Greensboro, N.C. — Youngstown State's bowling team recorded its highest average in bracket play of the season on Sunday and finished as the runners-up at the 2026 Stallings Invitational.
The Penguins qualified fourth, and they beat No. 12 North Carolina A&T, the tournament's host, and No. 6 Nebraska to advance to the championship match. Competing for a tournament title for the first time this season, YSU pushed No. 1 Jacksonville State to the brink before losing game seven by one pin. The Penguins, who were ranked eighth in the February National Tenpin Coaches Association Top 25 Poll, tied a program record for wins at a tournament by going 12-1 at Triad Lanes. They averaged 211.11 over their 17 games on Sunday.
"We continue to elevate our communication, energy, and togetherness, and it's empowering us across the board," said YSU head coach Doug Kuberski. "I'm very proud of how we all learned from the first two days to post one of our best days of the season today. While it's not the overall outcome we wanted, we rocked our process and gained some valuable experience and information together. We are going to stay the course, stay focused on growing together, and see where it takes us. I know we are all looking forward to getting back after it in Smyrna."
Youngstown State went 10-0 in qualifying, and it had the third-best Baker pinfall on Friday. Despite five more wins in traditional play on Saturday, the Penguins had to grind through a low-scoring day to remain in the top four and have a chance at the title.
YSU swept the Aggies to open the best-of-seven Baker bracket, winning 191-185, 237-202, 214-174 and 204-189. That set up a match with Nebraska, which qualified second and lost 4-1 to Jacksonville State to start the final round. Youngstown State won the first three games against the Huskers by an average of 34 pins, and it won game six 214-193 to advance to the championship.
Against the Gamecocks on lanes 23-24, the left lane was the high-scoring one of the pair, and the winning team was on lane 23 in the first six games. Jax State, which had lane choice due to being the top seed in the bracket, shot 203 on lane 24 in game six and elected to stay on the right lane for game seven.
The Penguins missed a makeable spare in the second frame, and splits in the fourth and sixth frames allowed Jacksonville State to take a 40-pin lead heading to the seventh. But YSU didn't back down against the top-ranked Gamecocks and threw a five-bagger leading up to a seven-count on its fill shot in the 10th. Youngstown State posted a 192 and finished before Jacksonville State due to its string of strikes.
The Gamecocks converted a spare in the ninth to bring their total to 155 through eight frames, and their anchor left the 6-10 on her first shot. She finished the spare and followed with a strike to post a 193.
The second-place finish was YSU's best of the season, surpassing the fourth-place finish at the season-opening Chelsea Gilliam Penguin Classic. Amber Mason was YSU's top individual finisher in traditional play, placing 17th with a 961 set.
Youngstown State's final tournament of the regular season will be next weekend at Vanderbilt's Music City Classic. The three-day event will be held at the Smyrna Bowling Center outside of Nashville.
Sunday's Bracket Match Results
Match 1: Win — 4-0 vs. No. 12 North Carolina A&T
Game 1: 191-185 | YSU
Game 2: 237-202 | YSU
Game 3: 214-174 | YSU
Game 4: 204-189 | YSU
Match 2: Win — 4-2 vs. No. 6 Nebraska
Game 1: 218-172 | YSU
Game 2: 242-211 | YSU
Game 3: 205-180 | YSU
Game 4: 181-195 | Nebraska
Game 5: 196-248 | Nebraska
Game 6: 214-193 | YSU
Match 3: Loss — 3-4 vs. No. 1 Jacksonville State
Game 1: 192-247 | Jax State
Game 2: 257-205 | YSU
Game 3: 200-248 | Jax State
Game 4: 239-168 | YSU
Game 5: 181-257 | Jax State
Game 6: 226-203 | YSU
Game 7: 192-193 | Jax State
