Youngstown State head women's bowling coach Doug Kuberski has been voted the Southland Bowling Coach of the Year by his peers, the conference announced on Monday.
In his first full season as the Penguins' head coach, Kuberski transformed the program from a fringe top-25 team into a national contender. Youngstown State was ranked as high as eighth in the National Tenpin Coaches Association Top 25 Poll during the 2019-20 season, and it finished the season ranked 10th in the NCAA RPI. YSU was excited to make a charge at the SBL Championships and a possible NCAA Regional berth before the season was cut short due to the coronavirus.
"I’m fortunate to work with such a special group of ladies," Kuberski said. "The way they handle themselves on and off the lanes is truly inspiring. We are fortunate to be able to compete in such a special conference. With such a deeply talented conference, this year’s championship promised to be the most exciting yet."
"We have been reflecting on our season over the past few weeks, both in terms of accomplishments and lessons learned," he added. "Such recognition is much appreciated as we continue to celebrate our season and look forward to next season."
Even with the abbreviated season, Kuberski helped Youngstown State set school records with 81 head-to-head victories - an astonishing 32 more than any other season - and a .653 winning percentage. YSU had 15 wins over top-10 opponents during the season, which helped it achieve its highest rankings in program history in RPI and the NTCA poll. The Penguins also won their first two tournaments in program history to start the season, taking home the first-place trophy at the inaugural Columbia 300 Penguin Classic and the Mount Shootout. YSU completed its fourth season as an NCAA program in 2019-20, and Kuberski became its head coach in December 2018.
The Penguins rewrote the school record book during the season under Kuberski's tutelage. YSU posted the top two individual games in school history, the top three Baker games, the best Baker match, the top four traditional match totals, the top three individual tournament pinfalls and the top three tournament averages. Youngstown State also set new standards for team game average, games over 200, Baker frame average, strike percentage, spare percentage, and fill percentage.
Vanderbilt senior Maria Bulanova was named the SBL's Bowler of the Year, and Louisiana Tech freshman Allie Leiendecker was voted the conference's Newcomer of the Year. While the special award winners were based on a vote of the league's coaches and bowling sports information directors, the all-conference honorees were based on the Player Composite Performance Index, which is a measure that combines how much a bowler outperforms competitors across several statistical categories. The top 15 bowlers in the PCPI were recognized, and YSU bowlers Nikki Mendez, Emma Wrenn and Emma Dockery finished 16th, 17th and 19th in the rankings.
