HAMILTON, N.J. - The No. 7 Fairleigh Dickinson women's bowling team (35-3, 19-2 NEC) clinched the 2020-21 Northeast Conference Championship on Sunday, following a 2-1 win in the final match over third-seeded Sacred Heart.

To begin the day the Knights and Pioneers competed in a traditional scoring bout won by FDU, 987-977. Sophomore Cameron Spring had the high game for the Knights bowling 234 in the opener. Senior Aimee Sherman bowled her third 200-plus traditional match of the NEC Tournament with a 228. Senior Amanda Chrzanowski helped FDU gain ground on the Pioneers' lead with a strike late in the match to help the Burgundy and Blue pull within 20 pins before the Knights sealed the win giving them a 1-0 Mega Match lead over SHU.

In the Baker total pinfall match the Pioneers held a one-pin lead over the Knights after the first game, 204-203. FDU would finish the second and third games on top, 184-171 and 226-198, respectively, before falling behind in the final two. Sacred Heart would even the Mega Match at one win a piece with their 1,084-1,053 victory in the second format.

With the series even, the championship moved to the Baker match play (best-of-seven) format as the mega match requires best-of-three scoring using the three different forms of play. FDU trailed the first game 247-214 before picking up the pace in the second frames, winning three consecutive games. The Pioneers forced a seventh game with the match tied at three games following their 232-223 victory in the fifth. FDU would win the final match of the day four games to three and with that, their conference-record fifth NEC Tournament championship.

Following the victory against Sacred Heart, Knights head coach Mike LoPresti said, "I'm very proud of this team. We pulled out the traditional game with a tremendous tenth frame rally and never stopped battling in the best-of-seven Baker match shooting a clutch 236 game for the wheat in game seven. We grew a great deal as a team today. Nothing's more valuable than hard earned team victories."

"The top of our order was stellar today. Cameron Spring threw 26 strikes in 35 frames, including an amazing string of 13 straight during the Baker matches from the leadoff position. Aimee Sherman had 21 strikes in 35 frames, including a run of 10-out-of-11 frames during the Baker matches from the two-hole. They set the table for us all day long," LoPresti added.

"Overall, the experiences of this weekend will clearly help prepare us for the NCAA tournament. We've advanced many times in the past, but this will be the first time since the 2017 tournament that we've made it. It's a great accomplishment for this team, especially during this unconventional season," he concluded.

The Northeast Conference Tournament crown also gives the Knights an automatic qualifier to the NCAA Championship tournament. Although the Knights have won the NEC title on four previous occasions, this is the first time the team has garnered an automatic qualifier. The 2021 NCAA Championship will be the 13^th for the Knights as they quest for their third national championship having come out victorious in both the 2006 and 2010 iterations.

The NCAA Championship begins with regional play on April 7 in North Kansas City, Mo. FDU has been seeded fifth in the tournament and will play Sam Houston State in the regional round. The entire tournament will be livestreamed on NCAA.com. Fans can order their 2021 NEC Championship gear by clicking here.