TOURNAMENT BRACKET

ALL TOURNAMENT TEAM: Kayla Stamm* (Kutztown), Brooke Bower (Kutztown), Emily Gesell (Adrian), Kayla Jones (Kutztown), Marissa Matassa (Plum, Pa./Plum Senior) (Saint Francis)

*tournament MVP

ALTOONA, Pa. (Dec. 5, 2010) – The Saint Francis women's bowling team defeated a nationally-ranked opponent for the second time in as many days, but it was #9 Kutztown who prevailed in the championship series. The Red Flash narrowly fell to the Golden Bears in the final Baker match of the day, but posted a 3-1 Baker record over the course of the day and a 7-2 record for the weekend.

“We had a fantastic weekend with this team that is determined to compete and beat the best teams in bowling,” said Red Flash head coach Tom Falbo. “We went 7-2 this weekend, beating another top-10 twice and taking them to the seventh game in the championship match. I couldn't be more proud of these ladies.”

In addition, Red Flash freshman Marissa Matassa (Plum, Pa./Plum Senior) (Verona, Pa./Plum Senior) represented the Red Flash on the All-Tournament team, rolling a 941 over the five traditional games on Saturday for an average of 188.2.

“Marissa continues to prove why she is one of the top freshmen in the country. Her talent and determination shone through all weekend.”

Saint Francis went the distance in all four matches on the final day of the tournament, and for the most part were successful; in two of those matches, the Red Flash were able to erase 2-0 deficits, and one of those wins came against #9 Kutztown.

The third and final match between the two teams looked very much like the first two the teams played, as the Red Flash and the Golden Bears seemed very evenly matched. However, Kutztown exploited a series of SFU open frames in the middle of the seventh and final game, giving them just enough to eke out the win.

From the very first match of the day, the Flash showed they would be willing and able to work through adversity. They started the day against the Penn State Altoona Lions, and quickly fell behind 2-0. Saint Francis ran off a near-perfect third set (201-115) to slash the deficit, but the Lions posted a comeback in the fourth game to take a 3-1 lead.

Undeterred, the Flash rattled off three straight wins, including a 181-179 comeback win in the fifth game on the strength of All-Tournament player Matassa's 20-pin 10th frame. SFU forced a sixth game with a 156-118 win in the sixth game, then got a strike from every member of the line-up – including two from Jessica Henri (Howell, N.J./Howell) (Howell, N.J./Howell) – in the seventh to win 4-3.

In the quarterfinal match against Adrian, the Red Flash staged a late rally but were unable to overcome an early deficit and fell just short, losing 162-158 to the Bulldogs. Saint Francis countered in the second game, with Jennifer Mueller (Lewisburg, Pa./Lewisburg Area) (Lewisburg, Pa./Lewisburg) recording a pair of strikes in the Flash's 169-154 win to tie the series. After another setback in which Adrian went up 2-1, the Red Flash posted two straight victories to take a 3-2 lead, their first of the series.

Adrian would tie the series again to force a seventh set, but the Flash were not about to let the Bulldogs complete the rally. Heidi Baumert (Lincoln, Neb./Pius X) (Lincoln, Neb./Pius X) set the tone when she converted a 6-7 split in the very first frame; the Red Flash nearly marked out for the rest of the game, and silenced the comeback with a 199-170 win to take the series 4-3.

In the first match against Kutztown, the Red Flash were able to string together a number of one- and two-pin spares, but the Golden Bears collected more strikes in their 197-170 victory. The Bears continued their control with a 190-178 win in the second game, taking a 2-0 series lead. The Red Flash took the third game 172-151, with back-to-back strikes in the middle of the game and a key strike from Matassa in the 10th.

Saint Francis got three straight strikes to close the fourth game – one from Jennifer Mueller (Lewisburg, Pa./Lewisburg Area) and two from Matassa – to take down the Golden Bears 223-194 and tie the series at two wins apiece. In the fifth game, the Red Flash marked out in the final five frames and got strikes from Henri and Matassa to take the 3-2 leads.

Kutztown staved off elimination in the sixth game to force yet another decisive seventh game, but just like the first two series, the Red Flash shined with the pressure on. Emily Knott (Altoona, Pa./Altoona Area) (Altoona, Pa./Altoona), Mueller, and Matassa recorded consecutive strikes in the eighth, ninth, and 10th frames, and the Red Flash knocked off #9 Kutztown for the second time in as many days, setting the stage for the championship match.