HAMILTON, N.J. – The eighth-ranked Fairleigh Dickinson women's bowling team started its bid for a fifth Northeast Conference Championship with mega-match victories over Duquesne and Saint Francis U.
 
The Knights (82-47), who entered the conference tournament as the fifth seed, needed a win against Duquesne in order to advance to the double-elimination bracket for the rest of the championship. FDU got its much-needed victory by earning a 964-907 win in the traditional team match followed by a 11084-906 win in the Baker team match to sweep the mega match over the Dukes.
 
"That win was huge," sophomore Aimee Sherman said after the match. "We talked about it all yesterday in our meetings, just wanted to go out there and give it our best. We were chanting fearless today because we wanted to say we did everything we could to win that match, and it paid off. It felt really good."
 
Then against the Red Flash, who are the number one seed entering the weekend, the Knights again opened with a traditional match victory, 925-827, before closing out the match with a 1024-854 win in the Baker total pinfall round.
 
"Getting the first win was a confidence builder for us," head coach Mike LoPresti said at the end of the day. "We told them we lose, we go home, trying to motivate them, maybe it did, but that win was a huge confidence builder. The kids came in with a positive attitude. We had a really great week of practice. The key to today was that we never got frustrated and we never let bad breaks or mistakes affect how we played. We played very mature, and then we got rolling."
 
"If we can beat the number one seed, we can do anything," Sherman added. "We're going to continue to go out there and work hard. We're taking this as a confidence booster, but we still have to work hard and keep pushing through to the end."
 
Sherman and sophomore Amanda Chrzanowski, who earlier in the day were named First Team All-NEC performers, played in every match for the Knights along with senior Amy Caruso and junior Samantha Hart. Reigning NEC Player of the Week Jenna Henderson started the traditional match against Duquesne before junior Brianna MacLeod subbed in for Henderson in the seventh frame, and MacLeod started both the Baker matches and the SFU traditional match as well.
 
On Sherman and Chrzanowski earning All-NEC, LoPresti said, "That's so great for them and great for our program. They're kids who weren't really recruited by the perennial powers. There's no substitute for experience, and that's what they have to gain while they're competing. To see how they have evolved their games and how much they have matured, it's exciting for us and for them. More importantly, it bodes well for our future, they're only sophomores. From the time we recruited them, we felt that sophomore core was going to be the nucleus of our program for the future, and right now that's showing to be true."
 
Hart was the catalyst for the Knights in the first part of the day against Duquense, leading the way with a score of 211. She helped the Knights overcome a slow start to battle their way back into the lead midway through the match and finish strong down the stretch.
 
The Knights then rolled consistent games of over 200 in the five Baker games against the Dukes. FDU started the Baker round with a 46-pin cushion, 213-167, and then rolled games of 204, 206 and 208 to build on their lead before closing out the match with a match-high score of 253. The win advanced the Knights to the four-team, double-elimination bracket portion of the tournament, while Duquesne was eliminated from further contention.
 
Moving on to face SFU, the Knights again came out firing and carried their momentum from earlier in the day to win the traditional match, 925-827. Serving as the anchor for the Knights, Caruso bowled a strong game of 219 to lead the Knights, while Hart continued her stellar efforts with a 201 and Chrzanowski contributed a 190.
 
In the Baker round, the Knights jumped out to a 30-pin lead with a 196-166 advantage in the first game. Sherman in the second game then knocked home a big Baker double in the ninth frame after a Hart strike, and Caruso finished out the frame with consecutive strikes in helping FDU increase its advantage by another 26 pins, 210-184.
 
FDU then filled all its frames in the third game with seven strikes and four spares in scoring a 235 and upping the margin by another 76 pins, building the overall margin to 132 pins after three games. The Knights then bowled a 216 in the fourth game and a 220 in the fifth game on their way to winning the match, 999-888. Freshman Lanasia Neal replaced MacLeod in the leadoff spot for the final game, and sophomore Deborah Epps filled in for Hart in the final frame as well.
 
With the two wins, the Knights advance to play the three seed, Sacred Heart, in their first match Saturday at 9 a.m., with the winner advancing to the championship final on Sunday. If the Knights were to fall to Sacred Heart, they would play again at 2 p.m., against the winner of the Saint Francis-Mount St. Mary's match for the right to go to the title match.
 
"We feel really good, but we also know this is a very humbling game, particularly how the place plays here," LoPresti said. "We just got to work at it and maintain our heads, be mature just like we did all day today, and carry it over to tomorrow. Definitely we have some momentum, and it's a good feeling."