The #25 Valpo bowling team saw its 2020-21 campaign come to a close Friday at the Southland Bowling League Tournament in Hanrahan, La.

How It Happened

• Valpo opened tournament play as the eighth seed in the bracket and was paired up with top-seeded #2 Arkansas State in the first matchup. Each match featured a traditional team game, followed by a five-game baker set. If the two teams split those contests, a best-of-seven baker round decided the match.
• The traditional team game opened the matchup against the Red Wolves, but despite a 210 from sophomore Alexis Roof (Flint, Mich./Kearsley) and a 198 by freshman Claudia Santiago-Ramos (Coamo, P.R./Academia Ponce Interamericana), Valpo fell to ASU, 942-871.
• The five-game baker set started with an even game one, and Valpo then used games of 207 and 215 to hang tight with ASU as the Red Wolves led by just 14 pins with two games remaining. But Arkansas State posted a 277 in game four and eventually won by a 1086-959 final to close out the match.
• The loss to ASU dropped Valpo into the elimination bracket, where it was paired up against fourth-seeded #11 Youngstown State.
• Senior Payton Bertermann (Grayslake, Ill./North) recorded a stellar game in the traditional set against YSU, posting a 222 for Valpo’s high game of the day, but the Penguins earned a 907-873 win.
• YSU jumped out to a 29-pin lead after game one of the five-game baker set and extended its lead to 34 pins following game two. The Brown and Gold crept back into the contest with a six-pin edge in game three and an 18-pin advantage in game four to move within 10 pins entering the final game, but a 192-181 game in favor of YSU gave the Penguins a 913-892 win and finished the match.