The Saint Vincent women's bowling team faced its biggest challenge of the year, earning a third place finish and a 9-4 record in the Red Flash Invitational, hosted by Saint Francis University.  The Bearcats won five matches during the weekend against NCAA Division 1 programs, including a sweep of three matches on the final day of the event, coming from behind in all three. 
 
Freshman Skyy Nicholls earned All-Tournament honors with a sixth-place finish individually, averaging 192 over five traditional games.
 
DAY 3
After earning the #5 seed after the first two days of the event, the Bearcats faced #6 Morgan State University in the first best-of-7 match.  Saint Vincent fell behind three games to one before posting a 186-158 win in game five.  In game six, SVC won 194-152, setting up a seventh game.  All five Bearcats – Abby Justice, Jackie Koehler, Daphne Stuber, Skyy Nicholls and Sabine Strickland, struck in frames 4-8 to lead the team to a 210-188 win and a 4-3 match victory.
 
SVC advanced to face #4-seed Saint Francis, jumping out to an early 2-0 lead.  However, the Red Flash caught fire in games 3-5, posting three scores over 210, to take a 3-2 lead.  Saint Vincent came back to win game six 192-168, then saved its best game for last, winning the seventh game 217-145.  Marissa Jones threw three strikes in the 10th frame.
 
The final round was the third-fourth place match, with SVC attempting to avenge a loss from the day before to Valparaiso University.  Despite shooting games of 171 and 192, the Bearcats fell behind 2-0.  The team fought back, winning the next two games, 169-149 and 197-192, but followed with its worst game of the weekend, shooting just 131.  Valpo led 3-2, but the Bearcats battled back with a 201-145 win to set up the deciding seventh game.  Three straight open frames in the first half of the game put the Bearcats behind by 20 pins, before Stuber threw a strike in the 6th frame.  Nicholls split in the 7th, but managed to cover the spare to keep the Bearcats in the game. Valparaiso struggled with a pair of splits, opening the door for SVC.. Strickland then struck in the 8th, followed by a 9th frame strike by Monique Koehler.  Jackie Koehler threw a strike on the first shot in the 10th to seal the win, 184-180.
 
For the day, Jackie Koehler led the way with a 182.5 average, followed by Justice (180.4) and Stuber (177.9).  Jones threw strikes on five of six shots for the afternoon.
 
DAY 2
The second day featured five matches, each made up of five Baker team games.  The Bearcats started the day with a match against host Saint Francis University, and it turned out to be one of the most exciting matches of the season.  The Bearcats got off to a strong start, throwing strikes on the first five shots of the day, but ultimately lost game one, 233-207.  After a 17-pin loss in game two, the Bearcats stormed back and won game three, 223-181, to cut the margin to just one pin after three games.  SVC again started game four with five straight strikes, but the Red Flash responded with a 230-229 win, to make it a 2-pin match going to the last game.  Both teams again threw well, with the hosts winning the last game 222-206, and capturing the match victory, 1037-1019.  The 1037 ended up being the highest team score of the tournament, while SVC's 1019 was the second-highest among all teams for the weekend.
 
With a record of 3-3, SVC then faced Morgan State, another of the Division I programs in the event.  The Bearcats jumped out to a 31-pin lead after game one (172-141), and extended the lead to 59 after three games.  Finishing with scores of 185 and 198, the Bearcats cruised to a 916-827 win.
 
The third match of the day was a rematch against Saint Francis, and SVC fell behind early by 20 pins after one game.  The Bearcats turned things around quickly, with games of 185, 198 and 201, opening a 71-pin lead before finishing with an 872-799 victory.
 
The Bearcats won their third straight with an 890-674 win over Penn State-Altoona, before ending the day with a loss to Valparaiso University, 957-858. 
 
For the day, SVC was led by Monique Koehler, who averaged 195.1, followed by Sabine Strickland (186.7), Jackie Koehler (174.2), Nicholls (173) and Justice (172.1).
 
DAY 1
Saint Vincent opened the tournament with a matchup against nationally ranked Mount St Mary's University in a traditional match.  SVC got off to a slow start, falling behind by 30 pins after the first two frames, and never recovered.  Mount St Mary posted what would turn out to be the highest game by any team on the day, 1,012 (202 average), while the Bearcats finished with an 848.  Freshman Skyy Nicholls led the way for SVC with a 195 game.
 
In game two, SVC stepped things up against Pitt-Greensburg, pulling away to a 937-780 win.  Nicholls recorded her highest collegiate game with a 256, finishing the game with 7 consecutive strikes.  Classmate Daphne Stuber tallied a 198, while Jackie Koehler added a 185.
 
Up next was Mount Aloysius College, and SVC improved to 2-1 on the day with a 124-pin win.  Abby Justice had a team-high 189.  The Bearcats then won their third straight with a 933-750 win over Pitt-Bradford, with Stuber (202) and Nicholls (200) leading the way.
 
The day ended with a loss to Duquesne University, as SVC struggled with just a score of 785.  Duquesne's 999 was the second highest among all teams on the afternoon.
 
Nicholls' 192.8 average led the team for the day, followed by Stuber (177.7).
 
Saint Vincent is now 41-9 on the season, and will return to action this weekend, February 2-4, traveling to North Brunswick, New Jersey for the second Allegheny Mountain Collegiate Conference round-robin tournament of the season.  The Bearcats are currently in first place in the AMCC.