ALTOONA, Pa. (Feb. 25, 2012) – On day one of the Pennsylvania State Championship, the Saint Francis University bowling team compiled three wins and just one loss and sit in second place.
 
"Marissa Matassa (Plum, Pa./Plum Senior) bowled with poise and fire all day and Heidi Baumert (Lincoln, Neb./Pius X) had a strong start," head coach Tom Falbo said. "However, our team overall suffered its first performance letdown of the second half of the season. I don't know if it's pressure bowling in front of a local crowd, but each bowler must find their focus tomorrow in the championship round."

No. 14 Kutztown leads all five teams with a perfect 4-0 record following the first round of action, which featured baker style matches.
 
The Red Flash took down Cheyney fairly easily in its opening match 909-759. In match number two the Flash had a bye and rolled a game of 800 that counted towards the team's total pinfall. SFU kept the ball rolling in their third match, defeating tournament host Penn State-Altoona by a 914-718 mark. Saint Francis fought right to the end against Kutztown but threw a 153 in the final game to fall 922-900 to the Golden Bears. The Flash ended the first day strong though by getting the better of Lincoln 750-684.
 
Matassa had a solid day of scoring with games of 224 - 182 - 197 - 204 - 179, a 986 total, and a 197.2 average for the day.

SFU finished the first round with a total pinfall of 4,273. Kutztown compiled a 4,580 total pinfall to lead the five-team field.
 
Saint Francis wraps up the Pennsylvania State Championship tomorrow morning at Holiday Bowl in Altoona.