Bowling Continues National Championship Chase at Final Four this Weekend

The Youngstown State bowling team looks to reach the pinnacle of its sport this Friday and Saturday as it competes for the National Collegiate Bowling Championship at Thunderbowl Lanes in Allen Park, Mich. The Penguins are in the Final Four and national semifinals for the second time in the last four years, and they are three wins away from capturing the university's first national championship in any sport since 1997.

The Penguins' championship quest begins at 9 a.m. on Friday against Arkansas State, and YSU will bowl again at 3 p.m. on Friday against either Jacksonville State or Sam Houston as the double-elimination portion of the bracket continues. If the Penguins win twice on Friday, they will bowl in the national final at 9 p.m. on Saturday on ESPNU. If YSU splits its matches on Friday, it will compete in an elimination match on Saturday at 9 a.m. to try and advance to the final.

Youngstown State returns to Michigan after winning the NCAA Regional this past weekend at Royal Scot Golf & Bowl in Lansing, Mich. As the top seed in the Regional, YSU defeated Marian and Maryville on Friday to advance to the championship round through the winners' bracket. The Penguins then dropped a mega-match to Nebraska in their first attempt at the title, but they defeated the Huskers 4-2 in the winner-take-all, best-of-seven Baker match play round.

The first three rounds of the Final Four will be broadcast live on NCAA.com, and the final will be on ESPNU. Regular updates leading up to each round and throughout the event will be provided on YSU's social media channels.

YSU Bowling on Social Media: Facebook | Instagram | X
Mobile App: iOS Download | Android Download
Final Four Tickets
Championship Program
Bracket
NCAA.com Tournament Central
YSU Season Stats

Tournament Preview

Format

The first three rounds of the Final Four will be decided by mega-matches, which is the same format as the Conference USA Championship and the Lansing Regional. 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 and Baker rounds, it will advance to the next round. If the teams split the standard and Baker rounds, they will move on to a best-of-seven series of Baker games to determine the winner.

The first three rounds will be mega matches, and the championship final is a single-elimination, best-of-seven Baker match.

For more information, visit A Quick Guide to YSU Bowling and the Final Four.

Schedule

Friday, April 12

Match 1: Jacksonville State vs. Sam Houston (9 a.m.)
Match 2: Arkansas State vs. Youngstown State (9 a.m.)
Match 3: Winner Match 1 vs. Winner Match 2 (3 p.m.)
Match 4: Loser Match 1 vs. Loser Match 2 ( 3 p.m.)

Saturday, April 13

Match 5: Winner Match 4 vs. Loser Match 3 (9 a.m.)
Match 6: Championship Final (9 p.m. on ESPNU)

Scouting the Field

All four teams in the Final Four are members of Conference USA as the conference once again shows its quality. Jacksonville State, Youngstown State and Arkansas State finished first through third at the conference event on March 22-24, and Sam Houston tied for sixth.

Arkansas State: Arkansas State is the second overall seed in the 18-team tournament, and it advanced to the Final Four by winning the Rochester Regional. The Red Wolves beat William Smith 2-0 in the opening round, then won 2-1 decisions against Merrimack and Vanderbilt at the Regional. Arkansas State has been the national runner-up three times in program history and twice in the last three years. The Red Wolves have plenty of returning experience from those runner-up finishes. Emma Stull is a Second-Team All-Conference USA selection, and Karli VanDuinen is a third-teamer.

Jacksonville State: Jacksonville State won the Conference USA Championship in its first season as an intercollegiate program, and it went 3-0 at the Pittsburgh Regional. Six Gamecocks bowlers won a national championship at McKendree two years ago before moving to Jacksonville State with head coach Shannon O'Keefe, and transfer Crystal Elliott won a national title at Nebraska in 2021. The Gamecocks are the top overall seed in the tournament and lead the country in scoring average, and they sit atop the NCAA RPI and the NTCA poll. Rebecca Hagerman was named the Conference USA Bowler of the Year, and Elliott was named the conference's Newcomer of the Year.

Sam Houston: Sam Houston was the third-highest seed in the Arlington Regional but prevailed to advance to the Final Four. The Bearkats beat Louisiana Tech and North Carolina A&T 2-1 to advance to the finals, and they topped the Lady Techsters 2-1 again in the championship. Sam Houston won the national title in 2014 in what has been its only appearance in the championship match. Denise Blankenzee was named to the All-CUSA Second Team and Second-Team All-Central Region.

