Midlothian, Va. (November 4, 2022) – Despite brutal lane pattern conditions, the Mount Bowling team find themselves sitting in first with a perfect 5-0 record after day one of competition at the Virginia Union Invite. Wins on the day came over Bowie State, Norfolk State, Coppin State, Virginia Union and Virginia State.

Freshman Trishelle Leal Uribe and junior Alyssa Alexander were the only two Mount bowlers able to cross the 18.00 baker frame average plateau, recording an 18.16 and 18.10, respectively. The Mount made multiple lineup substitutions throughout the day trying to find any rhythm they could on the low scoring lanes.

#11 Mount: 899 | Bowie State: 677

The Mount opened with a win over the defending CIAA champions and NCAA tournament participant Bulldogs of Bowie State. A 224 game one gave the Mountaineers a huge cushion in what would be their highest game of the day.

#11 Mount: 792 | Norfolk State: 776

Conditions only got tighter as The Mount escaped with a win over the Spartans of Norfolk State. The Mount failed to get any of their five games over the 180 plateau.

#11 Mount: 875 | Coppin State: 799

Well aware of the improvement the Eagles have made since last season, the Mountaineers were able to overcome a 29-pin deficit two games in with a 195-129 advantage in game three.

#11 Mount: 795 | Virginia Union: 571

The Mount moved to 4-0 on the day by drowning the host Virginia Union by over 200 pins. Still, the team from Emmitsburg found a sour taste in their mouth as they failed to cross 800 for the second time in three matches.

#11 Mount: 818 | Virginia State: 448

Despite low total pin-fall, MSM ensured the record would look pretty as they cruised to a victory over Virginia State to solidify a 5-0 day.

"Some people will see these scores and wonder just how bad the conditions here are," said head coach Kenneth DeGraaf. "I am here to tell you they are rough. This is as tough as anything I have seen in my years of coaching. At the same time, we are not here to make excuses. We could have cleaned better to make the high 800 sets a 950 and the sub 800 sets an 850. We are happy with the record. We are happy with standings. However, that is where the happiness ends. This pattern will not get any easier tomorrow and we are here for two more days whether we like it or not. We have to find a way to take advantage of strikes when we get them, but more importantly stress the importance of cleaning frames. Simply cleaning a frame here goes just as far as throwing a double at another tournament. We will change our game plan and seek better results tomorrow."

The Mount will resume competition tomorrow with traditional matches beginning at 9:40 AM ET. The Mount will take on Fayetteville State and Howard before rematches with Bowie State, Norfolk State and Coppin State. Total pin-fall after tomorrow will dictate bracket play matches come Sunday.