SMYRNA, Tenn. – The Fairleigh Dickinson University women's bowling team finished the Columbia 300 Music City Classic in sixth place on Sunday, March 17. The Knights went 1-2 during the bracket playoff and finished the three-day event hosted by Vanderbilt University with a record of 9-6.
As the fifth seed, the Knights faced sixth seed and NTCA #1 Central Missouri in the first round of best-of-seven Baker matches. The Jennies and Knights traded the first four games, with each earning two. FDU fell in game one, 192-181 before defeating CMU 212-210 in game two. The Knights also won game three, 212-171 but dropped game four, 197-179. The Jennies then took game five, 239-203 and allowed FDU to tie the match at three with a 213-202 win in game six to take the win, 4-3.
After a strong effort from both sides, the Jennies pulled out a 238-146 win in game seven to move up the bracket, while FDU dropped down to face seventh-ranked Sam Houston State. The Knights swept the Bear Kats 4-0 with scores of 224-202, 184-163, 228-224 and 224-218. With the win, the Knights moved back up the ladder for a rematch with Central Missouri. CMU fell to fourth-ranked Nebraska, 4-2 in their second-round match.
The Jennies started strong with a high-score of 278 to defeat FDU, 278-213 in game one. They added a second win, 202-163, in the second game before FDU countered with a 228-192 win in game three. The Jennies sealed the win with wins in games four and five, 210-197 and 191-171 to earn the win, 4-1.
The loss gave FDU sixth place in the tournament, while Central Missouri took fifth. Two-time defending NCAA National Champions UMES took the tournament crown, while Arkansas State, Vanderbilt and Nebraska rounded out the top four.
Individually, senior Danielle McEwan (Stony Point, NY/Stony Point) led the Knights with an average of 216, including three over 225 games. Sophomore Liat Vizenfeld (Holon, Israel/Campus Kiryat Sharet) also averaged over 200 with a 207 mark through six games.
“This weekend we certainly turned a corner,” said Head Coach Mike LoPresti. “We raised our level of intensity and improved our efficiency and consistency. We leave the tournament proud of our showing.”
“Our performance this weekend has created some momentum that will carry into next weekend for the NEC Championship,” added LoPresti. “We still need to play our way into the national tournament and we will need to use every ounce of ability and momentum to have a banner showing next weekend.”
The Knights will host the 2013 Northeast Conference Championships March 23-24 at Parkway Lanes in Elmwood Park, N.J. FDU won the regular season championship and will look to reclaim the tournament championship after falling to Sacred Heart in the finals last season.
