GLEN ALLEN, Va. — The ninth-ranked Fairleigh Dickinson women's bowling team finished a dominant weekend as Virginia Union Invitational champions, earning the team's first tournament title of the season.
The Knights (20-4) finished the three-day event with an unblemished 11-0 record in capturing the tournament championship. FDU defeated NEC rival Saint Francis U in both rounds of the baker best-of-seven playoff bracket, winning each match by a score of 4-1. Overall, the Knights averaged 202.2 per game in winning eight of the 10 total baker games for the day.
The lineup of junior
Samantha Hart, senior
Amy Caruso, junior
Brianna MacLeod and sophomores
Amanda Chrzanowski and
Aimee Sherman powered the Knights to the two wins over the 13th-ranked Red Flash.
"After two days of grinding it out, we played our best when it mattered most, in the playoff bracket matches," said head coach
Mike LoPresti. "Our ladies showed a lot of maturity during Friday's and Saturday's matches. Today it was a tremendous amount of heart, desire, and competitive intensity that put us over the top. This group continues to improve every time out."
Hart on the final day led off each frame for the Knights, averaging 22.0 per roll and filling the frame 95 percent of her rolls with 11 strikes in 20 frames. Chrzanowski compiled a frame average of 21.0 and filled 16 of 20 frames with 11 strikes. Sherman was close behind with a 20.65 frame average, filling 18 of her 20 frames and recording 13 strikes as the anchor for the Knights.
MacLeod also filled 18 of 20 frames in recording a 19.58 frame average with eight strikes, and Caruso averaged 18.0 per frame with 75 percent filled and 11 strikes.
In the first match against SFU, the Knights won each of the first three games, scoring 185-174 in the first frame and then following with a 214-179 win and a 223-169 victory. The Red Flash won the fourth frame to extend the match, but the Knights took care of business in the fifth game, 203-128, to advance to the tournament championship.
SFU defeated Sacred Heart in its next game to set up a rematch in the tournament final. The Knights started with a 214-168 win in the first frame, but the Red Flash won the next game to even the match. FDU rallied back with a 159-146 win in the third frame and also took the fourth game, 266-196, before closing the match with a 186-181 win in the fifth.
The Knights are now on a 14-match winning streak dating back to last Sunday.
Fairleigh Dickinson will seek a second tournament championship next weekend when it takes part in the UWW Warhawk Classic in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.
