BALTIMORE, Md. -- The Kutztown University women's bowling team went 3-2 and recovered from a loss to host Coppin State in the final seeding match to knock off the Lady Eagles for third-place at the CSU Lady Eagles Invitational, Sunday, at AMF Woodlawn Lanes.
The Golden Bears entered the day atop the team standings by 69 pins and rolled their way to a pair of Baker format wins in their first two matches. The lineup for each of those matches was composed of
Molly Agnello (Stroudsburg, Pa./Pocono Mountain East),
Lindsey Gotwalt (Hanover, Md./Meade),
Madison Lund (Reading, Pa./Muhlenberg),
Rachel Wagner (Cheektowaga, N.Y./Depew) and
Chloe Sromovski (Wilkes-Barre, Pa./G.A.R. Memorial). In its opener against Howard, KU had a high of 224 in game three and gained a crucial 25 pins in a 198-173 game four win that made the difference in an 854-839 victory.
There was much less drama as Kutztown (22-13) won all five games to easily dispatch Virginia State 860-555 in round two.
While a close match went the way of coach
Angela Reynolds' squad against Howard, they were on the wrong end of a four-pin defeat against Bloomfield, 849-845, in round three. The fifth and deciding game went to Bloomfield by seven, 192-185, but it was enough to flip the result in Bloomfield's favor.
Ally Sipe (York, Pa./Central York) was inserted into the lineup ahead of KU's match against Coppin State and the Golden Bears built a 67-pin lead through three games --all wins. The Lady Eagles took advantage of a tough finish for the Maroon and Gold, though, with a 199-143 win in game four and a 201-155 triumph in game five to take the match 872-837.
With the disappointment of a missed opportunity to play for the tournament title, Kutztown could have packed it in, but the Golden Bears showed resolve by going right back at Coppin State in the third-place match and winning it convincingly.
Sipe remained in the lineup with Agnello,
Megan Hanaway (Forked River, N.J./Lacey Township), Wagner and Sromovski. KU won the first game 180-144 and added to their lead in the third (177-133), fourth (207-180) and fifth (151-148) games to produce an 882-778 final.
Sromovski and Agnello were both named to the all-tournament team for their performances during Saturday's traditional format play. Sromovski, a two-time East Coast Conference Rookie of the Week, finished second in the individual standings with a 197.8 average across five matches. Agnello was fifth at 182.6 in five matches. Wagner claimed a spot in the top 10, taking eighth with a 180.4 average in five matches.
Agnello's all-tournament team selection was the first of her career in her last tournament as a Golden Bear. The senior is due to graduate in December and concluded her time with the team by throwing two straight strikes to finish the third-place match.
Kutztown will take a two-month hiatus from competition for the winter break and return to action at the Northeast Classic, Jan. 21-23, 2022.
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