READING, Pa. -- The seventh-ranked Fairleigh Dickinson women's bowling team finished in third place at the Kutztown Invitational after going a perfect 3-0 on Sunday.

Head coach Mike LoPresti said post-tournament, "There's no better way to close out a tournament than with a victory. Today, we had three of them, and they were all against quality teams. We played tough all day and really stepped up in the clutch. These are the type of days we train so hard for."
 
The Knights beat Saint Francis U, Maryland Eastern Shore and McKendree in bracket play to finish in third.
 
Melanie Hannon was named to the All-Tournament team as well for the No. 7 Knights. 

He added, "Mel Hannon played extremely well all weekend long. The results of several Baker games and several team matches came down to [Melanie] in the tenth. She came through almost every time, and our strong match record for the weekend can be attributed to her performances. Plus, you cannot ignore that she finished second overall in the individual standings. She was extraordinary."
 
The day started with a four-games-to-three win over 19-ranked Saint Francis U. The Knights found themselves down two games to one before winning game four 172-144. The Red Flash won game five before the Knights won game six, 192-127. In the decisive game seven, Fairleigh Dickinson cruised to a 202-148 victory to move on.
 
In round two, the Knights squared off with 10th-ranked Maryland Eastern Shore. The Knights did let the Hawks force a game six or seven in winning four games to one. The Knights won the first two games 211-194 and 234-194. After dropping game three, Fairleigh Dickinson won games four (188-176) and five (187-175).
 
Number four McKendree was the opponent in the third-place match. Fairleigh Dickinson came away with the win in six games; 4-2. The Knights had to come back again, as they dropped the first two games to Bearcats. Game three was close, 234-231, but the Knights were able to cut the deficit in half. The Knights won the next three to get the win and the ability to take hardware with the third-place finish.
 
Fairleigh Dickinson returns to action next weekend when the Knights travel to Texas for the Prairie View A&M Invitational.

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DAY TWO RECAP 

READING, Pa, - The seventh-ranked Fairleigh Dickinson women's bowling team went 4-2 on the second day of the Kutztown Invitational and finished the first two days at 9-3 overall. The Knights' average of 194.7 (11,680) per game left them in fifth place in the standings heading into Sunday's bracket play.

"While it wasn't perfect, we still had a tremendously productive day," said head coach Mike LoPresti afterward. "We played more consistently, defeated some good teams and scored better for most of the day. We clearly improved our game compared to yesterday, and that is something we can continue to do."

Melanie Hannon finished second in the individual standings with an average 226.17 over six games on Saturday. Karsyn Lukosius was 29th in the individual standings with an average of 197 over six games. Amy Caruso rolled a 202.8 average over five games.

The Knights got wins over ranked teams in No. 8 Central Missouri, No. 14 Wisconsin Whitewater, and No. 22 North Carolina A&T.

Fairleigh Dickinson started the day with a 964-921 over No. 8 Central Missouri. Hannon and Lukosius led the way with 225 and a 212. Caruso added a 195 to help the Knights win by 43 pins.

A second win of the day came in match two versus Wisconsin Whitewater, 1063-885. Hannon led the way to the win with a 267. Caruso was second on the team with a 215 and Lukosius rolled a 202.

Matches three and four of the day featured setbacks for the Knights against Bethune Cookman and No. 4 McKendree. Fairleigh Dickinson fell to Bethune Cookman 1016-945 and to McKendree, 1050-964.

Fairleigh Dickinson bounced back and finished the day with a pair of wins. The Knights beat North Carolina A&T in match five, 1063-998. Four Knights bowled over 200; led Caruso's 267. Hannon, Lukosius and Laura Branch were over 200 as well. In the final match of the day, the Knights cruised past Pitt-Bradford, 846-680. Hannon was once again the leader with a 211.

For the day, the Knights averaged a 974 to their opponents' 924.

The first-round opponent on Sunday is a familiar one for Fairleigh Dickinson; Northeast Conference foe Saint Francis U.

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DAY ONE RECAP

READING, Pa. – The Fairleigh Dickinson women's bowling team started the Kutztown Invitational with a 5-1 record in baker games on day one.

Head coach Mike LoPresti said afterward, "After a long six-week break, you never know how a team will respond to competition. Today, at times we were rusty, but I am pleased with our performance overall because we played well for most of the day. It felt great getting back on the lanes competing against some of the nation's top teams in a well-run event."

The No. 7 Knights sit in seventh place based on pin fall average of 194.5. Vanderbilt is on top of the standings with a 5-1 record and a 209.6 average per game. Maryland Eastern Shore, McKendree, Delaware State, Saint Francis U and Tulane sit between the Knights and Vanderbilt.

Fairleigh Dickinson started the day against Chestnut Hill. The Knights came away with the 1004-818 win. Against the Griffins, the Knights rolled games of 211, 203 and 227 in the first three games to take control.

The Knights made it two straight wins to open the tournament with a 1013-851 win over No. 20 Norfolk State. After a 169 in game one, the Knights did not dip below 180 the rest way, including a 242 in game three and a 233 in game five.

No. 6 Vanderbilt handed Fairleigh Dickinson its lone loss of the day, 1133-942, in match number three. Fairleigh Dickinson started strong with a 202, 196 and a 193. The Commodores responded with five games over 200, including a 233, 235 and a 246.

RV Youngstown State was a tough opponent in match four as Fairleigh Dickinson squeaked past the Penguins, 931-928, to move to 4-1. The two teams traded 30-plus pin wins in games one and two. The Knights completed the comeback in game five with a four-pin win, 172-168.

The final two matches of the day, against No. 9 Monmouth and Medaille, Fairleigh Dickinson cruised in both matches; winning 1014-887 over Monmouth and 931-673 over Medaille. In the match with Monmouth, the Knights rolled another three games over 200, highlighted by a 245 in game one. Against Medaille, Fairleigh Dickinson had a 207 along with a pair of 180s.

Action resumes tomorrow in Reading for six traditional games for the 26 teams at 9:30 a.m. The Knights start the day with No. 8 Central Missouri.