By Cameron Stubbs
The Youngstown State University bowling team flew south to compete in the Southland Bowling League Championship in Harahan, Louisiana, this past weekend.
The Penguins were ranked No. 4 in the pre-tournament rankings and were set to face off against No. 5 ranked Louisiana Tech University.
The tournament was formatted as mega matches which include five Baker matches and one standard game.
Against the Lady Techsters, the Penguins took a 2-1 win and advanced to the next round. The Penguins had lost all four matchups this season versus Louisiana Tech, but the pins fell in Youngstown State’s favor this time.
Due to splitting the Baker matches and the traditional game, a best-of-seven game was held.
After losing the first of the best-of-seven matchup, the Penguins rallied back to win four-straight games to continue in the tournament.
Senior Emma Wrenn had a 245 game, the highest ever for a Penguin at the conference tournament. Wrenn then topped this with a 248 game as well. Fellow senior Emma Dockery also had a 247 game during the big day for the Penguins.
Moving onto the next round, the Penguins faced off against Sam Houston University. The Penguins won the traditional match but lost all of the Baker matches. The best-of-seven was a sweep as Wrenn and sophomore Kirsten Moore led the way.
On Day Two, the Penguins lost to Vanderbilt University 2-1. Splitting the Baker matches and the traditional match, this also came down to a best-of-seven set.
For the first time in the tournament, the Penguins fell 4-0 in the best-of-seven and faced elimination in their next game.
Day Three for Youngstown State was make-or-break as it faced Louisiana Tech again, defeating the Bulldogs 2-1.
A date with Vanderbilt University for the second time decided the winner of the conference. The Commodores came out on top again to win the championship 2-0.
Despite the loss, Wrenn and Dockery were named to the all-tournament team, the first Penguins to ever be named to this at the conference level.
With this honor, Wrenn is still all about the team and the tournament, as she stated in an interview.
“I think we made our mark last year,” Wrenn said. “Marks are made to be broken — we’re trying to beat how we finished last year.”
The successful season is not over as the NCAA Regionals will take place this weekend when the Penguins take on Arkansas State University in the Lancing Regional.
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