MILLSBORO, Del. (November 18, 2022) – The Mount bowling team picked up three ranked victories on the opening day of the Maryland Eastern Shore Hawk Classic. The wins came against #5 nationally ranked Sam Houston State, #13 Duquesne and #16 Sacred Heart.
 
The squad was led by Junior Alyssa Alexander in the anchor position, posting a 19.41 baker frame average on the low scoring conditions. Freshmen Sierra Calo (19.33 baker frame average) and Aliza Shirk (18.47) were also key contributors for the Mountaineers.
 
#11 Mount: 912 | #9 Youngstown State: 977
 
The Mount used a 30-pin advantage in game three (191-161) to pull even with the Penguins but proceeded to fall 185-232 and 174-192 to begin competition 0-1.
 
#11 Mount: 938 | #5 Sam Houston State: 880
 
The Mountaineers rebounded nicely following their loss, defeating #5 SHSU for their first top-10 and top-five ranked victory of the season. A 232 and 203 final two games aided the effort.
 
#11 Mount: 1,007 | #13 Duquesne: 913
 
The highest set of the day would come against former Northeast Conference  colleague Duquesne as the Mountaineers crossed the 1,000 plateau thanks to a 228 and 227 opening.
 
#11 Mount: 819 | #17 Tulane: 864
 
The Green Wave did not give MSM much to beat, but the Mount struggled even more so on the toughest pair of the afternoon to fall to 2-2 on the weekend.
 
#11 Mount: 890 | #16 Sacred Heart: 863
 
Conditions would not get any easier the final match, but the Mount utilized a 184-167 game three and 209-191 game five to sneak past Sacred Heart and solidify a winning record.
 
"Today we saw a pattern that played easier on the low side and harder on the high side," said head coach Kenneth DeGraaf. "Unfortunately, three of those matches for us came on the high side. Depending on position round tomorrow, there is a good chance that role is flipped. We had to roster carousel a bit as it was a struggle finding consistent spare shooters. That being said, the fight was there. The effort was there. Scores are low and standings are tight. If we can clean better and catch a big set on the low end the top four heading into Sunday is easily in reach."
 
The Mount will open competition at 10:00 a.m. ET tomorrow with a match against the hosting Hawks of Maryland Eastern Shore. Four more matches follow. All matches will be streamed on either Facebook Live or Bowl TV, with the latter taking precedent if MSM is on a featured pair.