Youngstown, Ohio — The Youngstown State bowling team's sixth consecutive NCAA Tournament appearance takes it back to Michigan for the Lansing Regional at Royal Scot this Friday and Saturday.

The Penguins, who are the second seed in the region, will take on North Carolina A&T at 9 a.m. on Friday to begin the double-elimination Regional bracket, which will also include No. 1 overall seed Jacksonville State and the winner of Thursday's play-in match between Carroll and Fayetteville State.

Live Coverage

Every match of the Lansing Regional will be broadcast live for free on BowlTV upon registering, with Emil Williams Jr. on the call. Results, photos and videos from YSU's matches at the event will be posted on the team's Instagram and Facebook stories and the program's X feed.

• Live Stream: BowlTV
• YSU Bowling on Social Media: Instagram | Facebook | X
• Live Scores - Lane Talk
• Mobile App: iOS Download | Android Download

A Glimpse at the Guins

Team Notes

• Youngstown State is in a new era this season — one as a program that has won a national championship and one that has seven newcomers and just one returner from last season's title-winning squad on its 2025-26 roster. Sophomore Kara Beissel, YSU's lone returner, accounted for 6.14% of the Penguins' total frames last season, making this nearly an entirely new team from the one that beat North Carolina A&T in the Rochester Regional championship match and Jacksonville State in the National Championship in Las Vegas last April.
• YSU is coming off a storybook season in 2024-25 in which six seniors led the Penguins to the 2025 National Collegiate Women's Bowling Championship. It was the first national championship ever in a women's sport at Youngstown State and its first in any sport since 1997. While the Penguins celebrated their momentous accomplishment, they are ready to write the next postseason chapter with six freshmen, a junior transfer in Amy Chrzanowski and Beissel looking to carry on the tradition.
• YSU has earned a spot in the NCAA Tournament for the sixth straight season, and it is trying to advance to the Final Four for the third straight season and the fourth time overall.
• YSU is competing at the Lansing Regional for the fourth time in the last five years, with the 2025-26 team joining the 2021-22, 2022-23 and 2023-24 clubs. The Penguins won the regional in 2024, beating Nebraska 4-2 in the winner-take-all, best-of-seven match to advance to the Final Four. Junior transfer Amy Chrzanowski is the only Penguin who has bowled at Royal Scot at the collegiate level, having competed at the Lansing Regional last season as a member of Fairleigh Dickinson's team.
• Youngstown State is 72-35 overall this season for a .673 winning percentage, which is the third-best percentage in program history. YSU is 27-14 in Baker matches, 31-10 in traditional contests, 13-9 in best-of-seven Baker matches and 1-2 in mega matches.
• The Penguins are ranked seventh in March's National Tenpin Coaches Association Top 25 Poll. YSU is also seventh in the latest NCAA RPI posted on March 16 and seventh in the NTCA Power Index on March 15, which measures metrics similarly to the RPI. Heading into the Conference USA Championship, YSU ranked 14th nationally in winning percentage against the fifth-toughest schedule in the country.
• The Penguins have been ranked in the top 10 of the NTCA poll for 25 straight polls dating back to the final release of the 2020-21 season. They have been in the top seven in 19 of those 25.
• Youngstown State went 1-2 at the Conference USA Championship two weeks ago, going to game seven in the tiebreaker of all three mega matches. YSU opened the tournament with a victory over defending champion Wichita State on the opening day, and it fell to Arkansas State and a rested Tulane squad on the second day. Arkansas State went on to finish as the runner-up to Jacksonville State.
• This is Youngstown State's 10th season as an intercollegiate program, and Doug Kuberski is entering his seventh full season as head coach. He took over midway through the 2018-19 season, and he has gone on to lead the Penguins to five NCAA tournaments and three Final Four appearances. Kuberski is a two-time National Coach of the Year (2020 and 2024) and a two-time conference coach of the year (2020 and 2023), and he earned his 500th victory at YSU on Oct. 19 against Vanderbilt. Madyson Marx, a First-Team All-American last season and a five-year member of the program, is in her first season on the staff as a graduate assistant, and Mackenzie Olesky is in her third season as an assistant coach.