This Season Against Final Four Teams

4-6 vs. Arkansas State

L: 1,096-987 in Baker pinfall at the Penguin Classic on Oct. 15
L: 4-0 in best-of-seven Baker at the Penguin Classic on Oct. 15
W: 1,035-973 in Baker pinfall at the MOTIV Ladyjack Classic on Nov. 10
W: 4-3 in best-of-seven Baker at the MOTIV Ladyjack Classic on Nov. 12
L: 4-3 in best-of-seven Baker at the Northeast Classic on Jan. 21
W: 1,021-,1010 in Baker pinfall at the PVAMU Invitational on Jan. 26
L: 4-3 in best-of-seven Baker at the PVAMU Invitational on Jan. 28
L: 1,084-1,059 in traditional at the Mid-Winter Invitational on Feb. 17
L: 2-0 in a mega match at the Conference USA Championship on March 22
W: 2-0 in a mega match at the Conference USA Championship on March 24

3-6 vs. Jacksonville State

W: 1,103-1,087 in Baker pinfall at the Sunshine State Classic on Oct. 27
W: 4-0 in best-of-seven Baker at the Sunshine State Classic on Oct. 29
L: 1,130-917 in traditional at the MOTIV Ladyjack Classic on Nov. 11
L: 4-2 in best-of-seven Baker at the Hawk Classic on Nov. 19
L: 1,045-967 in Baker pinfall at the PVAMU Invitational on Jan. 26
L: 1,077-1,037 in traditional at the Music City Classic on March 16
W: 4-1 in best-of-seven Baker at the Music City Classic on March 17
L: 4-2 in best-of-seven Baker at the Music City Classic on March 17
L: 2-0 in a mega match at the Conference USA Championship on March 24

4-0 vs. Sam Houston

W: 1,144-967 in traditional at the PVAMU Invitational on Jan. 27
W: 1,105-1,064 in traditional at the Mid-Winter Invitational on Feb. 17
W: 2-0 in a mega match at the Conference USA Championship on March 22
W: 2-0 mega match at the Conference USA Championship on March 23

YSU's NCAA Tournament History

YSU is 1-0 vs. Sam Houston all-time in the NCAA Tournament
YSU is 0-3 vs. Arkansas State all-time in the NCAA Tournament

2020-21: North Kansas City, Mo. - National Semifinalists

W: 2-0 vs. Louisiana Tech
W: 2-0 vs. Fairleigh Dickinson
W: 2-1 vs. Sam Houston
L: 0-2 vs. McKendree
L: 1-2 vs. Arkansas State

2021-22: Lansing, Mich. - Third Place at Lansing Regional

L: 1-2 vs. Arkansas State
W: 2-0 vs. Alabama State
L: 1-2 vs. Arkansas State

2022-23: Lansing, Mich. - Runners-Up at Lansing Regional

W: 2-0 vs. Maryville
L: 0-2 vs. Vanderbilt
W: 2-1 vs. Maryville
W: 2-0 vs. Vanderbilt
L: 0-1 vs. Vanderbilt

2023-24: Lansing, Mich. - Regional Champions

W: 2-0 vs. Marian
W: 2-0 vs. Maryville
L: 0-2 vs. Nebraska
W: 1-0 vs. Nebraska

Scouting the Penguins

Team Notes

Youngstown State is in the Final Four after going 3-1 at the Lansing Regional last weekend. The Penguins beat each team in the field, sweeping Marian and Maryville and topping Nebraska 4-2 in the winner-take-all, best-of-seven Baker match.
While YSU is a Final Four participant for the second time, this is the first time that the Penguins won a Regional since they moved to separate locations. When YSU advanced to the Final Four in 2021, the entire tournament was held in North Kansas City, Mo., to minimize travel during the pandemic.
YSU is in the NCAA Tournament for the fourth straight season, and it is in the Final Four for the second time in the last four seasons. YSU was in a position to be considered for an at-large selection in 2020 before the season ended due to the pandemic, and it has been in the tournament each year since. The Penguins advanced to the National Semifinals in 2021 in their postseason debut.
Youngstown State received one of the top four seeds in the National Collegiate Bowling Championship for the first time in program history. The Penguins are the third overall seed, which matches their ranking in the RPI and the NTCA Top 25 Poll.
This is a veteran Penguins squad that has all nine bowlers back from last year's team that bowled in the Regional Finals in Lansing. Megan Grams is a fifth-year senior, and Madyson Marx and Kirsten Moore are fourth-year members of the program. All three were on the YSU team that advanced to the Final Four in North Kansas City, Mo., in 2021.
YSU is ranked third in both the RPI and the most recent NTCA Top 25 Poll that was released in March. The Penguins were sixth in the preseason poll, third in December and second in February. YSU received its first, first-place vote in program history in December. - LINK
Before the Lansing Regional, Youngstown State posted a second-place finish at the Conference USA Championship on March 24. The Penguins won three straight elimination matches, two of which were against Sam Houston and Arkansas State, to advance to the title round against Jacksonville State.
The Penguins have finished fourth or better in nine of their 10 tournaments up to this point. They won the Destination Orlando: Sunshine State Classic on Oct. 29, and they finished second at the Penguin Classic, the Hawk Classic, the Music City Classic and the Conference USA Championship.
Through the end of the regular season, Youngstown State ranked second in the country in overall scoring average at 20.62 pins per frame, and it was also second in both formats.
Youngstown State bowled the second Baker 300 game in program history against Fairleigh Dickinson at the Hawk Classic on Nov. 17, 2023. The Penguins went on to post the second-highest Baker set in NCAA history at 1,323 with games of 216, 242, 279, 300 and 286. YSU threw 28 consecutive strikes at one point during the match.
Youngstown State has bowled the toughest schedule in the country this season, according to the NCAA RPI. As of March 26, YSU ranked 10th in the country in winning percentage at .697. That mark has improved to .699, which is the best mark in program history.
YSU is on pace to smash several single-season school records. Among them are Baker average (20.38), traditional average (20.58), fill percentage (85%) and strike percentage (52.7%).
YSU had the top grade-point average out of all bowling programs in the country in 2022-23 - LINK

