ERIE, Pa. — The Daemen University women's bowling team opened its season with Day 1 of the Mercyhurst Invitational on Saturday. 

A challenging opening day of the Invite currently finds the Wildcats in eighth place with a 2-3 record overall.

After dropping the opening two matches of the day to 25th-ranked Niagara University and the host team, Mercyhurst, the Wildcats picked up their first win of the season against cross-town rivals and fellow ECC team D'Youville University, 770 - 741. Daemen then lost to 20th-ranked Wright State 904-830. The Wildcats closed out the day with a victory over Penn State Behrend, 792-762.

Leading the day for the Wildcats was Cassidy Papero (Cheektowaga, N.Y.) with a high game of 184, an average of 168.00, and ranked 22nd overall of the 52 bowlers.

High game of the day for the Wildcats belonged to Mackenzie Hutchins (Wheatfield, N.Y.) with a 234. She is ranked 23rd overall with a 165.8 average. 

Day 2 of the Mercyhurst Invite begins at 9 a.m. on Sunday. Fans can watch the matches on the Daemen Women's Bowling Facebook page. The Wildcats compete against fellow ECC rival Roberts Wesleyan in Match 1 and AMCC William Smith in Match 2.