MECHANICSBURG, Pa. – The ninth-ranked Fairleigh Dickinson women's bowling team closed out the first Northeast Conference meet of the season with two victories, moving into second place in the NEC standings with the two wins.
The Knights (11-7, 4-2 NEC) defeated both no. 16 Saint Francis U, 983-930, as well as St. Francis Brooklyn, 1033-854, to conclude a stellar first conference meet of the season. Over the course of all six matches, FDU totaled 5,662 pins and finished with the highest team game average (188.7) among all league teams. The Knights trail only LIU (5-1) in the standings that will decide seeding in the conference tournament held in March.
"Today was our best day of the season so far," head coach
Mike LoPresti said afterward. "We were efficient, communicated well, picked each other up after mistakes, and elevated when it was needed the most. It's a long season, and our team goal is continuous progress from competition to competition. Today tells us we're right on track."
Juniors
Amanda Chrzanowski,
Jenna Henderson and
Aimee Sherman as well as sophomore
Lanasia Neal started both Baker matches for the Knights. Senior
Samantha Hart filled the fifth spot in the lineup against Saint Francis U, while freshman
Cameron Spring earned the start against St. Francis Brooklyn.
FDU fell behind in the first game against SFU but rebounded with a strong effort in the second game to up by 18 pins after two games. The Red Flash gained back eight pins in the third game, but the Knights bowled a strong fourth game with a 202-166 advantage to increase their lead enough to come away with the match victory.
Against St. Francis Brooklyn, the Knights finished with more pins downed in four of the five Baker games, with scores of 219, 192, 203, 193 and 226 over the 50 frames to total the highest team score of any match in the two-day tournament. FDU jumped ahead by 103 pins after the first game and comfortably built onto its lead as the match progressed.
The Knights now head into a 11-day break before traveling to Millsboro, Delaware, to take part in the UMES Hawks Classic hosted by Maryland-Eastern Shore from Nov. 22-24.
