READING, Pa. – The Fairleigh Dickinson University women's bowling team started the second half of the season at the Kutztown Invitational on Friday, Jan. 25. The Knights went 4-2 on the day at Heister Lanes and currently maintain 10th place in the 28-team tournament.

The 2012 NCAA National Champion, UMES, currently holds the top position in the tournament with a total pinfall of 4,940 after six quad Baker matches. The top five also includes Norfolk State, Vanderbilt, Sacred Heart and Kutztown. The Knights sit 380 pins behind the leader with six traditional games to play before the playoff round begins.

 “We played like we haven't played a match in eight weeks,” Head Coach Mike LoPresti said. “But considering how long the break was, and how different NCAA competition is to any type of competition the team saw over break, I am extremely pleased with how we performed.”

The team was back in action after the longest mid-season break in program history. The last time the Knights competed together was the first week of November at the UMES Hawk Classic.

The Knights dropped match one to Vanderbilt, 766-704. FDU rolled games of 173, 158, 181 and 182 compared to the Commodores 195, 136, 220 and 215.

In game two, FDU struggled to produce high scores and fell to North Carolina Central, 797-736. The Knights recorded scores of 200, 147, 187 and 203, while NCCU bowled games of 208, 178, 189 and 222.

The Knights bounced back from the 0-2 start in the third game when they faced Norfolk State. Backed by games of 212, 198, 216 and 188, the Knights earned a win over the Spartans, 814-804. NSU bowled 189, 172, 238 and 205.

The win marked LoPresti's 900th career win in 10 seasons with the Knights. The veteran coach now holds a career record of 903-249 for a win percentage of .783.

The momentum continued in FDU's favor in match four when the team took on Bethune-Cookman. Scores of 235, 199, 263 and 193 helped FDU to a 790-674 win over the Wildcats. B-CU recorded scores of 204, 125, 267 and 179 to help FDU move to 2-2 on the day.

In match five, the Knights met the Hornets of Delaware State. FDU amassed games of 191, 172, 186 and 190 for a total score of 739 to outlast DSU. The Hornets bowled 162, 172, 153 and 180 for a combined 671.

In the final match of the day, FDU took on Stephen F. Austin. With scores of 197, 181, 208 and 191, the Knights defeated SFA, 777-752, to move to 4-2 on the day. The Ladyjacks rolled games of 224, 186, 157 and 185 to end the day.

The Knights will need to improve to the top four in order to vie for the championship in Sunday's playoff round. The team will compete in six traditional team games on Saturday to determine the playoff bracket and remaining seeds. FDU will face Florida A&M, UMES, Southern, Valparaiso, Wisconsin-Whitewater and Cheyney on Saturday.

The action in Reading, Pa. can be viewed live and free of charge at the USBC's BowlTV.