On the heels of a nearly yearlong layoff due to COVID-19, the Penn State Altoona women's bowling team is ready to roll.

The Lady Lions will become the first of Penn State Altoona's NCAA Division III sports programs to return to intercollegiate action when they open their spring 2021 schedule this upcoming Saturday, February 20. No Penn State Altoona NCAA team has competed since March 13, 2020, and the women's bowling team's last outing was five days prior to that. Now, with health and safety protocols in place, the Lady Lions are set to hit the lanes.

"It's been a rollercoaster of emotions for our student-athletes, coaches, and administrators, and my hope is that we continue to safely provide the team an opportunity to compete," said head coach John Carey, who is entering his third season leading the program. "I'm looking forward to having our team compete together again, sharing memories even during these challenging times."

After ongoing hurdles related to the COVID-19 pandemic forced all of Penn State Altoona's fall 2020 sports schedules to be wiped out, the women's bowling team will see intercollegiate competition in a limited fashion this semester, playing a pair of Allegheny Mountain Collegiate Conference regular season dates.

To limit travel and gathering sizes, the conference has divided the league into a North Group (Penn State Behrend, Medaille College, Hilbert College, and Saint Vincent College) and South Group (Penn State Altoona, La Roche University, Mount Aloysius College, and New Jersey City University), each of which will compete separately in the AMCC's regular season events. Penn State Altoona will travel for its first date of the season, heading to AMF Playmor Lanes in Pittsburgh on Saturday, February 20 to bowl in the AMCC Round Robin #1. The Lady Lions will act as the hosts for the AMCC Round Robin #2, welcoming the South Group to the F.A. Gerhart Lanes at the Bavarian Aid Society in Altoona on Saturday, March 6.

Combined standings from each of the AMCC Round Robin events will determine the top four teams in the conference, which will move on to the conference semifinal and championship rounds at Sims Lanes in Beaver Falls. The AMCC semifinal is scheduled for Saturday, March 13, and the championship is set for Saturday, March 20.

Returning for Penn State Altoona this season are senior Alyssa Bender (Altoona, PA/Altoona), junior Allyson Givler (Lancaster, PA/Hempfield), and sophomore Kaitlyn Estright (Norristown, PA/Archbishop Carroll). Bender competed in all nine events for the team last season, ranking third on the squad in baker average (12.66 pins per frame) and fifth in traditional average (123.3 per game). Givler bowled in seven events last year, posting the best baker average (13.43 pins per frame) and third-best traditional average (132.2 per game) on the team. Estright competed in eight events last season, ranking fourth on the squad in traditional average (128.7 per game) to go along with a 10.49 baker average.

"I hope that the returners will provide leadership for the incoming class," said Carey. "I want them to lead by example for our newcomers, and I want them to improve on their performances from last year to this year."

The team's newcomers consist of freshmen Chloe Mazza (Burlington, NJ/Burlington Township) and Breanna Yarnall (Bedford, PA/Bedford). Both of the first-year bowlers were selected as "Players to Watch" in the recently-released AMCC Preseason Coaches' Poll, in which Penn State Altoona was picked to finish seventh in the conference this season.

"We have some experienced newcomers that I think will make an impact for our team. I'm looking forward to expanding our bowling family," said Carey. "The goal is to continue to move this program forward and compete in our conference. The newcomers will help with that goal."

Live video for this Saturday's season-opening AMCC Round Robin #1, which is scheduled to begin at 11:00 a.m., can be found by visiting the Penn State Altoona women's bowling schedule page.