ARLINGTON, TEXAS – The seventh-ranked Fairleigh Dickinson women's bowling team finished in fifth at the 2017 Prairie View A&M Invitational after winning both matches in bracket play on Sunday.

It is the second straight tournament and weekend that the Knights went undefeated on the final day of competition in bracket play. 

"After a disappointing Saturday, we turned it up a couple notches today and that was exactly what we needed," said head coach Mike LoPresti. "Over the weekend we defeated the number one team in America [Arkansas State] and the defending national champions [Stephen F. Austin]. Those results are certainly confidence builders." 

There was one more team game match to start the day on Sunday. In that match, the Knights faced No. 5 Stephen F. Austin. Fairleigh Dickinson won that match 990 to 873 to move into the sixth spot in the bracket.

In the first round of bracket play, the Knights faced off with No. 10 Maryland Eastern Shore in the best-of-seven baker match. UMES won game one but the Knights quickly evened the series at 1-1 with a 215-207 win in game two. Fairleigh Dickinson fell in game three, then took games four (248-192) and five (179-172) to take a 3-2 series lead. The decisive game six went to the Knights by five pins, 182-177.

The Knights moved on to face No. 2 Sam Houston State.

Against the Bearkats, the match once again the best-of-seven series went six games. The match started the same way as round one as the Knights dropped game one, this time 148-139 to the Bearkats. Fairleigh Dickinson answered by winning games two (211-202) and three (190-169). Sam Houston got the series level with a win in game four. Games five and six went to Fairleigh Dickinson by scores of 202-188 in five and 281-169 in six to give the Knights a fifth-place finish.

Individually, Karsyn Lukosius was named to the All-Tournament Team. The junior moved from 22nd to fifth in the individual standings with a 246 in the match against Stephen F. Austin to conclude the team game round. Lukosius finished with a 204.67 average over six team games.

Melanie Hannon finished in seventh on the individual leader board with a 204.33 average.

Fairleigh Dickinson takes three weeks off before competing against at the Garden State Championships in Linden, New Jersey on February 18 and 19.

-------------------
ARLINGTON, TEXAS – The second day of the Prairie View A&M Invitational saw the seventh-ranked Fairleigh Dickinson women's bowling team go 2-3 over five traditional team games.

The Knights got wins against No. 25 Texas Southern and No. 15 Prairie View A&M.

Through two days the Knights sit at 6-4 and in eighth place in the pin fall standings with an 189.8 average and 9,491 total pins. There is one more traditional team game to start the day tomorrow before bracket play starts.

Individually, Melanie Hannon is the top Knight in sixth place in the individual standings. The senior averaged 208.6 over five games on Saturday. Hannon finished the day with a 224 versus Sam Houston State and a 223 versus Prairie View. Karsyn Lukosius is the next Knight on the leaderboard in 22nd (196.4 average). The junior's best game came in game four with a 225. Laura Branch is 28th with a 191.2.

Fairleigh Dickinson faced No. 4 McKendree in the first match of the day. The Knights were unable to win a second straight match versus the Bearcats – Fairleigh Dickinson beat McKendree for third place last week – and fell 1028-924.

In match two the Knights were able to get back in the win column against No. 25 Texas Southern. Fairleigh Dickinson held on by 10 pins, 923-913. Hannon had a 212 and Branch was right behind with a 211 to help the Knights get the win.

Fairleigh Dickinson dropped match three and four on the day. The loss in match three came against No. 22 North Carolina A&T, 938-850. Match four was closer, a 1023-973 loss to No. 2 Sam Houston State.

Match five allowed the Knights to close the day with a win over No. 15 Prairie View A&M, 927-898. Hannon's 223 and Lukosius' 196 helped the Knights finish the day on a good note.

Sunday starts with a match against No. 5 Stephen F. Austin when the action resumes at 8:25 central time.


----------------------
DAY ONE RECAP

ARLINGTON, TEXAS – The first day of the Prairie View A&M Invitational saw the seventh-ranked Fairleigh Dickinson women's bowling team go 4-1 and sit in fifth place in pin fall.

The No. 7 Knights played five baker games against No. 3 Nebraska, No. 10 Maryland Eastern Shore, No. 6 Vanderbilt, No. 1 Arkansas State and Jackson State.

Fairleigh Dickinson started the day with a win over No. 3 Nebraska 1,029-866. The Knights started strong against the Huskers with a 14-pin win (171-157) in game one and a 192-156 win in game two. Nebraska got some pins back in game three with a 33-pin win. In games four and five, the Knights rolled a 223 and a 255 to win comfortably.

Match two against No. 10 Maryland Eastern Shore was closer for No. 7 Fairleigh Dickinson. The Knights won game one by 38 pins and game two by 46 build a big lead. Games three and four also went to the Knights by scores of 220-208 and 189-158. The Hawks won game five 210-177 to cut into the final margin.

Match three of the day against No. 6 Vanderbilt had to go roll-off after the teams were tied at 951 after five games. Fairleigh Dickinson won the roll-off 98-88 to get the win. The Knights found themselves down by 27 pins after two games and then by 35 after game three. A 214-171 in game four got the Knights back in front. Vanderbilt forced the extra session with a 237-229 win in game five.

The lone setback for the Knights on the day came against the top-ranked Red Wolves of Arkansas State. The Red Wolves started with a 201-162 win in game one and a 255-185 win in game two to build a 109-pin lead. The Knights won games three and five but the deficit was too big to overcome and fell 1,029-946.

Day one ended with a close win by the Knights, 983-969 over rv Jackson State. After falling behind by four pins after game one, the Knights built a 14-pin lead after a win in game two. Jackson State won game three and cut the Fairleigh Dickinson-lead to six pins. The Tigers would take the lead heading into game five. The Knights won game five 212-170 to get the win.

Saturday will feature five traditional matches for the Knights. Fairleigh Dickinson opens play at 9:25 a.m. central time with a match against Texas Southern.