CANTON, Mich. – After a full day of action, the Fairleigh Dickinson University women's bowling team ended with a record of 5-2 in the qualifying rounds of the NCAA National Collegiate Tournament at Super Bowl Lanes on Thursday, April 11. The Knights earned the second seed, as competition enters a double-elimination bracket on Friday, April 12.
After tying Nebraska and Sam Houston State University with a 5-2 record, the Knights took the second seed with a pinfall of 6,990 through seven traditional team games.
“We have been fortunate enough to play in this seeding round of the NCAA Championship Tournament often,” Head Coach Mike LoPresti said. “But it is still the toughest day of the season; it zaps all of your energy and emotion.”
“We are so proud of our players for playing so well today,” LoPresti said. “Still, we have to be able to play at this level tomorrow during the elimination rounds. We used today's action to prepare us for tomorrow. We think we have a good plan and believe we will succeed.”
In match one, the Knights faced top-seed Central Missouri and began the contest with four strikes in the first frame and built a small lead through the second frame. In the fifth and sixth frames, the Knights compiled nine-consecutive strikes to take control of the game.
Backed by a high score of 258 from junior Liat Vizenfeld (Holon, Israel/Campus Kiryat Sharet), complemented by a 233 from Brianna Carlo (Dumont, NJ/Dumont), a 225 from Natasha Ashby (Philadelphia, Pa./Science Leadership Academy) and a 214 from Danielle McEwan (Stony Point, NY/Stony Point), the Knights outscored the Jennies, 1,128-1,029, to begin the NCAA Championship Tournament with a 1-0 record.
The Knights faced the Commodores of Vanderbilt University in match two, and after a slow start by both teams, Vanderbilt took the lead in frame three. As the match entered the 10th frame, FDU trailed by 26 pins. Led by three strikes from McEwan, the Knights constructed a strong final frame but could not catch Vandy and ultimately fell, 979-954. McEwan led the charge with a score of 225.
In match three, the Knights took on two-time defending NCAA Champion UMES. The teams battled for the first several frames, but FDU found itself down over 30 pins as the game entered the fifth frame. With consistent scoring, UMES held a 50-pin lead after nine frames.
With the match counting on the 10th frame, the Knights constructed a near-perfect frame. Carlo led off with three strikes before Michelle Hunzaker (Cary, NC/Green Hope High School) rolled two strikes and a spare to conclude her game. Freshman Nicolette Sarin (Sewell, N.J./Washington Township High School) took hold of the Knights' game with three strikes in her last frame and gave way to the Knights' NTCA All-Americans to finish the match. Vizenfeld finished with four strikes to compile a 231, while McEwan finished off the game with three strikes to push the Knights ahead of the Hawks with a final score of 971-966.
In the final match of the afternoon block, the Knights faced undefeated Sam Houston State University. The Knights took hold of the game in its early frames but saw Sam Houston cut its deficit in the sixth and seventh frames with seven strikes in eight attempts. The Knights responded to the Bearkats pressure quickly and accumulated 11 straight strikes between the sixth and eighth frames to regain control and slide to a victory. A high score of 220 from McEwan, plus a 215 from Sarin and a 204 by Carlo gave the Knights a 1,018-926 win and moved the team to 3-1 on the day.
After the break, the Knights faced the Red Wolves of Arkansas State. After a slow start, the Knights amassed four strikes in the fourth frame to take a 35-pin lead. FDU inched ahead to hold onto the lead late in the game but saw Arkansas State mount a comeback with six-consecutive strikes in the eighth and ninth frames. As the match went down to the 10th frame for both anchor bowlers, the Knights led by just eight pins.
McEwan strung together strikes to finish with a score of 215, while the Red Wolves saw a 180 from their anchor position. With the high score from McEwan, as well as a 219 from Hunzaker and a 218 from Carlo, FDU took a 1,004-970 win to move to 4-1 on the day.
In match six, FDU faced two-time NCAA national champion Nebraska. The Knights started with four strikes in the first frame, but saw the Cornhuskers respond with four of their own in frame two. Midway through the game, just 10 pins divided the teams. Nebraska saw four games of over 200, while FDU's high score was 213 from Carlo. The strong scores from Nebraska enabled the Cornhuskers to take the win, 1,036-970.
The Knights faced Wisconsin-Whitewater in the final match of the day, and the two sides battled for the lead through the majority of the game, with neither team taking a large lead. The Knights claimed a 20-pin lead entering the ninth and maintained it with each bowler rolling a strike in the 10th frame. McEwan's 225 and Sarin's 214 enabled the Knights to take a 945-906 victory and finish the day with a 5-2 record.
As the second seed, the Knights will take on seventh-seed Vanderbilt in the first round of Baker play on Friday, April 12.
Nebraksa earned the first seed, while Sam Houston State and Wisconsin-Whitewater took the third and fourth positions. UMES claimed the fifth seed with Arkansas State and Vanderbilt earning the sixth and seventh spots. Central Missouri, the top seed entering the tournament, finished the day 0-7 to take the eighth seed in bracket play.
