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YSU women’s bowling earns regional berth for 3rd straight year

Correspondent photo / Robert Hayes. The Youngstown women’s bowling team huddles prior to the start of a match during the first day of the MOTIV Penguin Classic in October at Holiday Bowl in Struthers.

For the third consecutive season, the Penguins were selected as an at-large bid for NCAA regional play Wednesday afternoon.

It’s become the standard now for Youngstown State’s women’s bowling program.

It comes off the heels of a tightly-contested weekend at the Southland Bowling League Championship where the Penguins earned a nail-biting comeback victory over Vanderbilt. Competing in the Lansing Regional, Youngstown State will square off against Maryville during the first round at 9 a.m. this Friday at the Royal Scot Golf and Bowl.

Seeing your name on the screen during the selection show is still something not taken for granted.

“It’s definitely not getting any easier either. Every year you have more teams that are just growing and elevating. I really think there’s not a whole lot of difference when you look at the top 15-20 teams in the country,” said Penguins coach Doug Kuberski. “We have 120 or so matches a year and the vast majority of those come down to a couple of shots because the teams are so darn close and so darn good.

“It’s very difficult to make it. You definitely appreciate when we can do something like this and the community recognizes it.”

Only in their seventh season competing, the Penguins first made regional play back in 2021, advancing to the NCAA Final Four after knocking off Louisiana Tech, Fairleigh Dickinson, and Sam Houston to sweep the regional round. YSU’s trip to regionals in 2022 included a victory over Alabama State.

A majority of the roster has returned from last season, but lone senior Megan Grams was a part of the national semifinalist team, along with juniors Kirsten Moore and Madyson Marx.

Grams was named to the Southland Bowling League All-Tournament Team last weekend, averaging 236.75 points, but her consistency remained a veteran voice in the room all season.

“This year I’ve really been taking us aside in matches when we need to and taking deep breaths. We’ve really been focusing on staying within our own team and our own bubble,” said Grams. “If other teams get breaks, we can’t control that. The only thing we can control is throwing good shots, picking up our spares, and getting counts on splits.

“I think we’re really starting to get a better understanding and grip on that and that’s how we’re keeping our mental game a little bit stronger.”

Five other league teams find themselves at the regional level. It’s that difficult schedule that has tested YSU’s mettle over the course of the season, regardless of what the records may indicate.

One big win came last weekend as the Penguins faced elimination three times to Vanderbilt, but stormed back down 3-1, as sophomore Jade Cote nailed a remarkable 6-7-10 to complete the comeback.

It was over a Commodores team that’s seeded second in regional play, but big moments like that are why YSU finds itself in the position it’s in.

“It’s very challenging because even if you look at our second semester, we probably did some of our best bowling of the season, but our record doesn’t show it,” said Kuberski. “We were maybe 55-60 win percentage the second half, and mid to upper 70s in the first half, but I think we actually elevated our bowling game in the second half.

“Sometimes you just get the luck of the draw, you can’t play any defense against your opponents, but sometimes you just run into teams at the wrong time. It’s a hit here and a hit there as close as these teams are, so it’s challenging throughout the year to maintain that “long view” mentality.”

When it’s all said and done, earning a trip to the NCAA tournament three consecutive seasons takes much more than luck or coincidence. Youngstown State finds itself as a legitimate powerhouse and the likes of Grams have seen the progress firsthand.

“Ever since Coach Doug has been here, he’s really redefined what it means to be a Penguin bowler,” said Grams. “He’s set a lot of standards for this program and I think with all the growth we have and all the success we had, being consistent in our performances throughout the season to make it to regionals.

“Just to keep up this consistency, sooner or later it’s going to fall our way, so we just need to keep working and I do think it is kind of a new standard for us.”

The key to success this weekend? Letting the team steer the ship.

“I’m giving them the keys. This time of the year, they have the keys and they’re driving the vehicle, and they’re very self-sufficient, they’re very driven and intelligent,” said Kuberski. “It’s just been a lot of fun to see that on and off the lanes.”

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