YOUNGSTOWN, Ohio—The William Smith bowling team competed against a high-powered field in the three-day Chelsea Gilliam Penguin Classic hosted by Youngstown State over the weekend. The Herons played matches against eight teams ranked in the NTCA top 25, finishing 17th in the tournament.
 
The weekend began with five Baker matches on Friday. The Herons opened play with an 823-765 win over Western Illinois before dropping decisions to No. 19 Bryant, No. 11 Wright State, No. 25 Maryland Eastern Shore and No. 21 Valparaiso. William Smith came closest to pulling an upset against the Hawks, falling by just 13 pins.
 
On Saturday, the tournament shifted to traditional matches. Despite going 0-5 on the day, the Herons had several noteworthy performances. William Smith produced the third-highest pinfall in program history in a 1,036-1,000 loss to No. 18 Mount St. Mary's. The Herons followed that up with the ninth-highest pinfall in a 1,031-975 setback against No. 9 North Carolina A&T.
 
Individually, William Smith got 200 games from first-year Emily Kringel (228), sophomore Natalie Yale (222) and senior Tiana Wolkiewicz (216) against the Mountaineers. Kringel's and Yale's scores ranked in the top 35 in program history, while Wolkiewicz's was her best game of the season.
 
Yale upped her game against the Aggies, bowling a 246, the sixth highest game in Heron history. Junior Brooke Gervais added a season's best 203 against A&T.
 
William Smith got two more 200 games in the final match of the day against No. 1 Jacksonville State. Wolkiewicz improved her season's best set just two matches earlier with a 217, while senior Colleen Jump notched her best game of the season with a 209.
 
On Sunday, the Herons played three Baker best-of-seven matches to determine tournament placing. William Smith beat the Leathernecks 4-1 but lost to Mercyhurst 4-2, sending the Herons to the 17th-place match against Western Illinois.
 
The Herons took the first game 206-171, but the Leathernecks won Game 2 159-142. The teams continued to alternate wins and losses to set up the decisive Game 7. William Smith prevailed 190-181 to place 17th in the 18-team field.
 
The Herons (8-14) will be back in action Oct. 24-25 when they compete in the NU Fall Open hosted by No. 14 Niagara. The Purple Eagles finished 14th in the Gilliam Penguin Classic.