HARAHAN, La. – The Lincoln Memorial University women's bowling team rose two spots in the highly-competitive 16-team field at the seventh annual Allstate Sugar Bowl Collegiate Invitational inside Colonial Lanes in Harahan, Louisiana, near New Orleans. Going 3-2 in Saturday's traditional team match play, the Lady Railsplitters totaled 4,851 pins to sit in fifth place among a tournament field that includes three of the top five teams in the nation, five of the top 10 and nine of the top 20.
 
With a two-day pinfall total of 9,527, LMU will enter Sunday's bracket play as the No. 5 seed with a chance to claim a third-place finish.
 
Opening the day with an impressive win over eighth-ranked North Carolina A&T, the Lady Railsplitters, who are ranked 13th nationally according to the National Tenpin Coaches Association (NTCA) Preseason Top 25, claimed victories over Southern University and fellow East Coast Conference member Tusculum after battling No. 7 Maryland-Eastern Shore and fifth-ranked Sam Houston State.
 
The No. 5 Bearkats continue to lead the Allstate Sugar Bowl Collegiate Invitational with a pinfall total of 9,702 and an 8-2 record, while 2019 NCAA finalist and top-ranked Vanderbilt is in second place with 9,623 total pins. Nineteenth-ranked UAB is third with a pinfall total of 9,563 and No. 17 Louisiana Tech (9,548) fourth.
 
Senior Mary-Kate Kersting dominated in a field consisting of some of the best bowlers in the country. Finishing Saturday's team matches as the top individual out of 108 total bowlers, Kersting will be named Allstate Sugar Bowl Collegiate Invitational MVP Sunday as she becomes the first Lady Railplitter to be tabbed tournament MVP in program history. She will also land a spot on the 2019 Allstate Sugar Bowl Collegiate Invitational All-Tournament Team, becoming just the fifth LMU bowler to earn a major all-tournament team honor.
 
"I felt calm, determined, excited and exhilarated all throughout the day," Kersting said. "I didn't let any bad shots bring me down and focused on my next one. I took it one shot at a time. Coach always says we need someone to step up and I tried my hardest to be that person, one shot at a time."
 
"I could feel all of the support from my teammates, which made it much easier and less stressful," Kersting continued. "If they believed I could do it, I knew I could too."
 
Averaging a game score of 226.4 across the five matches, Kersting knocked down 1,132 total pins and registered at least a 212 in four of the five contests.
 
"I am so proud of this young woman," Director of Bowling Joseph Slowinski spoke. "Mary-Kate's work ethic is unparalleled. She simply does her best to complete each day's training to the best of her ability. Due to this, she has evolved so much in her time at LMU. She trusts our process and is a role model of what a great teammate should be. It is not surprising she opens up her senior season with not only an all-tournament honor, but a tournament MVP accolade."
 
Owning a 66 percent strike percentage (39-of-59) on the day, Kersting recorded a double-strike percentage of 77 (27-of-41).
 
Her teammates had high praise for the senior.
 
"Mary-Kate showed poise and determination," commented junior Justine Brookover. "Even when the team wasn't doing well, she was there to motivate us. Her energy levels are always off the charts and she is truly inspiring. This achievement shows how much work she has put in since day one."
 
"Never give up or stop working from day one," added senior Marisol Dodson. "Mary-Kate's performance proved just that, bringing joy and tears to our eyes."
 
"Mary-Kate has the biggest heart and drive to be better every day," junior Tyra Sanchez said. "It is so nice to see all of her hard work paying off. No one deserves this more than she does.
 
Junior Christine Hansen, the ECC Preseason Bowler of the Year, also placed within the top 10 in the individual standings, finishing ninth among all bowlers with a 202.8 game average. Claiming 1,014 total pins, Hansen rolled over a 200 in each of her first four games Saturday.
 
Averaging a game score of 187.4 with 937 total pins, Dodson finished 25th while Brookover placed 51st with 746 pins (186.5/game) and freshman Sofia Colon 68th (560 pins, 186.67/game).
 
Sparked by Kersting's high score of 267 and Dodson's 216 game, the Lady Railsplitters upset No. 8 North Carolina A&T 1,010-893 to begin the day. Despite Hansen's game of 212 and Brookover's 206, LMU was defeated by seventh-ranked Maryland-Eastern Shore, but by only 34 pins (979-945). Taking on No. 5 Sam Houston State in their third traditional team match, the Lady Railsplitters got a 245 from Kersting and a 211 from Hansen but it was enough in a 939-897 setback.
 
Closing out the day with a pair of triumphs, LMU topped Southern 987-828 behind a 213 game from Colon, Kersting's 212 and Hansen's 203. In a historic matchup with Tusculum, the two school's first meeting as associate ECC women's bowling members, the Lady Railsplitters earned a convincing 1,012-889 win after getting a high-score game of 246 from Brookover and a 232 from Kersting. The Pioneers are in their inaugural tournament as a first-year program with both LMU and Tusculum members of the South Atlantic Conference.
 
Up Next…
The Lady Railsplitters will get a rematch with seventh-ranked and sixth-seeded Maryland-Eastern Shore Sunday morning in the first round of best 4-of-7 Baker match bracket play beginning at 9:30 a.m. EST. With an opening round win, LMU would take on the loser of No. 19 and third-seeded UAB versus 17th-ranked and fourth-seeded Louisiana Tech in Sunday's second round. A positional round will take place Sunday afternoon to determine a tournament champion.  
 
How to Follow
Stay tuned to LMURailsplitters.com, as well as LMU's social media platforms - @LMURailsplitter on Twitter, @LMURailsplitters on Facebook and @lmurailsplitters on Instagram, for complete coverage of Lady Railsplitter bowling throughout the 2019-20 season.