The Penn State Altoona women's bowling team rolls into its 2019-20 season with hopes of individual and team improvement from last year. The Lady Lions compiled a 4-10 record in the Allegheny Mountain Collegiate Conference last season, placing the team sixth in the conference's regular season standings, two spots out of an AMCC postseason tournament berth.

Penn State Altoona will lean on three returning bowlers to bolster its lineup and provide leadership, while welcoming nine first-year players to the roster. Head coach John Carey understands that there may be some growing pains, but he will look for the players' individual development before and during the season to lead to greater success as the schedule progresses.

"This year will be a transition year," said Carey, who is entering his second season as the head coach of the bowling program. "I am confident that our returners will be able to compete with some of the others in our conference, but we have a team with various skill levels."

Back from last season are senior Lucia Perez (Cochabamba, Bolivia/CCS), junior Sierra Snigier (Seaford, DE/Seaford), and sophomore Allyson Givler (Lancaster, PA/Hempfield).

"All three of them improved last year, and we're looking to have that continue this year," said Carey of his three returning bowlers. "It is my hope that they bring leadership to our young team this year."

Entering their first seasons with the Penn State Altoona women's bowling program are junior Kierra Irwin (Altoona, PA/Altoona), sophomores Sam Jones (Clifford Township, PA/Mountain View) and Jennifer Worley (Altoona, PA/Altoona), and freshmen Alyssa Bender (Altoona, PA/Altoona), Nay Chi Aye Chan (Yangon, Myanmar/International School), Kaitlyn Estright (Norristown, PA/Archbishop Carroll), Kashish Gujral (Uttar Pradesh, India/Delhi Public School), Kayla Moran (Boalsburg, PA/State College), and Po-Hsuan Peng (Taoyuan City, Taiwan/Dayuan International).

"The newcomers will round out our starting lineup," said Carey. "With the help of our returners, we have been working with them to improve each practice so that they are ready for competition."

Significant dates on the Lady Lions 2019-20 schedule are February 1-2 and March 7-8, during which two regular season AMCC Round Robin weekends will occur. Based on the results from those four days of competition among the conference schools, seeding will be determined for the AMCC Tournament, which is scheduled for March 21-22.

In addition to the AMCC Round Robins, Penn State Altoona will compete in several other dual matches and tournaments throughout the season, playing both conference and non-conference opponents from around the region.

"We will be facing a lot of great competition, as the AMCC has several talented teams," Carey stated. "We are aware that we are the underdog in the AMCC, but we are determined to continue to get better each practice and competition, and we hope it leads to several victories."

Penn State Altoona women's bowling starts its 2019-20 season this Sunday, October 20, when it faces AMCC opponent Mount Aloysius College in a dual match starting at 10:00 a.m. at the F.A. Gerhart Lanes in the Bavarian Aid Society in Altoona.