Bowling’s Final Fall Tournament Coming This Weekend

Youngstown, Ohio — Youngstown State's bowling team will compete for the final time in the fall semester this weekend at the three-day Garden State Classic. Monmouth is hosting the tournament at Howell Lanes in Howell, N.J.

The Penguins' 13 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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Tournament Preview

The Penguins are competing at Monmouth's event for the first time in program history, and they will be one of 22 teams in the field. Eight of the top 12 teams in the National Tenpin Coaches Association's Preseason Top 25 team will be in attendance, but YSU will be one of just three Conference USA squads competing at the tournament. In addition to the third-ranked Penguins, No. 1 Jacksonville State, No. 4 Vanderbilt, No. 5 Nebraska, No. 6 North Carolina A&T, No. Maryville, No. 10 Duquesne and No. 12 Mount St. Mary's will also bowl this weekend in New Jersey.

Previewing the Field

Ranked Teams (11): #1 Jacksonville State, #3 Youngstown State, #4 Vanderbilt, #5 Nebraska, #6 North Carolina A&T, #9 Maryville, #10 Duquesne, #12 Mount St. Mary's, #20 Fairleigh Dickinson, #23 Delaware State, #25 Niagara

Teams Receiving Votes (3): Bryant, Felician, Monmouth

Unranked Teams: (7): Adelphi, Coppin State, Dominican, Holy Family, Molloy, Wilmington

Conference USA Teams (3): Jacksonville State, Youngstown State, Vanderbilt

Format and Schedule

For the first time in program history, Youngstown State will bowl in seven traditional matches at a tournament this weekend. Friday's competition will be the standard format of five Baker total pinfall matches starting at 9:55 a.m., and five traditional matches will follow on Saturday beginning at 8:55 a.m. On Sunday, teams will bowl two more traditional matches to conclude qualifying, and one best-of-seven Baker match will follow to determine the final standings. Sunday's action will start at 8:25 a.m.

Friday at 9:55 a.m. » Five Baker matches

Saturday at 8:55 a.m. » Five traditional matches

Sunday at 8:25 a.m. » Three best-of-seven Baker matches

YSU's History at the Garden State Classic

Youngstown State is competing at the Garden State Classic for the first time in program history, and it is bowling in New Jersey for the first time in two years. The Penguins competed at the Hawk Flight Invite hosted by Monmouth at King Pin Lanes from 2017-19, and the Northeast Classic was held in Deptford, N.J. New Jersey in 2021-22 and 2022-23.

Recapping SFA Ladyjack Classic

Youngstown State earned its third consecutive top-five finish to start the season when it was last in action from Nov. 8-10 at the SFA Ladyjack Classic. YSU was third in total pinfall after five Baker matches on Nov. 8, and it had a strong finish on Nov. 9 to climb back into the top four and keep its championship hopes alive. The Penguins lost 4.5-3.5 in their first bracket match to Maryville, and they split their final two matches against Vanderbilt and Nebraska to finish fourth.

The Penguins earned three head-to-head wins over top-four opponents, beating No. 1 Jacksonville State and No. 4 Vanderbilt twice.

Madyson Marx was YSU's top finisher in the individual standings with a five-game set of 1,077, which was 10 pins shy of fifth place. She was consistent across the set with four of her games ranging between 215 and 227. Kirsten Moore was nine behind behind Marx with an 11th-place finish, and Jade Cote placed 24th.

A Glimpse at the Guins

Team Overview: Youngstown State has high aspirations of returning to the Final Four for the third time in the last five years in 2024-25. Eight bowlers return from last year's team that won the Lansing Regional and finished third overall at the NCAA Championship. A trio of All-Americans, fourth-year senior Jade Cote and fifth-year seniors Madyson Marx and Kirsten Moore, headline the veteran returning group that includes seven upperclassmen. Madison Doseck, Ellie Drescher and Lyndsay Ennis are fourth-year seniors, Hannah Miller is a junior, Amanda Granata is a sophomore, and Kara Beissel is the lone freshman. Doug Kuberski, the 2023-24 Bill Straub Division I National Coach of the Year, is entering his sixth full season at Youngstown State.

Up Next

Youngstown State's next tournament won't be until the Northeast Classic on Jan. 17, 2025, at the start of the spring semester. That will be the first of five tournaments in the spring leading up to the Conference USA Championship, which will be contested from March 21-23.