CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa – The College of Saint Mary bowlers had a strong start to the tournament Saturday. The Flames won their opening two head-to-head matches at the Five Seasons Classic, hosted by Mount Mercy University.

The CSM lost the final three matches of the day to finish with 2/5 in the head-to-head format.

"We started the day off with two wins," CSM Coach Corrinne Johnson said. "We finished 2-for-5 points for the day but I'm pleased with how well we bowled."

The Flames faced Clarke University in the first game and scored 758 to beat Clarke's 692. In the second game, CSM knocked down 785 pins to beat Hawkeye Community College 785-679.

"Leilani (Param) led us with a high game of 190 in the first game and Emily (Merten) led us with a 186 in the second game," Johnson said.

CSM lost Game 3 to St. Ambrose University by a score of 800-786. Jennica Soar had the squad's top game with 189. Missouri Baptist University bested the Flames 897-738 in Game 4.  Soar's 172 was the best of that round.

"We battled back and forth against St. Ambrose, but in the end they took us by 14," Johnson said. "In Game 4 we struggled with some bad shots and fatigue was setting in."

In the final game the host school beat College of Saint Mary 979-835. Merten paced CSM with 185.

"We set a goal to bowl an 800 series to finish out the day," Johnson said. "Bowling against Mount Mercy helped keep the pace and competitive drive to do just that with our highest set of the day at 835.

"We're ready for tomorrow and hope to add more points to finish out the tournament at the end of the 20 Baker games."