MILLSBORO, Del. – Among a loaded tournament field, one that features 15 of the nation's top 25 programs and six of the country's top 10, the Lincoln Memorial University women's bowling team claimed a trio of Baker team match victories on day one of the 2019 Hawk Classic Invitational in Millsboro, Delaware. The Lady Railsplitters (22-22) knocked off the likes of 14th-ranked Tulane and No. 20 Duquesne, in addition to earning a win over St. Francis College, Friday inside Millsboro Lanes in Millsboro, Delaware.
 
Following the opening day's five Baker team matches, LMU sits in 14th place at the 18-team tournament hosted by the University of Maryland Eastern Shore with a pinfall total of 4,596 and a record of 3-2.
 
Fifth-ranked Sam Houston State leads the three-day tournament with a 5,268 pinfall total and an unblemished 5-0 record, while No. 6 Arkansas State also went 5-0 Friday and is in second place with 5,024 total pins. Eighth-ranked North Carolina A&T (3-2) stands in third place after collecting 4,982 pins on day one. The Lady Railsplitters are just 29 pins off their next-closest competitor, No. 14 Tulane, who posted a 1-4 record in the Baker team matches.
 
Coming out of the gates a strong, LMU led early against eighth-ranked North Carolina A&T but couldn't continue its hot start in a 1,037-839 opening match loss.
 
"Our warm-up was excellent, and we led the match 196-194 after game one," stated Director of Bowling and Women's Head Coach Joseph Slowinski. "We started to get tight in the middle of game two and simply never recovered. Dealing with stress better is something we are working on to become better in close matches and against good teams."
 
Following their bout with top-10 North Carolina A&T, the Lady Railsplitters rebounded with a strong outing against another top-15 opponent in No. 14 Tulane. Getting a noteworthy performance from anchor bowler senior Marisol Dodson, who was 72.7 percent (8-of-11) on Baker double strikes and 60 percent (9-of-15) on strikes, LMU upended the Green Wave 1,014-945.
 
"I was really proud of how well we responded after the poor start in match one," commented coach Slowinski. "We found a good look and made great shots, ending with back-to-back 230 games."
 
Carrying over their momentum from the match two victory, the Lady Railsplitters worked their way to a 932-877 triumph over 20th-ranked Duquesne. Freshman Jada Bassette was outstanding in the matchup, striking at a rate of 60 percent (6-of-10).
 
"We remained patient throughout the match and simply worked hard, as well as making solid shots," Slowinski added.
 
Running into a red-hot sixth-ranked Arkansas State squad, LMU's two-match win streak was halted with a 1,015-902 setback. Bassette once again had another strong showing, going 3-for-4 on Baker double strikes, while junior Justine Brookover was 5-for-10 on strikes.
 
"We executed well but struggled on the right lane," continued Slowinski. "We shot two 200-pin games (202 and 212) on the left but had poor scoring on the right."
 
Closing out the day on a high note, the Lady Railsplitters picked up an 11-pin (909-898) victory against St. Francis College. Dodson was a perfect 5-for-5 on Baker double strikes, hitting strikes on 10-of-15 (66.7%) shots overall and the team made all makeable spares.
 
"We had two pocket 7-10's sandwiched between strikes in game five, as well as a high pocket 4-10," said Slowinski. "It was very frustrating and cost us a larger margin of victory."
 
Up Next…
The Lady Railsplitters have another set of challenging matches Saturday as LMU will take on 15th-ranked Delaware State, No. 9 Fairleigh Dickinson, 23rd-ranked Youngstown State, No. 16 Saint Francis University and receiving-votes Caldwell University in traditional team competition beginning at 9:55 a.m. On Sunday, three rounds of best 4-of-7 bracket play Baker matches will determine a tournament champion starting with an 8:25 a.m. opening round. Seeding for Sunday's bracket play will be determined by team's pinfall total from Friday's Baker matches and Saturday's 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.