Individual Notes

Postseason Award Winners

Jade Cote - First-Team All-Central Region
Madyson Marx - Honorable Mention All-Central Region
Kirsten Moore- Honorable Mention All-Central Region
Jade Cote - First-Team All-Conference USA
Madyson Marx - Third-Team All-Conference USA
Madyson Marx - Conference USA All-Academic Team
Kirsten Moore - Conference USA All-Academic Team

Quick Hitters

Youngstown State had three straight tournament MVP awards to begin the season and it has four overall. Kirsten Moore earned the award at the Penguin Classic when she was the top individual finisher at the season-opening tournament. Jade Cote was then named MVP of the Destination Orlando tournament as the anchor during YSU's championship run, and Madyson Marx topped the individual standings at the MOTIV Ladyjack Classic. Moore was the top finisher again at the Mid-Winter Invitational, becoming the Penguin ever to win two events in the same season, and she repeated as the individual champion at the Music City Classic. The Penguins have more MVPs and individual champions in 2023-24 than they had in their first seven years as a program combined.
No bowler in the country earned more individual tournament titles than Moore this season.
Cote was named the Conference USA Bowler of the Month for January. She was the individual tournament champion at the Northeast Classic, and she was the runner-up at the PVAMU Invitational. - LINK
Moore followed Cote by earning the conference's Bowler of the Month award in February. Moore won the Mid-Winter Invitational by 47 pins in YSU's lone competition of the month. - LINK
During the regular season, Cote led the nation in strike percentage at 58.2%, and she ranked third on the national chart in Baker double percentage at 60.2%. She was recognized as a national stat leader by the NTCA earlier this week - LINK
Eight of YSU's 10 bowlers have shot 255 or better in a game this season. Cote fired a school-record 299 at the Northeast Classic on Jan. 20, Marx and Moore have 279 games this season, and Lyndsay Ennis has a 278 to her credit.
Cote has bowled in two international events for Team Canada since August. In October, she earned a silver medal at the IBF World Championships in trios. Between semesters, Cote clinched positions on Team Canada and Youth Team Canada for 2024. She was named Canada's Adult Bowler of the Year for 2023 by the Canadian Tenpin Federation. - LINK

All-Tournament Team Selections

Penguin Classic: Kirsten Moore (MVP)
Destination Orlando: Jade Côté (MVP)
MOTIV Ladyjack Classic: Madyson Marx (MVP), Madison Doseck.
Northeast Classic: Jade Côté, Lyndsay Ennis
PVAMU Invitational: Jade Côté
Mid-Winter Invitational: Kirsten Moore (MVP)
Music City Classic: Kirsten Moore, Madyson Marx
Conference USA Championship: Kirsten Moore, Madyson Marx

Recapping the Lansing Regional

Youngstown State beat each team in the Lansing Regional to capture the title and earn a trip to the Final Four. It was YSU's third straight trip to Lansing to compete at Royal Scot Golf & Bowl, and the Penguins improved on their finish for the third straight year.

The Penguins swept Marian in their opening match on Friday morning, and they picked up two narrow wins in the mega-match against Maryville to advance to the Regional final. YSU won the traditional point 1,046-1,036 behind a 234 gane from Jade Cote and a 225 from Kirsten Moore. Cote then picked up the 3-6-9-10 and struck on her fill shot in the 10th frame to help the Penguins win 1,025-1,019.

In the first of two matches against Nebraska, the Huskers came out of the losers' bracket and beat the Penguins 2-0. YSU struggled to find its line in the traditional point and lost 921-864, but it started to gain momentum toward the end of the Baker point and felt confident despite losing in a five-frame tiebreaker. The Penguins won the best-of-seven, winner-take-all 4-2.

Fifth-year senior Megan Grams led the Penguins with a 20.29 scoring average at the Regional, and Cote averaged 19.62.