NORTH BRUNSWICK, N.J. - The No. 20 Fairleigh Dickinson women's bowling team (20-2, 11-1 NEC) defeated Mount St. Mary's on Friday, winning all three matches played to open the second Northeast Conference meet of the 2020-21 season.

In the Baker total pinfall bout, FDU edged out a 939-917 win against the Mountaineers with the Knights leading the scoring in the first, third and fourth games. The fourth game proved to be critical for the Burgundy and Blue as their lead was just 12 pins after the third. FDU expanded their lead to 35 in the fourth thanks to senior Jenna Henderson's double and a strike each from senior Amanda Chrzanowski and redshirt freshman Julianna Spina, the reigning NEC Rookie of the Week.

As the day moved to Baker match play, the Burgundy and Blue won a tie breaker thriller with the match tied at 3.5 games per team after the seventh game.  Henderson came in clutch in the tenth frame where she netted a strike and nine-spare which sent the game to the tie breaker won by the Knights, 89-60. Sophomore Cameron Spring, one of this week's NEC prime performers, bowled two three-strikes, as did Chrzanowski and Henderson.

Spring led the Knights' scoring in the traditional match bowling 227 with two other Knights hitting above the 200 mark as well with senior Aimee Sherman and Henderson bowling 234 and 208, respectively. Sherman bowled three six-straight strikes spanning the second through seventh frames before a split ended her run. Spring picked up the first strike in the tenth giving her three consecutive and five of her last six frames. The tenth frame proved to be the difference maker in the Knights' 997-899 win as the Burgundy and Blue secured the 98-pin margin which sealed the deal.

"We played on adverse lane conditions today and struggled for a good portion of each match," said head coach Mike LoPresti. "Still, we kept our heads and put together three successful late rallies. Without them, each of those matches easily could have ended with a different result."

FDU returns tomorrow, February 27, for three matches against LIU beginning at 9 AM. Fans can follow along live on Facebook by searching "FDU Knights Bowling" or by visiting Facebook.com/FDUKnightsWBOWL.