PITTSBURGH - The Duquesne bowling team, coming off the program's first-ever NCAA Championship appearance, opens the 2021-22 season this weekend at the MOTIV Penguin Classic at Youngstown, Ohio's Holiday Bowl.

The Dukes will play five baker matches on Friday, five traditional matches Saturday and a traditional plus a pair of best-of-seven matches on Sunday as part of an 11-team field.

The Dukes have been ranked in the past 19 consecutive National Tenpin Coaches Association Top 25 Polls dating back to February of 2018.

Here are some highlights as the program begins its sixth season.

COMPETITIVE SUCCESS

• Duquesne bowling became just the fifth program in school history to earn an NCAA Championship appearance when it was awarded one of 10 at-large berths for the 2021 NCAA Bowling Championship. DU advanced to the second day of play in finishing among the Top 12 at the event.
• The Dukes return all but two bowlers - seniors Jessica Cadez and Jessica Sacks, junior Kiearra Saldi, sophomores Brenna Gleim and Shannon Small and add injured All-American Olivia Farwell and a pair of talented freshmen in Morgan Brookover and Ranelle Ulanday - in 2021-22.
• The Dukes finished the abbreviated 2020-21 season ranked 11th in the final 2020-21 NTCA Top 25.
• DU has been ranked in the past 19 consecutive NTCA Polls dating back to February of 2018.
• Duquesne has produced a pair of NTCA All-Americans (Olivia Farwell in 2017-18, 2018-19 & 2019-20) and Kiearra Saldi (2020-21) both of whom return in 2021-22.
• DU has produced six NEC All-Rookie Team members - including two Rookies of the Year - in five years.
• Went 16-1 vs. unranked teams last season.
• Has 34 all-time wins over Top 10 programs, with just under half (16) coming in the past two seasons.
• Finished among the Top 3 in seven of the eight events it competed in in 2020-21.
• Three Dukes finished among the Top 100 in traditional average in 2020-21: Saldi (No. 5), Small (No. 28) and senior Allison Hresko (No. 68). Saldi and Small both return in 2021-22.
   

ACADEMIC SUCCESS

• Has earned an NTCA team Academic Award (min. 3.2 GPA) in each of its five seasons of existence.
• Has placed multiple bowlers on the NTCA All-Academic Team every year.

OF NOTE FOR 2021-22
Duquesne returns two of the top bowlers in the country in senior three-time NTCA All-American Olivia Farwell who missed last season due to injury and junior Kiearra Saldi. Farwell enters the 2021-22 season with the chance to become just the second four-time All-American in school history (all sports). Saldi was one of seven sophomores to earn NTCA All-American honors in 2020-21. Saldi ranked fifth nationally with a 214.47 traditional average, including a high game of 279. Her 20.17 overall average/frame ranked 15th nationally and her 53.4 overall strike percentage was the fifth-best in the nation.