“I think their confidence is sky high and they’ve got some moxie and some swagger now,” coach Jeff Fleck said. “We don’t need to tell them they’re as good as the other teams, they know it now.”
All eight Raiders competed early in Baker play with Natalie Hanson, Rylie Jeanneret, Addy Meshew, Mia Sayles and Alli Shattuck getting the call the rest of the way. Wright State boasted a 7-2 record after Baker and regular games.
Sayles, a sophomore, led the charge for the Raiders with the top individual five-game series with 1,209, including a 300 game. She had some extra motivation after rolling 194 one game earlier.
“I felt bad that everyone had a 200 or better and I was the only one with an open,” Sayles said. “All my teammates really picked me up and, after every frame they were hyping me up.”
By the eighth frame, the Raiders sophomore realized that a perfect game was a possibility. Despite never rolling a perfect game, she remained calm, in part because of her supportive teammates. A group hug followed her final strike, but the celebration was short-lived as the Raiders still had work to do.
Heading into the championship bracket, the second-seeded Wright State squad would face top-seeded Wichita State University in the first round. The Shockers’ top 10 national ranking didn’t faze the Raiders as Wright State prevailed 4-3 in the best-of-seven game format, winning by 30 pins in the deciding game, 246-216.
“Everyone bowled extremely well and was on their A game,” Sayles said. “We stayed level-headed and knew we could do it.”
While Wichita State edged out the Raiders 4-3 in the title match, the Raiders were pleased with their tournament performance.
“The team could not have been happier with how we bowled,” Fleck said. “It was just electric.”
Beyond the runner-up finish, the Raiders also made their mark in the Wright State record book breaking several program records. And their performance boosted them to a program high national RPI ranking of No. 19 this week.
One for the record books
The Raiders set several school records at the Saints Invitational
* High 5-game Baker block with 1,197, currently the 7th highest Baker block among all NCAA teams for the season.
* Recorded two 289 baker games, a school record.
* High five-person traditional game score of 1,138.
* Mia Sayles rolled the first 300 in the women’s program history.
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