NORTH BRUNSWICK, N.J. – The Fairleigh Dickinson women's bowling team (9-1) completed day two of the Garden State Classic on Saturday after winning the Baker iteration on Friday. The five matches the Burgundy and Blue competed in this afternoon followed traditional scoring.
 
The Knights opened the day with a match against New Jersey City (NJCU) for the second time in as many days. FDU defeated the Gothic Knights, 1,046-772. Next, Fairleigh Dickinson faced Felician who took the place of NEC foe Sacred Heart with the Knights taking that match, 857-717. FDU also notched a 924-786 victory against Bloomfield before snapping an 18-match win streak dating back to last season with a 884-920 loss at the hands of Caldwell. The Knights bounced back to end the day strong with a 901-895 win against host school Monmouth.
 
Two FDU bowlers finished in the top five individual standings with seniors Jenna Henderson totaling 1,008 pins good for second place and Aimee Sherman downing 965 which garnered the third place slot. As a team, the Knights finished 4-1 on the day with a team total 4,612 pins, averaging 184.5 per game.
 
"Again, I can't be prouder of this group," said head coach Mike LoPresti. "Being able to win four of five matches today, and nine of 10 over the weekend after an 11-month layoff is nothing short of impressive.
 
He continued, "More importantly, it's how they did it that will long be remembered. They accomplished it virtually on their own due to my COVID-19 quarantine status. This team illustrated how mature, cooperative and knowledgeable they are. We are incredibly fortunate to have such a super group of kids in our program. With the lanes playing plenty different — by far more challenging than yesterday — the team handled the adverse situations quite well. After not competing since last March, trying to remain focused for a seven-hour span isn't easy, and still this group worked together, picked each other up, and managed the days as if it was mid-season.
 
LoPresti concluded, "And to top it all, I'm especially proud of how the team bounced back after our only loss, defeating the host team by a few sticks in the final match of the day. There's no better way to close out the weekend than with a clutch performance like that."
 
The team returns to action on Friday, February 19, as they take on several NEC opponents. The full schedule is available here. Fans can follow the action all season long on Twitter and Instagram @FDUKnightsBOWL and on Facebook @FDUKnightsWBOWL.