Harahan, La. — Youngstown State's bowling team beat two teams ranked in the top 12 and averaged more than 207 on the final day of its fall schedule and finished in eighth place at the Colonial Lanes Classic.

The Penguins were 10th after two days of qualifying, and they elevated two spots by beating No. 12 Duquesne and No. 8 Sam Houston in best-of-seven Baker matches.

Youngstown State will now be off for nearly seven weeks until its spring schedule begins on Jan. 16. YSU finished the fall with a 24-15 record.

"This is the kind of weekend that you look back on and see as a springboard, a watershed," YSU head coach Doug Kuberski said. "For the team to navigate adversity the way we did and average over 200 for the weekend is quite impressive. We had a lot of clutch shots with solid execution across the board in today's bracket. 

"We are learning and growing together, and I know we are all hungry to get back after it and continue elevating."

The Penguins averaged 192.3 in Baker play on Friday and 195.2 in traditional play on Saturday, and they improved to 207.2 during Sunday's best-of-seven bracket. That brought their average for the tournament to 197.2.

YSU trailed the Dukes 2-0 in the first match of the morning, but the Penguins responded by winning the next four games to win the contest 4-2. Two of their wins were by less than a mark, a 233-226 win in game four that tied the match and a 216-212 victory in game six that finished it.

The Penguins then opened their match against Sam Houston with a 268 game, and they went on to take a 3-0 lead. The Bearkats extended the match by winning the next two games, but YSU finished the victory with a 224-158 win in game six.

In a battle for seventh, YSU lost the opening game to 19th-ranked Tulane by five pins, and the tournament hosts won game two for a 2-0 lead. The Penguins fired a 221 in game three to get back in the match, but the Green Wave won the next two games to finish a 4-1 decision.

Youngstown State's next event will be the Northeast Classic on Jan. 16-18, 2026, in New Castle, Del. That will be the first of six tournaments for the Penguins in the spring ahead of the Conference USA Championship on March 18-22.