The Saint Francis University bowling team faced a tough slate of opponents this past weekend, finishing with a 7-6 record to place 12th at the Hawk Classic, co-hosted by the University of Maryland Eastern Shore and Monmouth University at the Bowl America Bowling Lanes in Woodbridge, Va.

DAY 3 RECAP
Sunday started early for the bowlers, and the Red Flash were put to the test right away. They opened the day by facing No. 10 Louisiana Tech in a traditional match, and although seniors Samantha Timm and Emma Meade and sophomore Mackenzie Keane eclipsed 200 pins in their respective games, the Red Flash fell to the Bulldogs 1043-1031. Despite the loss, the pinfall total elevated the Red Flash one spot higher to 12th in the overall standings heading into the final two matches of the tournament.

Sunday's schedule left a pair of open spots for the bracket matches, and the first best-of-seven battle pitted Saint Francis against conference rival and No. 17 Sacred Heart. In a lively affair between the Frankies and Pioneers, Saint Francis took a 2-0 lead before three 230+ pin showings from Sacred Heart pushed the Red Flash to the brink. Although they were able to muster a win to get the match tied at three apiece, the Pios were able to withstand a late surge from the Flash in game seven and lock down a six-pin victory.

The result sent the Flash to face No. 19 Central Missouri to close the tournament. Although they fell to the Jennies on Saturday in traditional play, they had defeated them in the Penguin Classic earlier this year. This time around, however, the Jennies and the Red Flash were more evenly matched, trading wins for the first five games before Central Missouri put away the tournament with a 50-pin game six win.

Saint Francis maintained the ranking they began the day with, finishing the Hawk Classic in 12th place out of 22 teams.

WEEKEND SUMMARY
The Red Flash received one of the more challenging schedules this weekend, featuring only three unranked teams over the 11 predetermined games at the three-day tournament.

Saint Francis came out of the opening day with a 4-1 record, sitting in seventh place in total pinfall after defeating top-ranked Vanderbilt and No. 20 Wisconsin-Whitewater. Wins over Bryant and Wilmington capped off the big day, one that saw them sitting as high as fourth overall in the tournament standings.

Saturday was equally impressive, with the Frankies picking up another two ranked wins while going 3-2 in traditional play. The second match of the day saw the Flash fight to a win over No. 8 Sam Houston State behind the team's 24-strike performance. They closed out the day with another ranked win over No. 21 Lincoln Memorial after defeating Adelphi to maintain a winning record through two days.

Even in their three losses, the Flash produced stellar performances. They fell to No. 6 Youngstown State and No. 7 Jacksonville State, both high-scoring programs that earned silver and gold medals, respectively, at the end of the tournament. While the Youngstown State baker match got out of hand early, the Jacksonville State traditional match saw four bowlers knock down over 200 pins against the Gamecocks. They also fell to No. 19 Central Missouri, bringing their season record to 1-1 after defeating the Jennies earlier this season.

Sunday was not so friendly, as they went 0-3 against three ranked opponents, including 0-2 in bracket play, to finish 7-6 on the weekend. They briefly moved up in the standings as a result of their high pinfall against Louisiana Tech but returned to the 12th spot following the best-of-seven baker matches.

HIGHLIGHT PERFORMANCES
The ranked wins couldn't have come without big performances from big-time playmakers, and that is exactly what led the Red Flash to some of their biggest wins of the season.

Friday's baker win over No. 20 Wisconsin-Whitewater came with help from senior Kassidy Landwehr, who had 12 consecutive strikes from the anchor spot to take down the Warhawks. She put up 15 strikes overall in the win, leading the charge in a blowout victory.

In the upset victory over No. 1 Vanderbilt, there were stretches throughout the game where the Frankies controlled the momentum, often making it difficult for the Commodores to regain control. Three of the five games had strings of at least five strikes, and the first game featured seven strikes in the first eight frames in the win over Vandy. Samantha Timm tallied eight strikes in ten opportunities in the upset victory.

Four 200-pin games from Timm, Landwehr, Keane and Marissa Metcalfe led the Red Flash to victory over No. 8 Sam Houston State on Saturday, and an additional 200-pin game was used to defeat No. 21 Lincoln Memorial at the end of the afternoon. The win over Adelphi saw Timm tally a 257-pin performance while the team combined to knock down 30 strikes against the overmatched Panthers.

Samantha Timm's performances helped the Flint, Mich., native achieve the best traditional pinfall (1,278) and average (213 per match) for the Red Flash, good enough for 35th overall.

SUNDAY'S RESULTS
No. 10 Louisiana Tech 1043, Saint Francis 1031 (traditional)
No. 17 Sacred Heart 4, Saint Francis 3 (best-of-seven baker)
No. 19 Central Missouri 4, Saint Francis 2 (best-of-seven baker)

FINAL NUMBERS
Record: 7-6
Total pinfall: 13,927 (12th)
Pinfall Average: 204.8 pins per game
Total Baker Pinfall: 5,266
Total Traditional Pinfall: 5,988

UP NEXT
The Red Flash will conclude the 2023 portion of competition at the second NEC regular season tournament in Mechanicsburg, Pa. The two-day tournament will be the final tournament for senior Kassidy Landwehr before her graduation at semester's end. The tournament will be live-streamed on the team's Facebook page, and the latest updates will 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.