Bearkats 1,014-936 in traditional play at the PVAMU Invitational and 4.5-3.5 in a best-of-seven match at the Eastern Shore Hawk Classic. Looking ahead to the second round, YSU was 1-2 against Vanderbilt and 2-1 versus Valparaiso during the regular season.
2022-23 Record vs. Southland Teams
- 5-1 vs. Arkansas State
- 3-1 vs. Louisiana Tech
- 2-0 vs. Sam Houston
- 2-5 vs. Stephen F. Austin
- 0-0 vs. Tulane
- 2-1 vs. Valparaiso
- 1-2 vs. Vanderbilt
Scouting The Penguins
In the four full seasons with Doug Kuberski as its head coach, Youngstown State has developed into a perennial national contender. YSU has appeared in the NCAA Regionals in each of the last two seasons, and it has been ranked in the top 10 of the National Tenpin Coaches Association's poll for 16 of the past 17 votes. The Penguins advanced to the Final Four in 2020-21, and current student-athletes Megan Grams, Madyson Marx and Kirsten Moore are eager to lead the team back to the national finals in Las Vegas.
While Emma Dockery and Emma Wrenn, All-Tournament Team selections from last year's Southland Championship, have graduated, Youngstown State had bowlers step up across the lineup to post its best head-to-head record in program history during the regular season. The Penguins went 78-39 in their nine regular-season tournaments, and their .667 winning percentage sits ahead of the 2019-20 team's school-record mark of .653.
YSU finished eighth or better in all nine of its regular-season tournaments, and it began the campaign with back-to-back runner-up finishes at the MOTIV Penguin Classic and the Dezy Strong Classic. The Penguins also had top-five finishes at the Eastern Shore Hawk Classic, the Northeast Classic, and the Big Red Invitational. YSU had its best finish ever at the Vanderbilt Music City Classic last week as it placed eighth.
The Penguins are averaging a school-record 200.21 in Baker games, and they are just behind last season's school-record pace in traditional games at 199.34. YSU is also track to set new school standards for fill-frame percentage (84.24%), spare percentage (69.12%), makeable spare percentage (82.48%), and single pin spare percentage (87.89%).
Individually, Marx is averaging 210.35 in traditional play, which is five pins higher than the current school record for a season and nearly 10 pins higher than her previous career best. Moore, a fellow junior, leads the team with a 20.36 Baker frame average, and she is averaging a 203.38 in traditional games. Marx has five top-10 individual finishes at tournaments this season, which tied for the most in the conference, and Moore had four.
Previously at the Southland Championship
This is Youngstown State's fourth appearance at the Southland Bowling League Championship, and the Penguins have improved their finish in each of their three trips. YSU went 0-2 as the sixth seed in its conference tournament debut in 2018-19, and the Penguins won an elimination match in 2020-21 as the fourth seed. As the fourth seed again in 2021-22, YSU won its first two matches to advance to the winners' bracket final, and it won an elimination contest to earn a spot in the championship match. The Penguins lost 2-0 to Vanderbilt to finish as the tournament runners-up.
- 2018-19 (No. 6 seed): L, 2-0 vs. No. 3 Arkansas State | L, 2-0 vs. No. 7 Louisiana Tech
- 2019-20: Tournament canceled due to COVID-19
- 2020-21 (No. 4 seed): L, 2-1 vs. No. No. 5 Sam Houston | W, 2-0 vs. No. 8 Valparaiso | L, 2-0 vs. No. 1 Arkansas State
- 2021-22 (No. 4 seed): W, 2-1 vs. No. 5 Louisiana Tech | W, 2-1 vs. No. 1 Sam Houston | L, 2-1 vs. No. 2 Vanderbilt | W, 2-1 vs. No. 5 Louisiana Tech | L, 2-0 vs. No. 2 Vanderbilt
Notes
- Of the eight active members on the roster, five bowled in at least 50 frames at last season's Southland tournament.
- YSU, Arkansas State and Vanderbilt have been top-four seeds in each of the last three tournaments.
Recapping the Music City Classic
Youngstown State had its best finish in program history at the Vanderbilt Music City Classic last week at the Smyrna Bowling Center. The Penguins qualified eighth, and that's where they finished. YSU posted three wins over top-10 teams, beating No. 7 North Carolina A&T in Baker play, No. 2 Vanderbilt in the traditional format, and No. 8 Maryville in the best-of-seven Baker bracket.
The Penguins went 7-6 in head-to-head matches overall, and they posted high scores on both Baker days in Smyrna. YSU averaged 200.9 in the Baker total pinfall matches last Friday, which was the fifth-best average in the field of 30 teams. The Penguins slid back to a 192.0 average in traditional play on Saturday, but they averaged 211.4 in the best-of-seven Baker format on Sunday. That was the third-highest average in the house.
Individually, junior Madyson Marx was YSU's highest finisher with a 21st-place set of 1,047. Freshman Hope Bunk posted a 1,020 set to place 29th. In Baker, Kirsten Moore averaged 21.84 pins per frame, and Jade Cote averaged 21.69.
Up Next
If Youngstown State can win the Southland Bowling League Championship, it would automatically qualify for the regionals of the NCAA Tournament on April 7-8. If the Penguins come up short this weekend, they will have a chance to earn an at-large bid. The field will be announced during a selection show that will be broadcast a 4 p.m. on March 31 on NCAA.com.
