TEANECK, N.J. – The Fairleigh Dickinson women's bowling team and head coach Mike LoPresti announced on Thursday the signing Hannah Dalton to a National Letter of Intent to join the Knights for the start of the 2020-21 season.
 
Dalton, a native of Pine Beach, N.J., earned four varsity letters and was a two-year team captain on the Toms River South High School bowling team that captured the New Jersey South Sectional Group 3 title this past year.
 
"Hannah will be a great addition to our program," said Coach LoPresti. "She is an honor student, a natural leader and loves to compete. Moreover, Hannah has a solid game, wants to be challenge, and knows what it takes to help teams win. She is the type of student-athlete every team needs because she loves to work and will be totally committed to do what it takes to become a championship caliber player. All these reasons are why I'm extremely pleased that Hannah decided to sign with us, and I look forward to working with her in the upcoming season."
 
Dalton averaged 183.0 pins per game with an individual high game of 267 over her high school career, achieving a high series score of 673 as well. She alternated between the fourth spot and the anchor of her team's five-person lineup in guiding her team to the Group 3 title, later advancing to the Group 3 State Finals where they placed second.
 
At the Group 3 Sectional title matches as a junior, Dalton's 267 game score was the third highest of the entire tournament, and her three-game score of 604 was the sixth best among all competitors.
 
"It's a dream come true to be able to continue with a sport I love and to join such an amazing team," Dalton said upon signing. "I cannot wait to make memories with my new FDU teammates and make my family proud."
 
Academically, Dalton maintained a 4.0 grade point average and earned a class rank of 11 in her high school class of 341 students. She was inducted into the National Honor Society and the Spanish National Honor Society while also performing in the school orchestra by playing the oboe. Dalton also was involved with Peer Leadership, and she also lettered for Toms River South's varsity tennis team as well. At FDU, Dalton is planning to major in biochemistry with a pre-pharmacy focus.
 
Dalton is the third new addition to the 13th-ranked Knights and the second bowler to join FDU's incoming class of 2024, joining Jennifer Oxman. The Knights (66-38) ended the 2019-20 season winning each of their last 10 matches and 21 of their last 28 overall since starting the last NEC regular-season meet on Feb. 22. FDU finished the season ranked 14th in the NCAA RPI rankings and in the NTCA Power Index Rankings, with the Knights' .635 winning percentage ranking 20th in the nation.