Youngstown, Ohio — Youngstown State's bowling team has had a whirlwind of attention since winning the NCAA National Championship on Saturday night at the Suncoast Bowling Center. That attention will continue on April 23 with a public celebration of the Penguins at Zidian Family Arena at Beeghly Center starting at 6 p.m.
While winning the university's first national championship in a women's sport is the ultimate achievement from last weekend's activities in Las Vegas, there were several other noteworthy accomplishments.
Cote Named MVP; Beissel and Marx Earn All-Tournament Honors
At the conclusion of Saturday's championship victory over Jacksonville State, three Penguins were recognized individually as members of the All-Tournament Team at the NCAA Championship.
Senior Jade Cote was selected as the Most Valuable Player of the tournament as the Penguins' anchor throughout their run at the Regionals and Finals. Cote averaged 22.62 pins per frame in Baker play in Las Vegas, and she was 29-for-30 overall on makeable spare attempts at the Suncoast Bowling Center. In the championship match against Jacksonville State, Cote at least doubled in the 10th frame in all four games that the Penguins won.
Fifth-year senior Madyson Marx was an all-tournament team pick to conclude her fifth NCAA Tournament appearance, while freshman Kara Beissel was selected in her first postseason.
Marx was YSU's top bowler in the traditional format in Rochester and Las Vegas with a 231.2 average, and she topped 220 in all three of her traditional games at Suncoast. She averaged 22.54 pins per frame overall at the Final Four, which was the highest among YSU's bowlers who competed in every match.
Beissel proved to be the Penguins' ace in the hole as she came off the bench in Saturday morning's semifinal against Nebraska and proceeded to average 22.73 pins over her 33 frames. She was clean in the championship match with eight strikes and six spares in her 14 frames.
Records Updates
- Youngstown State peaked in April, especially in the crucial Baker format that comprised two-thirds of mega matches. The Penguins won all six Baker points in mega matches at the Rochester Regional and the Final Four, and they were 2-2 in best-of-seven opportunities.
- YSU averaged 217.4 per game in Baker play overall in the NCAA Tournament, and they upped that to 224.5 in Las Vegas. The Penguins had 1,100 sets in all three of their Baker rounds at Suncoast, firing their fifth, seventh and 10th-best sets of the season.
- Including the Rochester Regional, YSU had five of its six best Baker sets ever at the NCAA Tournament.
- The Penguins averaged 20.44 pins per frame in Rochester, and they averaged an incredible 21.68 in Las Vegas. For comparison, their best average at a tournament during the regular season was 20.82 at the Flyer Classic.
- YSU had its best strike percentage and fill percentages of the season at 58.3% and 87.6%, respectively.
Granata Advances to Semifinals of USBC Intercollegiate Singles Championship
While the rest of her teammates flew back to Youngstown with the National Championship trophy on Sunday, sophomore Amanda Granata stayed in Las Vegas to bowl at the USBC Intercollegiate Singles Championship at the South Point Bowling Center.
Granata became the first Penguin ever to qualify for the ISC after placing sixth at the sectional competition at Thunderbowl Lanes in Allen Park, Mich., in early March. As one of 24 bowlers in the country advancing to Las Vegas, Granata averaged 212.3 in qualifying to be seeded 10th in the match play bracket. In the three-game matches, the sophomore from Florham Park, N.J., beat Mount St. Mary's bowler Leah Varela 691-534, Sam Houston's Ramita Sarntong 642-630 and Sacred Heart's Madilyn Yockel 662-612 to clinch her spot in the semifinals.
Granata will now bowl on Saturday at 6:15 p.m. Eastern against Louisiana Tech's Kylee Trexler in a one-game match for a spot in the championship. If Granata beats Trexler, she would face either Jacksonville State's Erin Klemencic or Monmouth's Jenna Lehrer in the championship match later on Saturday. Granata's semifinal match will be broadcast on tape delay on CBS Sports Network on April 22, and the finals will be broadcast on April 29.
Penguins in the Media
