Addison, Ill. – For the second consecutive season, the No. 23 ranked Saint Xavier University women's bowling team won the Warhawk Open hosted by University of Wisconsin-Whitewater at Stardust Bowl in Addison, Ill. this weekend. It is the third time in the last five seasons that the Cougars have won the Warhawk Open, also winning the tournament in 2021. Starting the weekend, freshman Brianna Merner (Mundelein, Ill./Mundelein) placed 13^th in the individual portion of the tournament with 907 pins over five games for an average of 181.4 with a high of 220 pins in game one. She and her teammates totaled 4,244 pins on day one for a fifth-place finish. On Sunday, SXU bowled in 16 Baker Games, and they added 2,794 pins for a total of 7,038 pins to claim the No. 5 seed in the eight-team tournament championship.

Saint Xavier swept No. 4 Calumet College of St. Joseph (Ind.) (197-193, 212-157) in the quarterfinals. The Cougars defeated top-seeded Mount Mercy University (Iowa) in the semifinals, 2-1 (178-268, 182-176, 212-187), in the best-of-three contest. SXU triumphed over No. 6 Marian University (Wis.) in the championship in three games (203-148, 171-194, 167-155).

• In the Baker Games, Saint Xavier featured seven bowlers in the lineup. Junior Abigail Miller (Lockport, Ill./Joliet JC/Lockport Township), junior Breanna Pimentel (Northlake, Ill./West Leyden), sophomore Jade Gabor (Newark, Ohio/Newark) and Merner competed in all 16 games, while senior Emma Zalud (Bolingbrook, Ill./Downers Grove South), sophomore Elizabeth Voss (Joliet, Ill./Joliet West) and freshman Ashley Baeza (Cicero, Ill./Morton East) rotated in.
• The Cougars posted an average score of 174.6 in 16 games with a high of 237 pins in game 15. They also hit 224 pins in game three.
• Pimentel finished in the Top 25, claiming the 25^th position with 868 pins in five games. She averaged a score of 173.6 with a high of 220 pins in game one.
• Zalud knocked down 824 pins in five games, averaging 164.8 pins per game. She struck a high of 201 pins in game two.
• Miller tallied 805 pins across five games for an average of 161.0. She toppled a high of 173 pins in game one.
• Gabor bowled in the first four games, collecting 676 pins for an average of 169.0, and hitting a high of 211 pins in game two.
• Baeza competed in game five, striking 164 pins.

No. 23 Saint Xavier travels to Las Vegas, Nev. for a pair of tournaments at South Point Casino. They participate in the two-day Glenn Carlson Las Vegas Invite starting on Thursday, December 18, followed by the two-day Collegiate Shoot-Out starting on Saturday, December 20.