Huskers Start Season at Motiv Penguin Classic

Struthers, Ohio - The No. 3 Nebraska bowling team will begin the 2022-23 season this weekend, competing at the Motiv Penguin Classic this Friday through Sunday. The tournament is hosted by No. 9 Youngstown State and will take place at Holiday Bowl in Struthers, Ohio.

The teams joining the Huskers include six of the top 25 teams in the nation: No. 6 Arkansas State, No. 9 Youngstown State, No. 13 Duquesne, No. 19 Morgan State, No. 20 Lewis and No. 21 Central Missouri. Aurora, Medialle, Mercyhurst, Walsh, Valparaiso, Saint Francis (Pa.) and Wright State rounds out the 14 teams competing. 

"The team is excited to get back to competition this weekend in Ohio," said Head Coach Paul Klempa. "We have some new faces and an extremely talented group so it will be our first chance to begin the process of gelling as a team. I'm anxious to see how this team will perform in our opening event, and this will be an excellent opportunity to measure where we are and what needs attention going forward." 

The Huskers will be led by captains: Amara Smith Speights, Gwen Maeha and Kendyl Hofmeister. Hofmeister returns to the lineup after earning NTCA All-America honors while averaging a 207.7 in 43 traditional games last season. Fifth-year senior Maeha ended last season averaging a 202.3 over 19 games. Rounding out the captains is Smith Speights who returns for her fourth season after averaging a career-best 196.5 in eight traditional games in 2021-22.

Competition begins Friday morning at 8:35 a.m. (Central) with five sets of five-game Baker matches, followed by five traditional matches on Saturday morning, beginning at 8:25 a.m. (Central). Combined results from Friday and Saturday will determine the seeding for Sunday's bracket-play championship tournament, where each team will play three rounds of traditional matches followed by one best-of-seven Baker matches beginning at 7:25 a.m. (Central).
 
Motiv Penguin Classic Teams Competing
No. 3 Nebraska
No. 6 Arkansas State
No. 9 Youngstown State
No. 13 Duquesne
No. 19 Morgan State
No. 20 Lewis
No. 21 Central Missouri
Aurora
Medialle
Mercyhurst
Saint Francis (PA.)
Valparaiso
Walsh
Wright State