KENMORE, N.Y. – The Penn State Altoona women's bowling team opened its first weekend of conference play this season with a pair of losses on Friday, when the Lions competed in day one of the Allegheny Mountain Collegiate Conference Round Robin #1 at Kenmore Lanes.

Playing in five-game baker matches decided by total pinfall this weekend, Penn State Altoona suffered conference losses to Saint Vincent College and Hilbert College in Friday's opening round. The Lions lost 881-653 to St. Vincent, then fell 770-696 to Hilbert, who is the host institution for the weekend.

"The coaching staff is proud to see the improvement over the last week to help with more pin count," said Penn State Altoona head coach Elizabeth Rhodes. "They did struggle some today, but came together for some good scores throughout the two matches. Tomorrow, we have five games and will continue to improve the scores."

After a bye to start the day, Penn State Altoona got off to a good start versus St. Vincent by posting a 154-138 pinfall advantage in the first game of the teams' match. However, the Bearcats countered by outscoring the Lions 168-133, 189-142, 176-116, and 210-108 in the next four games to win the match by a comfortable margin, 881-653.

In the Lions' second and final match of the opening day of the round robin, Penn State Altoona found itself paired up against host Hilbert. The Hawks built an early lead by outgaining the Lions by scores of 189-156 and 136-127 in the first two games. Penn State Altoona had its high score in a game on the day in the third game, when the Lions had a 162-149 pinfall advantage over Hilbert. The Hawks bounced back to record a 161-110 advantage over Penn State Altoona in the fourth game, and despite the Lions taking the fifth game by a 141-135 margin, Hilbert still won the match 770-696.

Penn State Altoona resumes play in this weekend's AMCC Round Robin #1 tomorrow, Saturday, November 18, at approximately 10:30 a.m.