MILLSBORO, Del. - Taking part in 13 matches over three days, No. 10 FDU women's bowling (28-15, 5-2 NEC) finished fourth among a top-ranked field at the Eastern Shore Hawk Classic, hosted by Maryland Eastern Shore. FDU went 3-2 on day one before kicking things into gear with four wins and one loss on Saturday and finishing things off with a win to open the last day at Millsboro Lanes before falling in the final two Baker match play contests of the tournament.

Senior Ashley Sham shined as she earned a slot on the All-Tournament Team after finishing fourth individually based upon results from five traditional scoring games with a team-leading 1,027 pins (205.40 average) while only 12 bowlers in the whole field out of 121 crossed the 200-pin average plateau.
 

Results

 
Day 1 - Baker total pinfall
Match 1 - FDU 948, No. 14 Maryland Eastern Shore 922
Match 2 - No. 7 North Carolina A&T 904, FDU 893
Match 3 - No. 12 Delaware State 1063, FDU 928
Match 4 - FDU, 869, Saint Francis U (Pa.) 859
Match 5 - FDU 966, No. 19 Morgan State 848

Day 2 - Traditional
Match 1 - FDU 884, No. 5 Sam Houston 823
Match 2 - No. 23 Monmouth 875, FDU 866
Match 3 - FDU 1055, No. 11 Mount St. Mary's (Md.) 890
Match 4 - FDU 955, No. 8 (DII/III) Mercyhurst 814
Match 5 - FDU 978, No. 6 (DII/III) Wilmington (Del.) 969

Day 3 - Baker match play
Match 1 - FDU 4, No. 12 Delaware State 2
Match 2 - No. 2 Vanderbilt 4, FDU 0
Match 3 - No. 9 Youngstown State 4, FDU 1
 

Notes

 

• The opening battle with Maryland Eastern Shore was a back-and-forth battle with the Hawks having the advantage throughout. Junior Julianna Spina tightened the pack for the Knights with a 40-pin lead going into the fifth and final game. To seal the deal and the ranked win, Sham would strike followed by Spina's clutch double to break the Burgundy and Blue's two-match skid and resuming the Knights' dominance in Baker play this season.
• FDU hit a rough match in the middle games of the opening day though not without some delays as two North Carolina A&T bowlers fell on the approach and the competition pair was switched due to safety concerns. Falling by a thin margin to the Aggie, the Knights - led by graduate assistant Kerry Martinez for the meet - took turns grabbing the lead with the seven-ranked team in the country, holding a 13-pin lead going into the fifth. Spina and Sham would again be the heroes. In the second-straight loss, Delaware State dominated the Knights up 26 pins after game one and extending the lead to 95 after the third. Looking to salvage the final two matches of the day, Martinez made some tune-ups to the lineup, entering freshman Sydney Skimmer who struck with a magnificent first ball of the tourney.
• Before blowing out Morgan State to close out the day, FDU raced to a photo finish with league foe Saint Francis U (Pa.) as the Knights are now 9-1 in their last 10 meetings with the Red Flash. Key ball changes and a lane switch seemed to click with the Knights who were pushed over the top by a rally that started with sophomore Allysha Howard in the seventh, followed by a crucial strike from Sham and a three-bagger from Spina for a turkey as FDU would go on to win by 10.
• Day two was all the Lititz, Pa. native Sham as she shot no less than 180 in each of her five games in traditional play. Going to the wire with Wilmington, FDU edged out a 978-969 victory to cement a 4-1 day and a fourth-place slot in the standings.
• Seeking redemption against the Hornets, FDU played exceptionally well in the final opener of the three-day meet - not conceding the overall pinfall lead during the match, though Delaware State would take two of the six games played in the best-of-seven series.
• Getting swept by No. 2 Vanderbilt, FDU would take one game from the Penguins to close-out the event though Youngstown State would win by 140 pins overall, 1040-900.

 

Up Next

 
After Thanksgiving, FDU has just one event remaining on the calendar this fall as FDU wraps things up with the second NEC meet of the season on December 3 and 4 in North Brunswick, N.J. Following the winter break, the Knights return to action on January 15 in a USBC event.

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