Wildcats Go A Perfect 5-0 During Day One Of The Grapevine Classic

Papero and Gizicki Earn All-Tournament Honors

10/14/2023 8:28:00 PM

By: CONTACT: Tom McDermott, Director of Athletics Communications | tmcdermo@daemen.edu

ERIE, Pa. - The Daemen University women's bowling team won all five of its opening-day matches at the 2023 Grapevine Classic today. The two-day tournament features 10 schools and is being hosted by Penn State Behrend at Eastland Bowl. In addition to tournament host Penn State Behrend and Daemen, the other participants include D'Youville University, Hilbert College, Laroche University, Pitt.-Greensburg, Roberts Wesleyan, Saint Vincent College, Ursuline College and William Smith College. Daemen is the defending tournament champion.

Today's action featured five traditionally scored matches. The team standings are based on total pin fall and the Wildcats sit in third place after day one. Saint Vincent sits atop the standings with 4,721 pins. Roberts Wesleyan (4,504) edged out Daemen (4,503) for second place. William Smith (4,492) and Hilbert (4,106) round out the top five.

Freshman Cassidy Papero (Cheektowaga, N.Y.) and senior Mollie Gizicki (Brighton, Mich.) both earned all-tournament honors after finishing among the top five individuals who bowled in all five matches today. Abby Justice of Saint Vincent earned tournament MVP honors after posting a tournament-best 1,073 total pins and a 214.6 average.

Daemen has now won its last six matches and stands at 10-4 on the year.

HIGHLIGHTS

Daemen opened the day with back-to-back wins over East Coast Conference rivals Roberts Wesleyan (963-839) and D'Youville (923-898), and then posted a 915-864 win over William Smith in the first-ever meeting between the Wildcats and the Herons. Daemen capped the day with wins over Hilbert (910-773) and tournament host Penn State Behrend (792-778).
Papero placed second among all bowlers with 1,010 total pins and 202.0 average. She opened the day with a team-best 222 in the win over Roberts Wesleyan and followed up with another team-high 218 in the win over D'Youville. She rolled her third-straight 200-game (203) in the win over William Smith.
Gizicki totaled 1,000 pins and a 200.0 average, which was third best among all bowlers. She opened the day with a 201 against RWU and followed up with a 215 against D'Youville. She then posted the highest score of the day for a Daemen bowler (241) against William Smith and came close to her fourth 200 game (193) in the win over Hilbert.
Sophomore Mackenzie Hutchins (Wheatfield, N.Y.) also competed in all five matches today. She bowled a 188 in the wins over Roberts Wesleyan and Hilbert and finished 18^th among all bowlers that competed in five matches with a 170.6 average.
Freshman Brenna Forsha (Tonawanda, N.Y.) competed in the first three matches. She rolled a 195 against Roberts Wesleyan and posted a 168.0 average.
Sophomore Kayla Richardson (Webster, N.Y.) and freshman Chelsea Porga (Welland, Ont.) both competed in two matches. Richardson rolled a 191 against Hilbert, while Porga posted a 152 against D'Youville.
Senior Emma Smith Williamsville, N.Y.), sophomore Bailey Glass (North Tonawanda, N.Y.) and freshmen Sabrina Palmer (Waterloo, N.Y.) also saw action today. Smith bowled a 157 against Roberts Wesleyan, Glass rolled a team-high 180 against Penn State Behrend and Palmer posted a 167 against William Smith.

UP NEXT
Day two gets underway tomorrow (Oct. 15) at 10 a.m. The schedule can be found here.

Daemen University features the premier NCAA Division II athletics program in the Buffalo-Niagara region, sponsoring 17 intercollegiate teams. For the latest information on Daemen Athletics, follow the Wildcats via social media on Twitter, Facebook, YouTube and Instagram, or sign up to receive customizable news alerts, e-mail newsletters and weekly schedule alerts.
Follow the Daemen women's bowling program on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram at @DaemenBowling

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