SMYRNA, Tenn. -- The third-ranked Fairleigh Dickinson women's bowling team continues to lead the 29-team Columbia 300 Music City Classic, hosted by Vanderbilt, after two days of competition at the Smyrna Bowling Center. The Knights went 4-2 on the day in tradition team games but still hold the lead with a total pinfall of 10,922, 89 pins ahead of second place Arkansas State, the No. 1 team in the country. FDU is 9-3 through two days of competition and 84-22 overall on the season.

The Knights have never won this tournament, and one of the preseason goals was to leave the state of Tennessee as the champions of this event.

"We have put ourselves in a great position to achieve this goal," Head Coach Mike LoPresti said. "We are going to have to play our best, playing only highly-ranked teams tomorrow, and we haven't fared well against some of those teams. It will be a good way to assess our performance and improvements throughout the year. We are privileged to be in this spot, and we expect to do well."

Freshman Melanie Hannon (Cheektowaga, N.Y./Maryvale) produced the second-highest average in the field with a 224.8, trailing only UMES' Victoria Jones' 225.3

FDU started out hot in its opening match against Tulane and ultimately defeated the Green Wave, 979-920, as Hannon led the way with a 233, while sophomore Rebecca Fischer (Pittsburgh, Pa./Northgate High School) added a 221.

Hannon led the way against another Louisiana foe in Louisiana Tech, as her 234 paved the way for a 973-754 victory over the Ragin' Cajuns. Senior Michelle Hunzaker (Cary, NC/Green Hope High School) added a 221.

In their third match of the day, the Knights lost a nail biter to No. 7 Sam Houston State, 943-933. Hannon was the only Knight to bowl over 200, with a 210, while sophomore Nicolette Sarin (Sewell, N.J./Washington Township High School) added a 210.

FDU bounced back by cruising past both Prairie View A&M, 1027-873, and Alabama A&M, 1047-879, with both matches featuring a balanced-scoring attack, with four Knights scoring over 200 in each contest.

Hannon, as she did all day, led FDU in both matchups with scores of 236 and 235. Junior Liat Vizenfeld (Holon, Israel/Campus Kiryat Sharet) bowled a 222 against PVAM, while sophomore Natasha Ashby (Philadelphia, Pa./Science Leadership Academy) and Hunzaker rounded out the scoring with a 204 and 202, respectively.  Against AAM, Sarin constructed a 226, with Hunzaker and Vizenfeld posting scores of 210 and 207.

But the day ended with a loss, as No. 14 Valparaiso rallied late to defeat the Knights, 1052-1025. The Crusaders were able to string multiple strikes together en route to pulling the upset, despite FDU producing a high score. Vizenfeld led the Knights with a 215, followed by Sarin (214), Hannon (201), Ashby (194), Hunzaker (191).

"We are looking forward to tomorrow and to continue our play," LoPresti said. "We play Arkansas State in the first round of bracket play, and if we win, we receive a bye to the championship match. But if we lose, we have to play the winner of the Vanderbilt-UMES match (both teams are third and fourth in the standings) and fight back through the losers' bracket to the championship."

Sunday's play is slated to begin at 9:30 a.m. on Sunday.