ERIE, PA. – The Daemen University women's bowling team opened their 2024-25 season at the Mercyhurst Invitational by winning one of their five matches to open the season. The two-day tournament features nine other schools including William Smith, Kutztown, Niagara, D'Youville, Mount St. Mary's (Md.), Penn State-Behrend, Pitt-Bradford, Wright State and hosts Mercyhurst.
Today's action featured five traditionally scored matches. The Wildcats opened the year by posting a total pinfall of 4,633.
HIGHLIGHTS
• Daemen opened the tournament with a close 965-945 loss to RV William Smith. The Wildcats also fell to Kutztown, 1063-936, and No. 25 Niagara, 944-856, before defeating crosstown rival D'Youville, 1030-902, for their first win of the season. The Cats closed the day with a 964-866 loss to former East Coast Conference member, RV Mercyhurst.
• The Wildcats picked up their 21
st all-time win against D'Youville and have won four of the last five matches against the Saints. The Blue and White now lead the all-time series, 20-6.
• Sophomores
Brenna Forsha (Tonawanda, N.Y.),
Chelsea Porga (Welland, Onatio) and junior
Mackenzie Hutchins (Wheatfield, N.Y.) were the only three bowlers to appear in all five matches. Porga led the way with an average of 193.6, the highest of any Daemen bowler on day one. Forsha and Hutchins posted averages of 187.8 and 183.6, respectively.
• For Forsha, she bowled a 257 against D'Youville, the highest single game pinfall in a match for any Daemen bowler during day one.
• All-ECC selection
Mollie Gizicki (Brighton, Mich.) appeared in four contests, posting an average of 185.0, highlighted by a 233 pin outing against D'Youville.
• Sophomore
Cassidy Papero (Cheektowaga, N.Y.) bowled in three games. She rolled a 208 in the Wildcats season opener against RV William Smith and posted an average of 187.
• Freshman
Cassandra Westphal (Spencerport, N.Y.) made her collegiate debut against No. 25 Niagara and bowled a 174. She ended the day with a 163.5 average across two games.
• Sophomore
Sabrina Palmer (Waterloo, N.Y.) rounded out today's bowlers. She appeared in the Wildcats final game of the day against RV Mercyhurst and bowled a 180.
UP NEXT
Day two of the Mercyhurst Invitational begins tomorrow at 9 a.m. The link to watch live 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
