READING, Pa. – The 17th-ranked Fairleigh Dickinson women's bowling team again won four of five matches in the second day of the Chestnut Hill Baker Classic and is in second place in the standings after two days of Baker qualifying matches.
The Knights (43-30) won each of their first four matches of the day against Walsh, no. 18 Delaware State, St. Thomas Aquinas and Norfolk State before ending the day with a close loss to Kutztown.
FDU averaged 192.6 pins per game and totaled 4,814 pins for the entire day, placing second in the tournament standings behind only Kutztown. Tournament pin fall totals reset after the first day, when FDU totaled 4,880 pins, but the Knights finished the qualifying rounds with 9,694 pins (193.9 pins per game), which were the most total pins by any team.
"Today was our second straight day filled with strong performances and four wins," head coach
Mike LoPresti said. "It puts us in the championship bracket and an opportunity to play for this weekend's title. Playing in matches that matter on Sunday is what NCAA bowling is all about, and we're pretty stoked to be part of it."
Seniors
Samantha Hart and
Brianna MacLeod along with juniors
Aimee Sherman and
Amanda Chrzanowski started all five matches on the day for the Knights. Freshman
Cameron Spring started each of the last four matches, while sophomore
Lanasia Neal made a start in the first contest. Freshman
Ashley Sham and junior
Jenna Henderson also made appearances as subs off the bench.
The Knights started out the second day with a 942-816 victory in its first-ever match against Walsh (Ohio). FDU scored higher in each of the first four games of the match, starting out with a 233-171 advantage and then expanding on the lead with games of 182, 200 and 208 over the next 30 frames. Hart came through with a pivotal turkey in the final frame of the third game, capping off a run from behind that included four straight strikes.
FDU then faced its highest-ranked opponent in the tournament field in Delaware State and scored its highest total of the day with a 1053-931 win. FDU scored over 200 pins in each game, with a high of 220 in the first game thanks to striking on the last four frames with Sherman completing a turkey in the final frame. The Knights then averaged just over 208 pins over the last four games and outscored the Hornets 207-148 in the second game to help build up their lead.
Another first-time opponent in St. Thomas Aquinas also led to a FDU victory, 936-733, and the effort required recovering from a slow start. The Knights trailed by nine pins after the first game, but they then would go on to outscore the Spartans 779-567 over the last four games, saving their best game score of 217 for last.
The Knights made up for another slow start against Norfolk State, overcoming a six-pin deficit to start by winning 948-867. FDU nearly finished with at least 200 pins in each of the last four games after going down 168-162, putting forth scores of 199, 223, 213 and 214 over the final 40 frames. FDU filled every game and recorded six strikes in the high-scoring game of 223, and Norfolk State managed no more than 184 pins in the last four games.
The lone setback of the day happened at the end of the slate, with Kutztown prevailing 987-935. The Golden Bears went ahead by 26 pins after two games, but the Knights gained back seven pins in the next game with a 181-174 third game. Kutztown, however, won back two pins in the fourth game and then outscored the Knights 231-200 in the last 10 frames to hold on for the win.
The Knights move on to the Baker best four-of-seven bracket on Sunday, facing Kutztown again in their first match of three playoff rounds. A win in the first round guarantees the Knights a spot in the championship final, while a loss will put FDU up against the winner of the Delaware State-Molloy first-round matchup for the right to go to the championship match.