Individual Notes

• Kara Beissel waited her turn behind the veteran lineup last season, but she stepped up in a big way when she was called upon and was named to the All-Tournament Team at the Final Four. She came in as a reserve during the semifinals victory over Nebraska, and she bowled all seven games in the second slot of YSU's lineup in the National Championship match against Jacksonville State. Beissel's scoring average is 20.02 pins per frame this season, and she's been the team's top scorer in Baker play with a 20.38 average per frame.
• Amy Chrzanowski, the most experienced collegiate bowler on the roster as a junior transfer from FDU, is the Conference USA Newcomer of the Year. She primarily bowled fourth in the Knights' lineup last season, earning Second Team All-NEC honors and helping FDU to the NCAA Tournament. She placed fifth to earn all-tournament team honors at the Big Red Invitational on Feb. 22, and she finished 15th at two tournaments in the fall. Chrzanowski was YSU's top scorer in traditional play at the Conference USA Championship with a three-game total of 626.
• Freshman Liv Baskin, a member of the Conference USA All-Rookie Team, ranks second on the team in Baker scoring average at 19.77. She placed in the top 25 individually at three tournaments during the season, and she was the Penguins' top finisher in 17th place at the Music City Classic with a five-game set of 1,046.
• Freshman Kaitlyn Greenaway is bowling for her hometown team, having grown up in Boardman, a southern suburb of Youngstown. She led the Spartans to a state title as Ohio's Player of the Year as a junior.
• Freshman Leyna Kratzer has had injuries interrupt her debut season. She placed in the top 25 individually in three of the first four tournaments of the season, and her traditional average is 207.84 over 19 games.
• Freshman Amber Mason was YSU's top scorer at the Conference USA Championship, averaging 20.09 pins per frame. She was the Penguins' top finisher at the Flyer Classic and Stallings Invitational in the spring, placing in the top 20 at both events. Before coming to YSU, she finished 29th at the 2025 Junior Gold Championships.
• Freshman Amber Spicer is YSU's first-ever two-handed bowler and a three-time state tournament qualifier in Michigan. She is a native of Canton, Mich., which is just over 80 miles southeast of Royal Scot, and her mother is a Youngstown-area native and a Youngstown State graduate. Her father, Doug, was the head men's and women's bowling coach at Concordia University in Ann Arbor for 12 years.
• Freshman Gianna Varano comes from a talented bowling family. Her oldest sister, Danielle McEwan, won a national title at FDU and was a two-time NCAA Player of the Year, and her sister Victoria currently bowls for Vanderbilt. Varano had two top-30 finishes in the fall, and she ranks fourth on the team with 975 total frames this season. She placed 18th and 28th, respectively, at the last two Junior Gold Championships.

Tournament Preview

Buy Tickets Online

Tournament Format

The Lansing Regional will be a double-elimination tournament with each contest decided by the mega-match format, and the regional champion will advance to the Final Four on April 10-11 at Yorktown Lanes in Parma Heights, Ohio. A mega-match encompasses three different rounds or points, and a team must get to two points to win the match. Teams will bowl one standard five-person game for total pinfall, then five Baker games for total pinfall. If one team wins both the traditional point and Baker point, they will advance to the next round. If the teams split the standard and Baker games, they will move on to a best-of-seven series of Baker games to determine the winner. If necessary, the second championship match on Saturday will be only a Baker best-of-seven match.

Schedule

Opening Round — Thursday at 9 a.m.

Opening Round — Carroll vs. Fayetteville State

Round 1 — Friday at 9 a.m.

Match 1 — Jacksonville State vs. Opening Round Winner
Match 2 — Youngstown State vs. North Carolina A&T

Round 2 — Friday at 2:30 p.m.

Match 3 — Winner Match 1 vs. Winner Match 2
Match 4 — Loser Match 1 vs. Loser Match 2

Round 3 — Saturday at 9 a.m.

Match 5 — Winner Match 4 vs. Loser Match 3

Round 4 — Saturday at 2:30 p.m.

Match 6 — Winner Match 3 vs. Winner Match 5
Match 7 (if necessary) — Rematch following the conclusion of Match 6 

Regional Field

Carroll: Carroll is in the 19-team Regional field as the champion of the College Conference of Illinois & Wisconsin. Carroll, a Division III school located in Waukesha, Wis., defeated Marian in the tournament final to reach the NCAA Tournament for the first time in program history. Ava Butt was the Co-CCIW Player of the Year, and Miley Brooks was named the CCIW First-Year Player of the Year.

Fayetteville State: Fayetteville State is the automatic qualifier for the NCAA Tournament from the Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association, winning the CIAA championship for the fourth straight season. Paige Rockwell was the CIAA Championship MVP for the fourth straight season, and she joined Hannah Cunningham and Ericka Reed on the all-tournament team at the CIAA event. Fayetteville State was 48-0 during the regular season against conference opponents.

Jacksonville State: Jacksonville State is in its third year as a program and is looking for its third straight trip to the Final Four. The tournament's top overall seed, the Gamecocks are coming off a title run at the Conference USA Championship. Freshman Gianna Brandolino was named the Conference USA Player of the Year and Freshman of the Year, and she leads the country in scoring average. Kaitlyn Stull and Erin Klemencic were also first-team selections.

