The Saint Francis University bowling team will look to clinch their second consecutive Northeast Conference Championship appearance this weekend when they compete in the third Northeast Conference regular season tournament at Yankee Lanes in Manchester, N.H., hosted by Merrimack College.

The Red Flash (45-47, 9-5 NEC) currently sit in third place among the eight NEC bowling teams as they head into the final conference competition of the season. The Flash compiled their nine conference wins in the October and December NEC tournaments, sweeping Long Island, No. 21 Fairleigh Dickinson and No. 25 Niagara while splitting series against No. 8 Duquesne and No. 18 Merrimack. Saint Francis is all but locked into at least the fifth seed of the postseason tournament, as last year's squad claimed the fifth and final seed with a nine-win conference record.

WELL, THIS WILL BE INTERESTING
The squad will travel just five bowlers for the New Hampshire trip, as seniors Emma Meade and Marissa Metcalfe both have pre-arranged academic obligations requiring them to miss this weekend's competition.

This leaves the Red Flash with the minimum number of bowlers for competition. Senior Samantha Timm, sophomores Ayanna Carroll and Mackenzie Keane and freshmen Hayden Bennett and Jewel Johnson are set to roll every frame in all seven matches over the two-day tournament. Bennett and Johnson have yet to compete in an entire tournament, while this weekend will mark the first time all season that the Flash is sending less than two seniors into battle.

SINCE LAST YEAR
There is a much larger time gap between the second and third conference tournaments compared to that of the first two tournaments in October and December. This, along with the change in the new year, leaves a lot of room for teams to improve and regress. For the Flash, that came in the loss of senior anchor Kassidy Landwehr, and for others, it meant late-season surges coming at the time when wins matter most.

Duquesne continued their top-10 play, as the NEC preseason top seed will likely continue competing in that fashion through the tournament and into postseason competition. Merrimack and Sacred Heart, two teams set to depart at season's end, build a strong second tier of the conference that could contend for an at-large NCAA tournament bid with a stellar conference performance.

Fairleigh Dickinson, Niagara and Saint Francis are in place to compete for the final two spots in the five-team conference postseason field. All three teams have hovered around the nation's top 30 teams for most of the season, with Fairleigh Dickinson coming in at No. 21 and Niagara rounding out the rankings at No. 25.

Long Island and Wagner currently sit as long shots to make the postseason through the first two conference battles, as the teams sit on the outside looking in and would require higher-ranked teams to fall in the upcoming weekend.

THE LAST TWO
The first two Northeast Conference tournaments saw two different outings from the Frankies, but both weekends were successful in bringing back winning records while securing their spot as one of the top teams in the conference this season.

The Red Flash used three Prime Performances to fight their way to a winning record in the first NEC tournament. Top-10 outings from seniors Samantha Timm and Kassidy Landwehr and sophomore Mackenzie Keane led the team to key victories over top-20 teams in Duquesne and Fairleigh Dickinson. The team finished the first weekend with a 5-2 record, putting them in the top half of the conference after one weekend.

The second edition saw rough lane conditions for all teams, but the Frankies still managed wins over Fairleigh Dickinson and Merrimack, the latter being its first against the Warriors in their two seasons since joining the conference. They finished the second tournament with a 4-3 record, pushing themselves to third place in the standings.

WEIGHING THE SEASONS
Last year's Saint Francis squad tallied a 9-12 record in conference play, placing them in the fifth and final postseason spot in the conference tournament. While last year's postseason tournament model put them in a play-in battle against eventual conference champion Sacred Heart, they can lock in a double elimination spot by staying pat where they are among the conference's top three teams, who avoid the single elimination play-in round.

TOURNEY SCHEDULE
Saturday, Feb. 17: 4 Baker matches beginning at 9:55 a.m.
Sunday, Feb. 18: 3 Baker matches beginning at 8:25 a.m.

FOLLOW ALONG
The third NEC regular season tournament, as well as most other tournaments, will be video-streamed on the team's Facebook Live 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.