YOUNGSTOWN, Ohio — Vanderbilt bowling finished fifth at the Chelsea Gilliam Penguin Classic in the 2025-26 season opener.
The third-ranked Commodores lost to No. 6 Arkansas State and No. 4 Youngstown State before closing out the weekend with a win over Sacred Heart.
“We struggled at the start of today competing at a level we had all weekend but did a decent job rebounding in Rounds 2 and 3,” head coach John Williamson said. “It will be a quick week to process what went right and wrong but overall a strong performance in our first event.”
Sunday started with a six-game defeat to Arkansas State. The Red Wolves won three of the first four games with Vandy extending the contest with a 217-213 win in the fifth game before dropping Game 6.
The Dores then took on the host and defending national champion Youngstown State. After falling behind three games to one, Vanderbilt won Games 5 and 6, 258-167 and 238-172. The Penguins bounced back to take Game 7 and send the Commodores to a meeting with Sacred Heart for fifth place.
In the final match of the weekend, Vandy once again fell behind, but won Game 4 to even the match at 2-2. The Dores won the next two games, 221-202 and 213-210, to knock off Sacred Heart and leave Youngstown with a fifth-place finish.
Next up for Vanderbilt is a trip to Florida for Sacred Heart’s Destination Orlando on Oct. 24-26.
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