ROCKAWAY, N.J. – The ninth-ranked Fairleigh Dickinson women's bowling team started the 2019-20 season with a victory over a Northeast Conference rival in the first day of the Caldwell Cougar Classic.
The Knights competed in four Baker matches Friday and started the day with a resounding victory over defending NEC champion Sacred Heart, 920-841. FDU, however, suffered defeats in their next two matches before closing out the day with a closely fought battle against seventh-ranked Maryland-Eastern Shore. Each of the four teams the Knights faced were ranked in the NTCA top 25 and consisted of four of the six total ranked teams in the tournament field.
"Not a great start of the season," head coach
Mike LoPresti said. "Fought hard all day and we made some improvements as the day progressed. We're looking forward to getting back at it tomorrow."
FDU totaled 4,440 pins and averaged 177.6 pins per game, the fifth-best average of the 11 teams competing in the tournament field. Juniors
Amanda Chrzanowski,
Aimee Sherman and
Jenna Henderson each made three starts in four matches, while freshmen
Cameron Spring,
Lauren Marks and
Ashley Sham each made starts in their collegiate debuts.
Against the Pioneers, FDU jumped out to an early advantage in going up by 85 pins after the first two games. Sacred Heart, ranked no. 12 in the NTCA, gained back 10 pins over the next two games, but the Knights finished out strong with a 266 in the final game, their best of the day. Henderson, Chrzanowski and Sherman along with seniors
Samantha Hart and
Brianna MacLeod all started for FDU, with sophomore
Lanasia Neal subbing in midway through the match.
The Knights then continued their momentum to start against 22nd-ranked Adelphi, going up 211-171 after the first game. Adelphi, however, clawed back to within five pins after three games and to within three pins after four rounds before finishing strong in the fifth game to end up winning 964-891. Spring and Marks each started in their first collegiate action of their careers.
FDU got off to a slow start against 24th-ranked LIU, trailing by 51 pins after the first two rounds. The Knights worked their way back to within 20 pins after four games, but the fifth game belonged to the Sharks, who wound up winning the match, 889-815. Sham earned her first Baker start in the defeat.
After a bye round in which FDU totaled 901 pins to add to their Baker total, the Burgundy and Blue closed out the day with a matchup against UMES. FDU gained an edge with a 176-151 first game and a 166-155 second game score. The two teams each knocked down 190 pins in the third game, but the last two games favored UMES, with the Hawks closing the gap to two pins after four rounds before earning a 218-182 advantage in the final game, producing a 947-913 final tally.
The Knights transition to traditional team games on Saturday, with matches against Molloy, New Jersey City, Bloomfield, no. 25 Monmouth and Felician on the docket for the second day of the event starting at 9:30 a.m.
