GREENSBORO, N.C. – Among a competitive and talented 12-team tournament field, which features a total of seven nationally-ranked programs, the Lincoln Memorial University women's bowling team sits in eighth place following day one of the inaugural Vernell Stallings Women's Bowling Invitational in Greensboro, North Carolina. The Lady Railsplitters (15-16) own a pinfall total of 4,596 after Friday's five Baker matches, standing 743 pins off tournament leader and host North Carolina A&T.
 
Despite 15 missed single pins, LMU earned match wins over Texas Southern and 15th-ranked Delaware State on the first day of competition, but were bested by a trio of top-25 teams in No. 21 Mount St. Mary's, No. 8 North Carolina A&T and 17th-ranked Louisiana Tech.
 
"Today we struggled to get into any sense of flow," stated Director of Bowling and Women's Head Coach Joseph Slowinski. "Inconsistencies in shot making and poor spare shooting plagued the day."
 
"However, I am proud of our team's emotional control all day," continued coach Slowinski. "Today was our season-low performance but we held strong and remained composed throughout. Tomorrow is a new day and we will work hard on our amnesia to forget today and move on to be our best tomorrow. Our poor performance today will not define us."
 
The eighth-ranked Aggies went 4-1 Friday and hold a pinfall total of 5,338, while No. 7 Maryland-Eastern Shore (5,024) sits in second place after going 5-0 in the Baker matches. Fifteenth-ranked Delaware State (4,960) is in third place, followed by receiving-votes Prairie View A&M (4,937), No. 21 Mount St. Mary's (4,924), 19th-ranked UAB (4,902) and No. 17 Louisiana Tech (4,857).
 
In their opening match of the day, the Lady Railsplitters took on a Mount St. Mary's team that bowled a 1,044 in five Baker games as LMU was outdone by 102 pins (1,044-942). Much like the opener, the Lady Railsplitters witnessed another strong performance by their opponent in LMU's second contest Friday. Tournament host North Carolina A&T rolled to a tune of 1,167 with the Lady Railsplitters' 895 unable to match the Aggies.
 
Picking up 877 pins, LMU got its first win of the day with an 877-842 triumph over Texas Southern. The Lady Railsplitters then put together a 1,064-pin performance to defeat No. 15 Delaware State by 60 pins.
 
Closing out Friday's Baker matches, LMU was only able to score an 818 while 17th-ranked Louisiana Tech tallied 954 pins for the win.  
 
Up Next…
The Lady Railsplitters continue the Vernell Stallings Women's Bowling Invitational Saturday with five traditional team matches beginning at 9:55 a.m. LMU will face seventh-ranked Maryland-Eastern Shore, followed by Coppin State, fellow East Coast Conference member Tusculum, receiving-votes Prairie View A&M and Howard Saturday before taking on No. 19 UAB Sunday morning at 8:25 a.m. in the final traditional team match. A tournament champion will be crowned Sunday afternoon following two rounds of best 4-of-7 Baker match bracket play, which will start at 9:55 a.m. Seeding for Sunday's bracket play will be determined by team's pinfall total from the Baker and traditional team matches.
 
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.