CORAM, N.Y. (October 28, 2022) – The Mount St. Mary's women's bowling team sits sixth out of 18 teams following the opening day of the Dezy Strong Invitational in Coram, N.Y. The only two losses of the day came to #8 ranked Louisiana Tech and #9 Youngstown State, the two teams currently atop the leaderboard heading into Saturday.
Freshman
Sierra Calo had herself a day on the toughest oil pattern conditions the Mountaineers have seen so far this year, posting a 19.88 baker frame average across five matches. Freshman
Laney Wells came in off the bench to start match three and posted an 18.61 frame average. Freshman
Aliza Shirk (18.55) and Junior
Kristin Womeldorf (18.30) were also instrumental in the scoring for MSM.
#11 Mount: 1,028 | #8 Louisiana Tech: 1,098
The highest set of the day for the Mountaineers would be spoiled by Louisiana Tech's 1,098, good enough for highest set in the entire field. After falling behind 244-176 and 266-233 the first two games, MSM used a 197-166 and 234-184 advantage the next two games to make it a match entering the final game. The Bulldogs would prevail, however, 238-188.
#11 Mount: 918 | #9 Youngstown State: 971
Another near comeback bid came up short once again as the Mountaineers struggled to cross the 200 plateau in all five games. A 195-168 advantage in game four cut the lead to 20 entering the final game, but a 222-189 Youngtown advantage in game five started MSM 0-2 on the day.
#11 Mount: 848 | Saint Anselm: 618
Ironically, the Mount's lowest set of the day and lowest set so far this year would result in their first win of the weekend against first-year program Saint Anselm. All five games for the Mountaineers came in the 150-190 range as stringing strikes became more difficult.
#11 Mount: 884 | Alabama Birmingham: 852
Another sub-900 set just happened to result in a win for the Mountaineers, as the Blazers of UAB also struggled with the tough transitions. The Mountaineers used a big 191-150 advantage in game four to provide enough cushion for the win.
#11 Mount: 934 | #17 Tulane: 852
The Mount's first ranked win of the weekend came against the Green Wave of Tulane via a 934-852 victory. After holding on to a narrow one pin lead thru the opening two games, the Mountaineers used advantages of 189-156, 181-164, and 201-170 to secure the win.
"These are certainly the toughest conditions we have seen so far this year," said head coach
Kenneth DeGraaf. "To have a field this stacked and only three teams are averaging over 190 says a lot. This is not a strike-or-nothing type pattern. All that matters is keeping shots in play and filling frames. Once our strikes went away I thought we did a poor job of cleaning in the third match. We started rotating our roster lineup like a carousel, which although not ideal, gave some individuals a chance to step up and I am proud how that last group came thru to notch us a ranked win over a good Tulane team. If we lock into cleaning tomorrow, I think we can out ourselves in position for the title come Sunday."
The Mountaineers will resume competition at 9:30 a.m. tomorrow against a familiar foe in Sacred Heart. They will follow that up with matches against Bryant, #4 Stephen F. Austin, #2 Vanderbilt and Bloomfield. If the Mount can climb from sixth to fourth in tournament standings come Sunday they will have a shot at the tournament crown.
