The Valpo bowling team enjoyed another successful day on the lanes Saturday at the Penguin Classic in Struthers, Ohio, highlighted by a victory to close the day over perennial NCAA power Nebraska.

How It Happened

• Valpo opened the day, contested in the traditional team format, against #25 Morgan State and came away with an 892-876 win. Senior Isabella Palamaro (Thiells, N.Y./North Rockland) led the way against MSU with a 190 game.
• The Beacons made it consecutive wins over ranked foes to start the day with an 892-836 triumph over #11 Duquesne. In her first collegiate tournament, freshman Alexis Wooley (Fort White, Fla./Fort White) rolled a team-best 205, while sophomore Jen Patz (Naples, Fla./Naples) posted a 201 as well in the win.
• Junior Lilu Smith (Gahanna, Ohio/Lincoln) led Valpo in each of the next two match slots with games of 231 and 212, respectively, but the Beacons fell 1027-927 to #RV Niagara and 1008-925 to #2 Arkansas State.
• Valpo finished the day against #3 Nebraska and used its top single-match performance of the day to top the Cornhuskers, 1014-989. Junior Alli Eible (Burton, Mich./Kearsley) rolled a career-best 255 game to lead the Beacons in the win, while freshman Payton Rowley (Stewartville, Minn./Stewartville) backed Eible up with a 224 of her own.
• The win was Valpo’s first over Nebraska since January 2017.
• Valpo finished the day in fifth place out of the 13 competing teams with 9,478 pins — just 44 pins out of fourth. Perhaps indicative of the Beacons’ ability to have any bowler step up in any given match, Rowley posted the team’s top average on the day with a 196.8 despite not being one of the four Valpo bowlers to record a team-high game.

Next Up

Valpo (6-3) closes action from the season-opening tournament on Sunday beginning at 7:25 a.m. CT. The Beacons will bowl four matches — three five-game baker matches, followed by one best-of-seven baker contest.