ORLANDO, Fla. — The Lady Railsplitters went 4-1 on the second day of the Sunshine State Winter Classic at Boardwalk Bowl in Orlando, Fla. 

The five traditional match day was highlighted with exciting wins over No. 3 Nebraska and No. 9 Tulane, as well as wins over No. 22 Monmouth and Bethune Cookman. No. 15 Lincoln Memorial University's only loss was to No. 2 Vanderbilt.

Over the two days, LMU has gone 8-2 with six ranked wins, including victories over No. 12 Delaware St, No. 14 UAB and No. 18 Maryville in the opening day Friday. 

LMU saved its best for the end of the day with a 1093-1021 revenge win against No. 3 Nebraska in match 10. The Railsplitters saw a balance performance behind Mary-Kate Kersting shooting 228, Marisol Dodson 226, Tyra Sanchez 223, Justine Brookover 212 and 204.  Kersting, Brookover, Sanchez and Dodon all filled 100 percent of their frames.

"What a way to end the day," Director of Bowling and Women's Head Coach Joseph Slowinski said. "We led from the start of the match and maintained momentum by striking and making spares.

"To go 8-2 with this field strength paired with our performance at the Saints Invite gives us great motivation to keep working hard in our training and tournament preparations. "The most exciting fact is we have not yet performed near the level I believe we are capable of competing at."

Amazingly, the Lady Railsplitters now have wins over the top four teams in the country this season.  At the Saints Invite, two weeks ago, the Railsplitters knocked off No. 1 McKendree in the semi-finals.  LMU has also beaten No.2 Vanderbilt, like the Lady Railsplitters did Saturday, and No. 4 Arkansas State earlier this season.

Brookover finished seventh individually Saturday, shooting 1033 for five games (206.6 average) and missing All-Tournament honors by just seven pins.  The sophomore has been red hot in 2019 with three consecutive top 11 finishes (eight at the Mid-Winter and 11^th at the Saints Invite). 

Dodson continued her outstanding bowling with a 15th-place finish, shooting 989 (197.8 average) following-up the junior's All-Tournament honors at the Saints invite two weeks ago.

"Justine has been rock solid with consistent high performance in every tournament in 2019," Slowinski said.  "I expect her to continue to improve this season."
"Marisol has worked incredibly hard with great focus," the women's head coach added.  "She is starting to perform at a consistently high level and I look forward to seeing how far she can go."

In match No. 7, LMU faced No. 22 Monmouth and won easily, 1033-940.  Sanchez led the way with eight strikes and a 223 game. Dodson and Brookover both added 210.  Christine Hansen added 200 and Kersting had 190.  All five had over a 50-percent strike rate with Tyra Sanchez leading the way with eight of 11 strikes (72.72).

In match No. 8, LMU beat No. 9-ranked Tulane, 943-935, in a thrilling match, which went down to the 10th frame.  LMU had been down by over 100 pins early in the match, but kept fighting to the end. Sanchez, Dodson and Hansen each had six strikes.

In match No. 9, the Railsplitters were very flat losing, 848-1045. Brookover led LMU with a 223 and 100-percent filled frames.

LMU opened the day with an 877-620 win over Bethune Cookman. Brookover started her outstanding outing with 215, striking on seven of 12 shots (58.3 percent) and 91-percent filled frames.

No. 15 LMU will face No. 9 Tulane in the opening round of the best-of-7 baker match Sunday morning at 8:25 a.m. 

"We are very motivated and want to continue our outstanding bowling on Sundays in 2019," Slowinski said.