TOWSON, Md. – The Fairleigh Dickinson University women's bowling team finished in ninth place at the James Brown Invitational, hosted by Morgan State University, Feb. 15-17. The Knights went 2-0 in Sunday's elimination round to finish 8-4 on the weekend.

The Knights entered Sunday in 12th place and climbed three spots in the overall rankings with wins over Bethune-Cookman and LIU Brooklyn.

FDU faced Bethune-Cookman in the first best-of-seven Baker match of the day. The Knights and Wildcats split the first two games with FDU winning game one, 212-193, and falling in game two, 256-213, before winning game three, 245-155.

The Wildcats responded with two consecutive wins in games four and five, 188-181, and 202-186, to take a 3-2 lead. FDU bounced back with wins in the final two games with scores of 203-153 and 189-162 to earn the 4-3 victory.

“The difference today was that we were much more consistent during transition periods,” Head Coach Mike LoPresti said.  “Our increased consistency helped us manage lane play much better.”

FDU faced conference foe LIU Brooklyn in game two. The Knights and Blackbirds split the first four games to bring the series to 2-2. The Knights won game one, 191-156, and game three, 210-184, but fell in game two, 197-159, and in game four, 181-160.

The Knights produced wins in the final two games to earn a 4-2 win. The score of game five was 194-149 and the final game resulted in a 192-176 score.

UMES earned the tournament crown in Towson, while Arkansas State, Central Missouri, Nebraska and Sacred Heart rounded out the top five.

“After four consecutive weekends of competition, we deserve a weekend off,” LoPresti said. “This week will give us time to polish our level of performance and prepare for our next conference meet.”

The Knights will resume action March 2-3 in Brooklyn, N.Y. at Northeast Conference Meet Three, hosted by St. Francis Brooklyn.