By Cameron Stubbs
Youngstown State University’s bowling team made the trip to the Prairie View A&M University Invitational in Arlington, Texas, this past weekend Jan. 28-30.
Last year’s trip to the PVAMU Invitational was a successful one as Youngstown State finished 8-5 and grabbed four top-10 wins against opponents in Baker’s matches.
Ranked eighth in the National Tenpin Coaches Association Top-25 poll, the Penguins have high hopes heading into the Lone Star State.
Day One resulted in multiple close losses as Youngstown State went 0-5 in Baker’s matches. A total pinfall of 4,979 for day one placed the Penguins in eighth place.
Day Two was dominated by freshman Jade Cote who topped 215 in all of her five individual games. Youngstown State went 3-2 in Baker’s matches on Saturday and advanced two spots to make it into sixth place.
The pins were falling in Youngstown State’s favor as wins were secured over Prairie View A&M, No. 15 Fairleigh Dickinson and No. 19 Sacred Heart University.
Facing No. 4 North Carolina Agricultural and Technical University and No. 13 Tulane University resulted in close losses.
Youngstown State bowlers Cote, Kirsten Moore, Lyndsay Ennis, Ellie Drescher and Emma Wrenn combined for a 1,114 pinfall total in a single match. This was the sixth-best traditional match total in program history.
Day Three resulted in Youngstown State taking a step back by losing 982-925 in a traditional match vs No. 3 University of Nebraska. Youngstown State also lost 4-0 to North Carolina A&T and 4-2 to Fairleigh Dickson in Baker’s matches.
Cote finished sixth overall in pinfall with 1,300. Cote, the five-time Canadian youth bowl champion, had an average score of 216.67 per game, which was the seventh-best ever score at a tournament by a Penguin bowler.
Her total pinfall was four pins shy of making the all-tournament team. Ennis finished 14th in total pinfall with 1,251 while Moore was not far behind with 1,231.
Head coach Doug Kuberski was impressed with Cote’s performance over the weekend.
“[It was] really impressive to see her getting comfortable, obviously a big transition for her crossing the border from Canada to here. She’s only 17 years old,” Kuberski said. “To come here in a new country, in a new environment, and really has made a lot of progress since the first event here in October in terms of her getting comfortable. You can see her gaining confidence on the lanes and becoming a leader on the lanes.”
Youngstown State finished with an overall record of 3-8 with a total Baker’s score of 4,979 and an average score of 198 per game.
Up next for the Penguins is another southern road trip to Jonesboro, Arkansas, for the Mid-Winter Invitational held during the weekend of Feb. 18-20.
