Penguins Return to Lanes for Spring Opener at Northeast Classic

Youngstown State's bowling team will begin its spring semester schedule this weekend by competing among a large and competitive field at the Northeast Classic. The three-day tournament will be Friday through Sunday at Bowlerama in New Castle, Del.

The Penguins' 13 matches will be streamed live on the YSUsports YouTube channel, and results will be posted throughout the weekend on the team's Instagram and Facebook stories and its and X feed.

Live Stream: YouTube
YSU Bowling on Social Media: Instagram | Facebook | X
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Tournament Preview

The Northeast Classic will feature one of the biggest fields of any collegiate tournament this season as 39 teams will convene at Bowlerama in Delaware. All 10 teams from Conference USA will be in attendance, and each of the top 15 teams in December's National Tenpin Coaches Association Top 25 Poll will compete.

Previewing the field

Ranked Teams (22): #1 Vanderbilt, #2 Jacksonville State, #3 Nebraska, #4 Youngstown State, #5 Arkansas State, #6 Stephen F. Austin, #7 Wichita State, #8 Sam Houston, #9 Maryville, #10 North Carolina A&T, #11 Sacred Heart, #12 Louisiana Tech, #13 McKendree, #14 Duquesne, #15 Tulane, #17 Mount St. Mary's, #18 Maryland-Eastern Shore, #19 Merrimack, #21 UAB, #22 Delaware State, #23 Felician, #24 Mercyhurst

Unranked Teams (17): Adelphi, Bryant, Central Missouri, Chestnut Hill, Dominican, Holy Family, Howard, Kutztown, LIU, Molloy, Morgan State, Niagara, Norfolk State, Valparaiso, Wagner, William Smith, Wright State

Conference USA Teams (10): Arkansas State, Jacksonville State, Louisiana Tech, Sam Houston, Stephen F. Austin, Tulane, Valparaiso, Vanderbilt, Wichita State, Youngstown State

Format and Schedule

The 2025 Northeast Classic will follow the standard NCAA format with a 13-match rotation. There will be five Baker matches on Friday beginning at 10 a.m., and total pinfall will determine the winners of each head-to-head match. Five traditional matches will follow on Saturday starting at 9:25 a.m. Eastern with total 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 will begin at 8:25 a.m. The bracket matches will be contested in a best-of-seven Baker format.

Friday at 10 a.m. » Five Baker matches

Valparaiso - Lanes 21-22
LIU - Lanes 5-6
Holy Family - Lanes 41-42
Wright State - Lanes 57-58
#15 Tulane - Lanes 25-26

Saturday at 9:25 a.m. » Five traditional matches

#18 UMES - Lanes 51-52
Bryant - Lanes 37-38
Adelphi - Lanes 35-36
#19 Merrimack - Lanes 25-26
Howard - Lanes 21-22

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

YSU's History at the Northeast Classic

This will be the fifth time that Youngstown State will bowl in the Northeast Classic/Invitational hosted by Sacred Heart. The Penguins have gone 9-4 or better and finished at least fifth in each of their first four appearances.

Last season, the Penguins were third after qualifying and won their first match in bracket play to be two victories away from the tournament title. The Penguins fell to North Carolina A&T in the semifinals and placed fourth for the week. Jade Cote ran away with the individual title at Bowlerama with a 1,202 set, which was 50 pins better than any other competitor. She set a new school record for highest individual game with a 299, and her set and average (240.40) were school records at the time.

2019-20 (AMF Bristol Pike Lanes)

Team finish » 5th of 26
Head-to-head record » 10-3
Top individual finisher » Nikki Mendez (7th)

2021-22 (Bowlero Deptford)

Team finish » 3rd of 18
Head-to-head record » 9-4
Top individual finisher » Emma Wrenn (17th)

2022-23 (Bowlero Deptford)

Team finish » 5th of 33
Head-to-head record » 9-4
Top individual finisher » Kirsten Moore (9th)

2023-24 (Bowlerama)

Team finish » 4th of 34
Head-to-head record » 9-4
Top individual finisher » Jade Cote (1st)

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 in his sixth full season at Youngstown State.

Youngstown State enters the spring semester ranked fourth in the National Tenpin Coaches Association Top 25 Poll, which mirrors its ranking in the NCAA's RPI release on Jan. 8. The Penguins are 40-12 overall in head-to-head matches against the sixth-toughest schedule in the country. YSU's winning percentage is .769, which is ahead of last season's record pace of .690.
The Penguins finished in the top five at each of their four tournaments in the fall, which concluded with a championship at the Garden State Classic. Youngstown State won its final 12 matches at the tournament to win the 20-team event, and Madison Doseck was the MVP by winning her first individual title.
Madyson Marx leads the Penguins in overall scoring average at 21.11 pins per frame, and is averaging a team-best 213.2 in traditional play. Jade Cote is averaging 21.20 pins per frame in Baker matches to lead the team.
Entering the spring, Marx ranks seventh in the country in overall scoring average, while Cote ranks eighth.
Cote earned positions on the 2025 Team Canada and 2025 Youth Team Canada at her home country's trials earlier this month. Kirsten Moore became the first Penguin in program history to be invited to Team USA after her performance at the USBC Team USA Trials.

Up Next

Youngstown State will compete at the PVAMU Invitational next Friday through Sunday at The International Training and Research Center in Arlington, Texas.