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Youngstown State’s bowling team will compete in its first road tournament of the 2025-26 season this weekend at the Destination Orlando event. The three-day tournament at AMF Sky Lanes in Orlando, Fla., will start on Friday at 9:25 a.m., and it will conclude on Sunday.

The Penguins’ matches will be streamed live on the YSUsports YouTube channel, and results will be posted throughout the weekend on the team’s Instagram and Facebook stories and its X feed.

Tournament Preview

Youngstown State will be one of 24 teams bowling in the Sunshine State this weekend at the tournament hosted by Sacred Heart. There will be 16 ranked teams, including 11 of the top 12 teams according to the National Tenpin Coaches Association’s Top 25 Preseason Poll. The fourth-ranked Penguins will get their first look at top-10 programs No. 5 Wichita State, No. 7 North Carolina A&T, No. 9 Louisiana Tech and No. 10 Maryville. They will also see No. 1 Jacksonville State, No. 2 Nebraska, No. 3 Vanderbilt and No. 6 Arkansas State for the second straight weekend. The field also features 10 of the 12 Conference USA schools with the exceptions being Sam Houston and Wright State.

A Look at the Field

Top-25 Ranked Teams (16): #1 Jacksonville State, #2 Nebraska, #3 Vanderbilt, #4 Youngstown State, #5 Wichita State, #6 Arkansas State, #7 North Carolina A&T, #9 Louisiana Tech, #10 Maryville, #11 Sacred Heart, #12 Duquesne, #14 Mount St. Mary’s, #16 Maryland Eastern Shore, #18 UAB, #19 Tulane, #21 Valparaiso

Additional Teams (8): Alabama A&M, Alabama State, Bryant, Emmanuel, Florida A&M, Prairie View A&M, Saint Anselm, Texas Southern

Conference USA Teams (10): Arkansas State, Jacksonville State, Louisiana Tech, Nebraska, Sacred Heart, Tulane, Valparaiso, Vanderbilt, Wichita State, Youngstown State

Format and Schedule

Destination Orlando will deviate slightly from the standard 13-match format this weekend to allow teams to bowl each of the other 11 programs in their poll during qualifying.

Teams will bowl in five Baker matches starting at 9:25 a.m. on Friday, and they’ll transition to five traditional matches beginning at 8:25 a.m. on Saturday. There will be one more Baker match on Sunday at 8:25 a.m. to conclude qualifying, and total pinfall will determine the winner of the first 11 matches. The tournament will then shift to a bracket for two best-of-seven Baker matches to determine the final standings.

Friday at 9:25 a.m. — Five Baker matches

Saturday at 8:25 a.m. — Five traditional matches

Sunday at 8:25 a.m. — One Baker match, followed by two best-of-seven Baker matches

YSU’s History at Destination Orlando

This will be Youngstown State’s third consecutive trip to the Destination Orlando event, and the Penguins went 8-5 in head-to-head matches in both 2023 and 2024. YSU had a memorable final day in 2023, climbing from fourth to the tournament title. Youngstown State took down Vanderbilt, Stephen F. Austin and Jacksonville State in the best-of-seven bracket on the final day, and Jade Cote was named the tournament’s Most Valuable Player for her role in the team victory.

2023-24


Team finish » 1st of 18 teams
Head-to-head record » 8-5
Top individual finisher » Kirsten Moore (16th)

2024-25


Team finish » 5th of 22 teams
Head-to-head record » 8-5
Top individual finisher » Ellie Drescher (28th)

Recapping the Chelsea Gilliam Penguin Classic

Youngstown State’s group of one returner and seven newcomers had a solid debut last weekend at the Chelsea Gilliam Penguin Classic, which was held at YSU’s home center in Struthers, Ohio. The Penguins went 11-2 in head-to-head matches with their only losses to No. 1 Jacksonville State and No. 3 Vanderbilt. YSU topped No. 2 Nebraska in a Baker pinfall match on Friday, and it outlasted Vanderbilt in a best-of-seven Baker match on Sunday in seven games.

Individually, freshman Leyna Kratzer was YSU’s top finisher in the traditional format with a five-game set of 1,109. She finished with consecutive games of 256 and 268, and she missed the all-tournament team in her first career match by one pin. Junior transfer Amy Chrzanowski placed 15th with a 1,047 set, while Alivia Baskin and Kara Beissel finished 19th and 20th, respectively.

A Glimpse at the Guins


Youngstown State is in a new era this season — one as a program that has won a national championship and one that has seven newcomers and just one returner from last season’s title-winning squad on its 2025-26 roster.
The Penguins are the fourth-ranked team in the National Tenpin Coaches Association Top 25 Preseason Poll.
YSU is coming off a storybook season in 2024-25 in which six seniors led the Penguins to the 2025 National Collegiate Women’s Bowling Championship. It was the first national championship ever in a women’s sport at Youngstown State and its first in any sport since 1997. YSU has been to the NCAA Tournament in five straight seasons and reached the Final Four three times.
While the Penguins celebrated their momentous accomplishment, they’re ready to turn the page with six freshmen, a junior transfer and returning sophomore Kara Beissel looking to carry on the tradition. Beissel waited her turn behind the veteran lineup last season, but she stepped up in a big way when she was called upon and was named to the All-Tournament Team at the Final Four.
Amy Chrzanowski, a junior transfer from FDU, is the most-experienced collegiate bowler on the roster. She primarily bowled fourth in the Knights’ lineup last season, earning Second Team All-NEC honors and helping FDU to the NCAA Tournament.
Six Penguins made their collegiate debuts at last week’s season-opening event. Leyna Kratzer bowled in all 136 frames for the Penguins, while Alivia Baskin bowled in 105 as freshmen saw significant action across the lineup. Baskin and Kratzer both bowled in the anchor spot during Baker play on Sunday.
This is Youngstown State’s 10th season as an intercollegiate program, and Doug Kuberski is entering his seventh full season as head coach. He took over midway through the 2018-19 season, and he has gone on to lead the Penguins to five NCAA tournaments and three Final Four appearances. Kuberski is a two-time National Coach of the Year (2020 and 2024) and a two-time conference coach of the year (2020 and 2023), and he earned his 500th victory at YSU on Oct. 19 against Vanderbilt. Madyson Marx, a First-Team All-American last season and a five-year member of the program, has joined the staff as a graduate assistant, and Mackenzie Olesky is in her third season as an assistant coach.

Up Next

Youngstown State will have nearly a month to digest its hectic start to the season before its next tournament. The Penguins’ next tournament, and their final one of the fall semester, will be at the Colonial Lanes Classic in Harahan, La., on Nov. 21-23.