TOWSON, Md. – The eighth-ranked Fairleigh Dickinson women's bowling team jumped out to a 4-0 start at the James Brown Invitational in the first day of competition Friday.
The Knights (56-30) won three of their four Baker team matches on the day by over 100 total pins. The Knights also played a fifth "bye" round that added to their total pin count of 4,608 pins, averaging 184.3 pins per game for the day. FDU currently sits in fifth place after the first day of competition, with four teams having a higher total pin count.
The Knights were one of only two teams in the 15-team field to win all their matches on the first day.
"It's always a great day when you go unbeaten for the day in matches," head coach
Mike LoPresti said at the end of competition. "It doesn't happen often and we strive to make it happen every day we compete. But at the same time, we didn't play up to our ability and got away with a lot of sloppy play. We'll need to clean up the mess tomorrow to get into the championship bracket."
Senior
Amy Caruso and sophomores
Aimee Sherman and
Amanda Chrzanowski started all four matches for the Knights on the day. Junior
Samantha Hart started three and subbed in for a fourth match, and sophomore
Jenna Henderson started two but competed in all four matches for the Knights. Junior
Brianna MacLeod made two starts and subbed in for the first Knights' win.
In their first match of the day against Coppin State, the Knights got off to a slow start but rallied late in an 866-793 victory. FDU grew stronger as the match progressed, finishing with scores of 198 and 217 to help overcome a 29-pin deficit through three games. Sophomore
Deborah Epps made her lone start of the day in the win over Coppin State.
Facing 12th-ranked Delaware State next, the Knights carried their momentum over from the previous win and powered their way to a 978-846 win, with the 978 representing the best match score of the day for the Knights. FDU totaled more pins in each of the first four games, including a high score of 237 in the third frame. The Knights started the match with a 194, followed by a 188 in the second frame, and they rolled a 215 in the fourth to help build a 152-pin cushion over the Hornets before the fifth game.
The strong play continued against Bowie State, with the Knights prevailing by a score of 919-807. The Knights totaled four more pins than Bowie State through the first four games, but a dominant fifth game pushed them past their opponent, with the Knights rolling their way to a 254-146 final frame that helped seal the win. Freshman
Lanasia Neal subbed in for her only appearance of the day, contributing to the Knights' victory.
FDU wrapped up the competitive portion of its day with a 945-781 win over Virginia State. The Knights totaled more pins in each of the five games and finished the day with scores of 189, 188, 188 and 231 in their final four frames.
Sixth-ranked Maryland-Eastern Shore is in first place after day one with a pin count of 5,046. No. 23 Duquesne, Delaware State and Caldwell are the other three teams ahead of the Knights in the standings, in respective order.
The Knights continue the round robin portion of the tournament on Saturday with five traditional team matches before wrapping up the invitational with a three-round Baker playoff best four-of-seven bracket on Sunday.
