Lockport, Ill. — Youngstown State's bowling team triumphed in two long best-of-seven Baker matches and finished seventh at the 2026 Flyer Classic at Strike & Spare II. The Penguins finished the three-day event with a 10-3 record, their second-best mark at a tournament this season.
Youngstown State was eighth after 10 matches of qualifying that took place over Friday and Saturday, and it moved up one spot in the final standings by going 2-1 on Sunday.
"We elevated across the board this weekend," YSU head coach Doug Kuberski said. "The team is gaining valuable experience in tough matches and doing a heck of a job of staying in the moment, staying together, and communicating. I'm very impressed by the team's ability to move on from a rough game or a rough start and find a way to hang tough and finish sets. We are excited to get after it this week and continue elevating together."
Youngstown State faced adversity in the early part of Sunday but by winning eight of its final 11 games. The Penguins fell 4-1 to No. 16 Newman in their first match, and they were down 2-0 to No. 18 Valparaiso as the Beacons outscored them 499-300 over the first two games.
YSU got on the board with a 213-205 win in game three, and the Penguins' followed with their highest game of the day with a 255 to win game four and even the match. Valpo won game five to take a 3-2 lead, and YSU won games six and seven 219-217 and 226-223, respectively.
In a rematch with Newman, the Jets won two of the first three games to take a 2-1 lead. The Penguins evened the match with a 168-167 win in game four, and they won games five and six by at least 30 pins.
Youngstown State was 4-1 in Baker matches on Friday as it averaged 197.8 and posted the fifth-highest pinfall. The Penguins dropped to eighth after Saturday despite winning four more matches. YSU finished 6-2 against ranked opponents at the tournament.
In traditional play on Saturday, Amber Mason was Youngstown State's top finisher with a 12th-place set of 1,065. Gianna Varano finished 55th with a 951 set, and Amy Chrzanowski finished in a tie for 56th with a 950 total. Liv Baskin averaged 196.3 on Saturday, leading to a big role in YSU's lineup on Sunday.
Youngstown State is idle next week, and it will begin a stretch of three straight weeks of competitions at Nebraska's Big Red Invitational on Feb. 20.
Sunday's Bracket Match Results
Match 1: Loss — 1-4 vs. No. 16 Newman
Game 1: 164-213 | Newman
Game 2: 180-202 | Newman
Game 3: 238-160 | YSU
Game 4: 180-215 | Newman
Game 5: 156-210 | Newman
Match 2: Win — 4-3 vs. No. 18 Valparaiso
Game 1: 174-299 | Valpo
Game 2: 126-200 | Valpo
Game 3: 213-205 | YSU
Game 4: 255-222 | YSU
Game 5: 189-201 | Valpo
Game 6: 219-217 | YSU
Game 7: 226-223 | YSU
Match 3: Win — 4-2 vs. No. 16 Newman
Game 1: 147-221 | Newman
Game 2: 223-176 | YSU
Game 3: 183-198 | Newman
Game 4: 168-167 | YSU
Game 5: 215-154 | YSU
Game 6: 203-173 | YSU
