The Youngstown State bowling team knocked off Louisiana Tech in an elimination match on Sunday morning to advance to the title match and finished as the runners-up at the 2022 Southland Bowling League Championship.
The Penguins had their best finish at the conference tournament in program history, going 3-2 over after being 1-4 combined in their first two appearances. Their only two losses at Colonial Bowling Lanes outside of New Orleans this weekend came to Vanderbilt in the winners bracket final on Saturday and again to the Commodores in the championship match on Sunday.
While Youngstown State came up short in the opportunity to secure an automatic bid to the National Collegiate Women's Bowling Championship, the Penguins certainly improved their resume for consideration for one of the national tournament's eight at-large invitations by placing second in the toughest conference in the country. YSU was seventh in the NCAA's RPI heading into the conference weekend, and it beat No. 3 Sam Houston and No. 8 Louisiana Tech twice.
The Penguins, who were the fourth seed in the Southland tournament, began Sunday by beating fifth-seeded Louisiana Tech 2-1 in an elimination match. YSU then had to play a rested Vanderbilt team 45 minutes later, and the second-seeded Commodores won 2-0 to win the conference crown for the second straight season.
"We had a lot of fun out there competing," said YSU head coach Doug Kuberski. "The talent in the Southland is impressive across the board, and we've been honored since day one to be a part of it. All of us in the conference make each other better, and there is a lot of mutual respect between us. As a program, we have progressed nicely each year within the conference and have put ourselves right there in the conversation with a solid chance to win."
"I can sense us growing closer and closer as a group and elevating our game together. Our love for each other is strong, and this weekend has definitely made us even hungrier. We can't wait to get back to work and continue elevating for each other."
Seniors Emma Wrenn and Emma Dockery were both named to the all-tournament team, becoming the first Penguins ever to earn the distinction at the conference level. Wrenn, the team's anchor bowler, averaged 225.3 in traditional play but had to miss the final four games of the Louisiana Tech match and the entire championship match with an injury. Dockery averaged 213 over the weekend and slid into the anchor position in Wrenn's absence as the Penguins finished off the Lady Techsters.
After 2-1 wins over Louisiana Tech and Sam Houston on Friday and a 2-1 loss to Vanderbilt on Saturday, Youngstown State again had to go to the best-of-seven Baker match play format to decide the winner in the losers bracket final on Sunday morning against the Lady Techsters.
The Penguins dropped the traditional round by just six pins, and they dug themselves a big hole in the quint Baker round with a 130 in game one. YSU was down 65 pins heading into game two, but it outscored the Lady Techsters 878-780 over the final four games to win the round 1,008-975. The Penguins then built a 3-1 lead in match play, and a string of seven strikes in game seven carried them into the championship match.
Both teams took a while to get a read on the lanes in the morning match as Wrenn's 210 was the highest on the pair in the traditional round. YSU had opens from four of its five bowlers in the first two frames, but the scoring pace was low enough that the Penguins stayed right with La Tech and held a nine-pin lead after seven frames. The Penguins had two opens in the eighth and three more in the ninth, and they couldn't make up enough ground in the 10th as they fell 906-900.
Youngstown State then had six opens in a 130 in the first game of the Baker total pinfall round, but it had a higher total than the Lady Techsters in each of the next four games to mount a rally. YSU followed the 130 with a 234 to shave 36 pins off the deficit, and it followed by outscoring La Tech 193-190 and 226-199 over the next two games to take a one-pin lead going into the final game. The Penguins shot a clean 225, and they had a double in the third and fourth and a triple in the seventh through ninth frames as they went on to win the point 1,008-975.
The Penguins kept the momentum for the start of the best-of-seven match play by winning game one 181-163 and game two 233-172 to take a 2-0 lead. La Tech claimed game three 239-209, and Wrenn was injured in the 10th frame. Kirsten Moore entered the lineup in place of Wrenn, and Madyson Marx, Jade Cote and Dockery slid down a spot, and YSU took game four 172-163 to go up 3-1 in the round.
Louisiana Tech won the next two games 149-135 and 190-174 to force a game seven, and the Penguins strung seven strikes together in the deciding game to win 256-203. Lyndsay Ennis began the string with a strike in the second, and Dockery had good fortune in the fifth when good pin action tripped a possible 4-9 split. Megan Grams, Ennis and Marx followed Dockery's strike, and YSU's good fortune continued in the ninth when Cote had the 2 and 4-pins trip in a possible 2-4-7 split. Cote picked up the spare, and the Penguins doubled in the 10th for good measure in the 53-pin win.
Against Vanderbilt, the short-handed Penguins had three opens in the first two frames of the traditional round and had to play from behind the entire way. Youngstown State kept grinding and posted all marks in the seventh and eighth frames and trailed by just 30 pins heading into the ninth. YSU had just one open in its final two frames, but Dockery was the only Penguin to double as Vanderbilt hung on to win 964-946. Ennis had YSU's highest game with a 211, and Dockery finished with a 210.
Youngstown State topped 195 in four of its five Baker games, but Vanderbilt averaged 224.4 and built a sizeable margin over the final two games.
The Penguins' only open in the first two games was the opening frame of the first game as they shot 217 and 220. Vanderbilt countered with a 248 in game one to take a 31-pin lead, and YSU took two off the deficit with a 220-218 edge in game two. The Commodores got those two pins back with a 201-199 advantage in game three, and they extended the lead to 81 pins after a 209-159 margin in game four. Vanderbilt then finished off the title with a 246 in its final game.
The Penguins will find out if they will qualify for the NCAA Regionals on Wednesday. The selection show will be broadcast live at 4 p.m. on NCAA.com.
