The Youngstown State bowling team has its highest ranking ever in the National Tenpin Coaches Association Top 25 Preseason Poll, according to the results released on Tuesday as part of the first official day of practice for teams across the country.
The Penguins were tabbed 23rd in the preseason poll, which is one place higher than they were ranked in the final poll of 2018-19. The only other time that YSU was ranked in the preseason poll was when it was 24th in 2017-18, and 23rd matches the highest ranking the program has ever had in the NTCA Top 25 Poll.
This is Youngstown State's fourth season as an intercollegiate Division I program and its second as a member of the Southland Bowling League. The 2019-20 season will be the first full season under head coach Doug Kuberski, who joined the program in December 2018.
YSU was one of seven SBL teams ranked in the preseason top 25. Vanderbilt topped the preseason rankings, and defending national champion Stephen F. Austin was tabbed third. Sam Houston State (fifth) and Arkansas State (sixth) joined them in the top 10, and Tulane (14th) and Louisiana Tech (17th) were also ranked.
YSU held its first official team practice session of the fall on Tuesday at Holiday Bowl in Struthers, Ohio, as it prepares for next week's season-opening Columbia 300 Penguin Classic. It was the final first practice for seniors Rachel Darrow, Ashley Kolb and Nikki Mendez, who were freshmen during the program's inaugural season. They were joined by returners Emma Dockery, Alexis Sullivan and Emma Wasielewski, and a quartet of talented newcomers in Sarah Florence, Megan Grams, Emma Wrenn and Alicia Yacono.
Southland Announces 2020 Championship Site: The Southland Bowling League announced on Tuesday that the 2020 conference championship will take place at Time to Spare Entertainment in Conroe, Texas, on March 20-22. The SBL is in its sixth season as a conference, and its previous two conference championships were held at USA Bowl in Dallas, Texas. The winner of the SBL Championship receives an automatic bid to the NCAA National Championship at Thunderbowl Lanes in Allen Park, Mich.
