READING, Pa. – The Fairleigh Dickinson University women's bowling team finished the first Northeast Conference meet with a record of 6-3. After two days of competition at Bowl-O-Rama in Reading, Pa., the Knights hold the second-place position in the conference.
The Knights recorded the highest total pinfall with 9,293 pins and sit behind only Kutztown University. FDU tied with St. Francis NY and finished ahead of Saint Francis PA, LIU Brooklyn, New Jersey City University and Adelphi, who all finished with records of 5-4. Sacred Heart, Monmouth and Saint Peter's round out the conference standings.
NEC Meet 1 consisted of nine traditional games. Individually, the Knights were led by senior Danielle McEwan (Stony Point, NY/Stony Point) and sophomore Liat Vizenfeld (Holon, Israel/Campus Kiryat Sharet). McEwan led the field with an average of 232.44 in nine games. Vizenfeld was second among meet participants with an average of 230.78 through nine games. The third best competitor was more than ten pins behind the FDU duo in average.
In the first match of the weekend the Knights defeated Saint Peter's, 1,009-945. Vizenfeld led the Knights with a 238, while McEwan added a 237. Freshman Rebecca Fischer (Pittsburgh, Pa./Northgate High School) aided the Knights' win with a score of 194.
The Knights took on New Jersey City University in the second match. The match went down to the tenth frame were McEwan secured the win for FDU with a score of 247.
FDU faced the host, Kutztown University, in the third match of the first day. After challenging each other through the entire game, Kutztown outperformed FDU in the tenth frame to earn the win, 1,018-998. McEwan led the team with a weekend-high score of 280. She struck in the first frame before sparing in frame two. From the third frame on, she strung together consecutive strikes to finish with the high score.
In game four the Knights took on in-state rival, Monmouth. A 248 from Vizenfeld combined with scores of 208 from McEwan and 201 from Hunzaker led the Knights to a 948-867 win.
In the final match of the first day the Knights challenged Saint Francis PA. Although the Knights recorded their highest score of the day, the Red Flash produced a program record score of 1,236 to defeat FDU. Vizenfeld bowled a 235 to lead the Knights, while McEwan and Hunzaker added 228 and 221, respectively to give FDU a 1,031.
To begin day two the Knights faced Adelphi. A balanced attack led by Hunzaker's score of 222 led the Knights to a 1,056-950 victory. Fischer added a 219 as the leadoff bowler, while McEwan and Vizenfeld finished with scores of 213 and 212, respectively. Freshmen Natasha Ashby (Philadelphia, Pa./Science Leadership Academy) rounded out the lineup with a score of 190.
The Knights fell to 2011 conference champions, Sacred Heart in match two of Sunday's competition. After being even the entire match the Pioneers produced a higher score in the tenth frame to defeat FDU, 1,084-1,072. Once again, McEwan bowled the high score of 236. Hunzaker recorded a score of 220, while Fischer and Vizenfeld both added 214.
With the highest score of the weekend, FDU defeated St. Francis NY, 1,103-941 in match three. Vizenfeld sparked the high school when she spared in the first frame and then connected 11-consecutive strikes for a total score of 290.
In the final match of the day, the Knights faced an improved LIU team. The Blackbirds had averaged over 1,000 pins throughout the weekend but were defeated by FDU, 1,068-1,023. Vizenfeld and Hunzaker produced scores of 237 and 237, with Fischer adding a 217 and McEwan finishing the weekend with a 210. McEwan threw six-consecutive strikes to end the game to seal the win for FDU.
“As advertised, the NEC is the strongest NCAA conference in the country,” said Head Coach Mike LoPresti. “On a pattern like this, that produces high scores, anyone can beat anyone at any time; that showed all weekend where virtually every match went down to the ninth and tenth frame. To me, this is exactly how we expected to be. Every team benefits from this level of competition.”
The Knights continue competition at the 2012 NCAA Champion, UMES Hawk Classic, hosted next weekend in Millsboro, Del.
