TOWSON, Md. (February 11, 2022) – The Mount bowling team went 4-1 on the opening day of the James Brown Invitational at AMF Towson Lanes. The ladies picked up wins over Chestnut Hill, #16 Maryland Eastern Shore, Felician, and Fayetteville State. The lone loss of the day came to #14 Delaware State.
 
The Mountaineers were led by senior Rebecca Dodson with a 21.23 baker frame average. Sophomore Alyssa Alexander was also huge with a 20.39 baker frame average, taking over the anchor position for a good majority of the day. Senior Kayla Durbala has continued her great bowling as of late with a 20.55 frame average off the bench.
 
#10 Mount: 940 | Chestnut Hill: 815
 
The Mount opened up with a lopsided 940-815 win over Chestnut Hill. A 212 game two and 207 game four aided the win as the ladies started competition fourth out of 14 teams.
 
#10 Mount: 890 | #14 Delaware State: 1,040
 
MSM struggled on their first transition pair, falling to the Hornets of DSU in a contest that was not particularly close. Lines were tough to find as a 207 final game put a bandage on a set that otherwise low.
 
#10 Mount: 946 | #16 Md. Eastern Shore: 864
 
The Mountaineers rebounded on another tough pair for their first win over Maryland Eastern Shore on the season. The ladies were behind after three games before a daily high 257 game gave them a 96-pin advantage in game four.
 
#10 Mount: 975 | Felician: 864
 
The high set of the day would come against Felician with a 975 victory. The Mount started strong with a 207 and 231 but were unable to post enough pins in the final three games to earn their lone thousand set of the day.
 
#10 Mount: 926 | Fayetteville State: 859
 
The Mount made it a 4-1 day with their victory over the Broncos of Fayetteville State. The ladies ended the day with a 214 and 206 to gain some momentum entering Saturday's traditional play.
 
"While we have been strong for the majority of the second semester, I guess you could consider this our first 'bad' day of the new year," said head coach Kenneth DeGraaf. "While this pattern may be a tad more challenging than the past three we have been on, it is nonetheless a pattern we are more than capable of averaging over 200 on. I think we tried to chase left way too soon and had some trust issues despite knowing there was friction to the right. Being able to make this a 4-1 day makes the sting hurt a little less, but we are going to need a major turnaround tomorrow and new game plan to make this the weekend we want it to be. Fortunately, I believe we have a team strong enough to do just that."
 
The Mountaineers sit sixth and will need to climb into the top four for a chance at the tournament title come Sunday. Competition will resume with five traditional matches beginning at 10:00 a.m. ET. The ladies will start against tournament leader North Carolina A&T before taking on Coppin State, Saint Francis U, Kutztown, and Morgan State.