HASTINGS, Neb. – The College of Saint Mary bowling team had a rough start Saturday at the Bronco Open. But the Flames improved throughout the day and so did their scores.

"We started off slow with games one and two," CSM Coach Corrinne Johnson said. "But we found the line in game three and went from there as we moved up from 10^th place to 8^th place by the end of game four."

CSM had a pin total of 4,021 in the five team games Saturday and are sitting in 8th place.

The Flames rolled games of 702, 752, 823, 889 and 855.

Emily Merten led College of Saint Mary with a five-game total of 882, while teammate Leilani Param finished with an 802. Kaitlyn Dickmeyer scored 796, Jennica Soar knocked down 777 and Hannah O'Neal posted a score of 764.

"Kaitlyn was able to get her first 200 game of the season in game three and Emily finished her games four and five both with 200 games," Johnson said.

The tournament continues Sunday with 16 Baker games. The Flames start bowling at 9 a.m.

"The energy was high all day and the team was communicating well and supporting each other," Johnson said. "We're taking that energy into Sunday's Baker games and hoping to move up the rankings a couple more spots to finish out the weekend."