Altoona, Pa. -- The University of Pittsburgh at Bradford bowling team posted a 2-1 record on their final day at the Red Flash Invitational to clinch a 7th-place finish at the event. The Panthers finished ahead of the three other division three schools in the competition.
The Panthers got off to an unlucky start as they fell to Mount Aloysius 1-4, despite posting a higher total pinfall. The Panthers lost the first two games of the match 121-139 and 131-159 to fall into an early hole. Game three saw the Panthers explode, posting a score of 253 which was the second-highest score of the entire competition on the day. Unfortunately, they were not able to build any momentum off of the game, as they lost the next two 143-158 and 118-121.
The Panthers dropped down to take on Penn State-Altoona in the next round. They got off to another slow start, as they lost the opener 123-147, but battled back and won the next three games to secure victory. They got into the win column with a low-scoring battle, winning game 2 113-109, and then moved into the lead with a 158-136 lead in game 3. They continued to improve in the match, winning game 4 164-127 before closing out the match with a 155-133 win.
The victory over Penn State Altoona gave the Panthers a rematch with the mounties for 7th place. Pitt-Bradford came out firing in the placement match, going ahead 2-0 after a 184-106 win in game 1 and a 168-133 win in game two. Mount Aloysius battled back to win match 3 162-192 before the Panthers took a commanding 3-1 lead with a 173-156 win in game four. The Mounties would not go down so easy, however, as they won the next two games 138-147 and 124-146 to force a match-deciding 7th game. In the decider, the Panthers breezed to a 163-139 victory to secure the match and 7th place.
The Panthers will look to build on the momentum of their strong performance at the Red Flash Invitational, as they return to action next Saturday for their first AMCC Round Robin of the season. They will travel to Greensburg, where they will take on all 9 conference opponents.
