MILLSBORO, Del. – The ninth-ranked Fairleigh Dickinson women's bowling team picked up three wins against ranked opponents, including a win over the top-ranked team in the country, in the first day of the UMES Hawk Classic on Friday.
 
The Knights (14-9) faced five ranked teams in the Baker total pinfall matches held at Millsboro Lanes, and they earned victories over no. 1 Vanderbilt, 897-862, and no. 16 Saint Francis U, 932-751, as well as no. 25 Monmouth, 970-963, to finish 3-2 on the day. FDU dropped a total of 4,652 pins in the day, averaging 186.1 pins per game, but the Knights sit in 12th place out of 18 teams in the tournament standings.
 
"We played five ranked teams and came out on top in three of them, making it a positive day," head coach Mike LoPresti said. "We clearly need to be more competitive and score better for us to continue this trend."
 
FDU competed with junior Jenna Henderson starting at the anchor spot for all five matches. Senior Brianna MacLeod also started all five matches and sophomore Lanasia Neal started at the lead off spot in each of the final three contests as well as in the second slot in the second match. Senior Samantha Hart (three starts), junior Amanda Chrzanowski (three starts), junior Aimee Sherman (three starts) and freshman Cameron Spring (two starts) also made Baker starts for the Knights.
 
The Knights faced a tough opponent in its first match, going against fifth-ranked Sam Houston State. FDU fell behind by 21 pins after the first game but gained eight pins back in the second. The Bearkats, however, increased their lead over the next two games and held on for the win, 965-902, despite a strong surge at the end by the Knights to gain back 25 pins (221-196). Hart, Sherman, MacLeod, Chrzanowski and Henderson started, with Spring, Neal and freshman Ashley Sham subbing into the rotation.
 
FDU then toppled its NEC rival Saint Francis U in its second match of the day. The Knights started off with a five-pin lead and upped its advantage by 27 more pins (195-168) after the second game and by 74 additional pins (224-150) after three games. Despite SFU cutting into the lead in the fourth game, the Knights then rolled their way to a big advantage (186-98) in the fifth game to win the match, 932-751.
 
Against Monmouth, the Knights jumped out to a big lead early, but the Hawks gained back those pins plus some in the second game to go up by three. FDU then retook the lead with a 189-182 advantage in the third stanza and increased the gap further with a 228-214 edge in the fourth game. The Knights then secured enough pins in the final game (193) to overcome Monmouth's late challenge and win by seven pins, 970-963.
 
FDU then prevailed in its biggest win of the day over the top-ranked team in the NTCA Top 25 poll. The Knights scored a higher pin total in each of the first four games against the Commodores, going up by 29 pins, then 31 pins, then 52 pins and finally 58 pins in helping earn the victory over a team that has played in the National Championship match in each of the past two years, winning in 2018.
 
The Knights then suffered a setback in their final match of the day against no. 24 LIU. FDU fell behind by as many as 68 pins after three games but mounted a furious comeback attempt over the final 20 frames. Needing to win by 61 pins in the final game, FDU battled their way back to within striking distance but could not quite close the deal to fall by four pins, 955-951, despite making up 51 pins in the fifth game.
 
FDU matches up against four more ranked teams in Saturday's traditional matches, going up against no. 6 Arkansas State, no. 7 UMES, no. 11 Sacred Heart and no. 13 Lincoln Memorial as well as Kutztown beginning at 9 a.m. Check back here at fduknights.com for further updates at the end of tournament play on Saturday.