The Saint Francis bowling team faced some challenging competition on the second day of the UMES Hawk Classic, coming out on the other side with a 3-2 record on Saturday at the Bowl America Bowling Lanes in Woodbridge, Va.

WHAT WENT DOWN
The Saturday schedule included four teams ranked in the National Tenpin Coaches Association polls, three of which came in the first three matches and one to finish the day off. 

The Red Flash defeated two of the four teams, No. 8 Sam Houston State and No. 21 Lincoln Memorial, in the second and fifth matches of the day, respectively. The win over the eighth-ranked Bearkats saw the Frankies post four 200-pin games, while the victory over the Railsplitters featured a strong tenth frame to put the Flash over the top.

Saint Francis defeated the unranked Adelphi Panthers today in the fourth match, a game in which senior Samantha Timm bowled a 257 and the team combined for 30 strikes in the 270-pin win.

THERE IS NO DEFENSE…JUST MORE SCORING
Saint Francis suffered a pair of losses on the day, both to teams ranked in the top 20 of the NTCA polls. Their first match against No. 19 Central Missouri was revenge for the Jennies, as the Red Flash defeated them at the Penguin Classic to open the season. All opposing bowlers shot games that eclipsed the 200-pin threshold, and the Jennies shut down the Frankies with thirteen consecutive strikes on the backend of the match. 

They also fell to No. 7 Jacksonville State, which features a high-octane attack under the direction of Shannon O'Keefe, the two-time NCAA Champion coach from McKendree. After a tight match through the first five frames, the Gamecocks took control of the momentum and finished with all five bowlers knocking down at least 200 pins to defeat the Flash.

Jacksonville State was first overall in the tournament standings at the time and remains in that position, with more than a 300-pin lead over second-place Youngstown State.

WHERE THE RED FLASH STAND
Although the 3-2 record shows the success of the Red Flash, the total pinfall from Saturday (4,957) brought Saint Francis down from seventh to 13th place out of the 22 teams competing in the Hawk Classic. The team's overall pinfall (10,223) sits 12 pins behind 12th place Sam Houston State.

The bracket will be determined tomorrow following the sixth traditional match of the weekend, which will take place first thing in the morning against No. 10 Louisiana Tech. The Red Flash should finish the qualifying part of the tournament anywhere between 10th and 16th place. The bracket round could pit them against competition such as No. 12 Maryland Eastern Shore, No. 15 Fairleigh Dickinson or No. 19 Central Missouri, or others who currently sit in a similar position as the Frankies.

As for individual rankings, Timm is the only Red Flash bowler within the top 50, coming in at 33rd overall with a 214.8 traditional pinfall total. Adjustments can be made to move up in the standings for Sunday's sixth and final traditional match.

FINALS FROM SATURDAY
No. 19 Central Missouri 1101, SFU 956
SFU 1019, No. 8 Sam Houston State 917
No. 7 Jacksonville State 1125, SFU 1019
SFU 1063, Adelphi 792
SFU 900, No. 21 Lincoln Memorial 875

SUNDAY'S SLATE
No. 10 Louisiana Tech (traditional match) to begin around 8:25 am
Two best-of-seven baker matches to determine final placing

FOLLOW ALONG
The UMES Hawk Classic will not be live streamed on the team's Facebook page, but will instead be broadcast on BowlTV for a fee. The latest updates will still be posted on the team's Facebook and X pages.

For more information on the Red Flash, visit sfuathletics.com and follow RedFlashBowling on Facebook, Instagram, and X.