Altoona, Pa. -- The University of Pittsburgh at Bradford women's bowling team returned to action at the Red Flash Invitational on Friday, hosted by Saint Francis University. Bowling against opponents from all three Divisions if the NCAA, the Panthers went 2-3 on day one.

The Panthers began their day with a 730-629 victory over Penn State-Altoona. The Panthers were led by Brookelyn Garvey, who rattled off 7 straight strikes on the way to posting a score of 217. Sarah Newland finished 2nd for Pitt-Bradford, posting a score of 148, while Ekaterina Wilson was just behind her at 137. Olivia Shultz and Alexis Whitfield both surpassed 100 pins, recording scores of 115 and 113 respectively. 

Pitt-Bradford pushed to a 2-0 start of the tournament, as they followed the win over Penn-State Altoona with a 757- 630 victory over Pitt Greensburg, The Panthers had their most balanced match of the tournament, as all five players posted scores higher than 139. Garvey had the high pinfall once again, finishing at 176. Newland added a score of 157, while Shultz and Whitfield were one pin apart at 143 and 142. Wilson rounded out the scoring at 139.

The Panthers' run was not able to extend to three matches, as they then took on Division I foe Valparaiso. The Panthers fell in the match 681-854, with Garvey putting in another strong effort with a score of 18

Following their first loss of the day, Pitt-Bradford posted their second-highest score of the day against D'Youville, but fell 751-870. Garvey led the Panthers at 187, but Shultz stepped up, recording her best career game, finishing at 184.

The Panthers closed the day with another tough match, falling to Division II Walsh 682-895. Newland recorded the highest pinfall for the Panthers, finishing with a score of 167.

After one day of competition, Brookelyn Garvey has the fourth-highest average of the event at 181.2 pins per game. Sarah Newland was second on the team with an average of 149.6, while Olivia Shultz and Ekaterina Wilson were just three pins apart with averages of 139.8 and 136.8. Alexis Whitfield rounded out the scoring at 112.8 pins per match.

The Panthers will be back in action tomorrow for 5 more round-robin matches, this time in the Baker format. The action begins at 9:55 a.m.