LIMERICK, Pa. – The seventh-ranked Fairleigh Dickinson women's bowling team picked up wins in three of five matches, including defeating the defending national champions, in day two of the Kutztown Golden Bear Invitational.
Two of the three wins for the Knights (46-20) were against ranked opponents, with the first victory of the day coming against third-ranked Vanderbilt, the reigning national champions. The Knights also defeated 20th-ranked UAB.
The Knights ended day two sitting in third place out of 28 teams. A 3-0 day in Sunday's Baker playoff bracket would lead to a tournament championship for FDU, who is seeking its second tournament title this season.
The two losses of the day for FDU came in their opening match against Youngstown State and in their final bout of the day against fourth-ranked Arkansas State.
Junior
Brianna MacLeod was the top performer Knights on day two, averaging 201.8 pins per game across all five matches. She rolled a high score of 220 in the Knights' win over Vanderbilt. Sophomores
Amanda Chrzanowski and
Aimee Sherman and senior
Amy Caruso also competed in all five matches, with Chrzanowski averaging 198.2 pins per game.
The best single game of the day, however, belonged to sophomore
Jenna Henderson. The lefty rolled a 266 to helped the Knights top UAB.
"Against Youngstown State, we played inconsistently and paid a big price," head coach
Mike LoPresti said at the end of the day. "However, against Vanderbilt we settled down and rallied late to sink them. Solid wins followed against Wilmington and UAB. In the UAB match,
Jenna Henderson came off the bench and fired a huge game that led us to victory. In the final match, we struggled to maintain any consistency, which led to a disappointing final match."
The Knights got off to a slow start against Youngstown State, falling by a score of 979-900. Chrzanowski rolled a 220, her best game of the day, to lead FDU and MacLeod finished with a 187. Sophomore
Deborah Epps subbed in to try to spark a rally, but Youngstown State held on for the win.
MacLeod and sophomore
Aimee Sherman each put forth solid games to help the Knights overcome their early defeat and topple the Commodores, 1002-961. Sherman finished with a 217 to go with MacLeod's 220, and Caruso also contributed her best game score of the day with a 198.
The momentum continued into the next match against Wilmington, with the Knights scoring a 978-884 victory. MacLeod rolled the highest game score for FDU with a 214, and Caruso and Chrzanowski each reached 196 with Sherman contributing a 195.
Henderson's big performance helped FDU to a 997-959 win over UAB in the next match. Chrzanowski finished with a 203, and Caruso also rolled a 190 in making it three straight wins for the Knights.
The Knights ran into a tough opponent in their final match of the day, falling to Arkansas State by a score of 989-906. MacLeod wrapped up her day with a high score of 212 for the Knights. Freshman
Lanasia Neal replaced Sherman in the ninth frame of her match to try to bolster the Knights at the end.
Epps finished with scores of 177 in consecutive games against Vanderbilt and Wilmington.
The Knights finished the first two days of the invitational with a total score of 9,979, averaging 199.6 per game across 10 matches.
Arkansas State and Stephen F. Austin, who the Knights defeated on the first day of competition, are the top two seeds in the playoff bracket, followed by FDU and eighth-ranked UMES, with no. 11 North Carolina A&T rounding out the top five.
FDU faces UMES in its first Baker playoff best-four-of-seven match Sunday morning. A win pits them against the loser of the Arkansas State-Stephen F. Austin match, while a loss eliminates them from title contention and would mean facing the winner of North Carolina A&T and Vanderbilt.
Check back here at fduknights.com for updated results and scores from the final day of action Sunday afternoon.