North Carolina A&T: North Carolina A&T enters the Lansing Regional after winning its fifth MEAC title in the last six years. The Aggies are in their sixth consecutive NCAA Tournament, and they are in the same region as Youngstown State for the second straight season. Sophomore Victorya White earned First-Team All-MEAC honors for the second straight year, and junior Savannah Burgin was named the outstanding player at the MEAC Championship.

YSU This Season vs. Regional Teams

1-0 vs. Carroll

• WIN — 1,112-865 in Baker pinfall; Flyer Classic; Feb. 6, 2026

0-0 vs. Fayetteville State

• Note — YSU has played Fayetteville State just once in its 10-year history. The Penguins won 872-847 on Feb. 16, 2018, at Towson's James Brown Invitational.

0-3 vs. Jacksonville State

• LOSS — 4-1 in best-of-seven Baker; Chelsea Gilliam Penguin Classic; Oct. 19, 2025
• LOSS — 1,103-906 in Baker pinfall; Big Red Invitational; Feb. 20, 2026
• LOSS — 4-3 in best-of-seven Baker; Stallings Invitational; March 1, 2026

4-0 vs. North Carolina A&T

• WIN — 1,152-1,112 in Baker pinfall; Colonial Lanes Classic; Nov. 21, 2025
• WIN — 910-855 in Baker pinfall; Stallings Invitational; Feb. 27, 2026
• WIN — 4-0 in best-of-seven Baker; Stallings Invitational; March 1, 2026
• WIN — 1,024-942 in Baker pinfall; Music City Classic; March 6, 2026

YSU's NCAA Tournament History

2020-21: National Semifinalists (North Kansas City, Mo.)

• WIN: 2-0 vs. Louisiana Tech
• WIN: 2-0 vs. Fairleigh Dickinson
• WIN: 2-1 vs. Sam Houston (4-2 in best-of-seven)
• LOSS: 0-2 vs. McKendree
• LOSS: 1-2 vs. Arkansas State (2-4 in best-of-seven)

2021-22: Third Place at Lansing Regional

• LOSS: 1-2 vs. Arkansas State (2-4 in best-of-seven)
• WIN: 2-0 vs. Alabama State
• LOSS: 1-2 vs. Arkansas State (0-4 in best-of-seven)

2022-23: Runners-Up at Lansing Regional

• WIN: 2-0 vs. Maryville
• LOSS: 0-2 vs. Vanderbilt
• WIN: 2-1 vs. Maryville (4-3 in best-of-seven)
• WIN: 2-0 vs. Vanderbilt
• LOSS: 0-1 vs. Vanderbilt (0-4 in best-of-seven)

2023-24: Lansing Regional Champions, National Semifinalists

• WIN: 2-0 vs. Marian
• WIN: 2-0 vs. Maryville
• LOSS: 0-2 vs. Nebraska
• WIN: 1-0 vs. Nebraska (4-2 in best-of-seven)

Final Four — Allen Park, Mich.

• LOSS: 0-2 vs. Arkansas State
• WIN: 2-1 vs. Sam Houston (4-2 in best-of-seven)
• LOSS: 0-2 vs. Arkansas State

2024-25: Rochester Regional Champions, National Champions

• WIN: 2-0 vs. Marian
• WIN: 2-1 vs. North Carolina A&T (4-2 in best-of-seven)
• LOSS: 1-2 vs. North Carolina A&T (2-4 in best-of-seven)
• WIN: 1-0 vs. North Carolina A&T (4-0 in best-of-seven)

Final Four — Las Vegas, Nev.

• WIN: 2-0 vs. Nebraska
• LOSS: 1-2 vs. Jacksonville State (1-4 in best-of-seven)
• WIN: 2-0 vs. Nebraska
• WIN: 1-0 vs. Jacksonville State (4-3 in best-of-seven)

Recapping the Conference USA Championship

Youngstown State went 1-2 at the Conference USA Championship on March 18-19, going the distance in three marathon matches at Colonial Lanes in Harahan, La. The Penguins split the traditional and Baker points and battled to game seven in all three of their mega matches. YSU, seeded No. 7 at the tournament, started with a 2-1 victory over No. 6 Wichita State to advance in the winners' bracket. The Penguins battled No. 3 Arkansas State for nearly four hours the next morning in a loss, then dropped an elimination match against a rested Tulane squad in its home center.

Amy Chrzanowski led the Penguins in traditional play with a 208.67 average over three games, and Amber Mason was the top overall scorer with 20.09 pins per frame.

Up Next

If Youngstown State wins the Lansing Regional, it will be one of four teams to advance to the National Championship site at Yorktown Lanes in Parma Heights, Ohio. The Final Four will be held April 10-11.