ROCHESTER, N.Y. - For the 14th time in program history, Fairleigh Dickinson women's bowling (68-35, 12-9 NEC) is off to the NCAA National Collegiate Women's Bowling Championship with the side selected to the Rochester Regional, scheduled to be held on April 8 and 9 at Bowl-A-Roll Lanes live on ECC Sports Network.

The No. 13 Knights are set to take-on fellow Northeast Conference member Sacred Heart, the 2022 NEC tournament champions, at 9 a.m. on Friday, April 8, as play gets underway in the Empire State. Ranked No. 16 in the National Tenpin Coaches Association (NTCA) February Poll, the Pioneers hold a 3-2 advantage over the Burgundy and Blue this season, though it was FDU who came away victorious in the most recent bout which occurred on March 5 at the final NEC meet of the regular season. Mike LoPresti's side topped the Pioneers in a match decided by one pin, 984-984 in Baker total pinfall action.

Chasing their third national championship, FDU's journey to Columbus, Ohio, the site of this year's Final Four, begins with the double-elimination regional tournament, starting with Friday's match against the Pioneers. For the first time in the 18-year history of NCAA-sponsored women's bowling, each of the teams in the tournament have been divided into four separate regional sites comprised of four teams for a total of 16 squads participating. Each regional champion will advance to the national championship site for the semifinal and championship final, scheduled to be played on April 15 and 16 at Wayne Webb's Columbus Bowl. 

With the three other sides in the regional familiar to FDU, the Knights' path features SHU, Wilmington (Del.) and the second-seeded Nebraska Huskers, the defending national champions. FDU faced Nebraska just once on the season, a 100-pin victory in traditional scoring down in Texas at the Prairie View A&M Invitational, 1,043-943. FDU currently enjoys a four-match win streak over the Huskers dating to the 2018-19 campaign. Similarly, the Knights have won the last four-straight over the Wilmington (Del.) Wildcats with the Burgundy and Blue participating in the Northeast Roundup hosted by the squad. FDU last faced Wilmington (Del.) on March 19, a 930-872 traditional win for the Knights.

Capitalizing on experience, FDU returns three of their four seniors from last year's NEC championship club which earned the first automatic qualifier in program history to the NCAA Championship, hosted in North Kansas City, Mo. last season. Graduate student Jenna Henderson, one of two southpaws on this year's Knights squad and last year's NEC Bowler of the Year, was named to the First Team All-NEC this season while fellow grad student Amanda Chrzanowski earned a slot on the Second Team All-NEC alongside redshirt sophomore Julianna Spina.

Sitting ninth in the nation in RPI with .596, FDU also topped the charts with an NTCA Team Composite Performance Index (TCPI) of 79.34 percent out of 5,320 frames bowled through March 24 - good for 15th out of 50 ranked schools.

This weekend's regional tournament also represents a homecoming for Western New York native junior Cameron Spring who hails from Allegany, N.Y., approximately two hours from the regional site in Rochester. Click here to see her interview with News 10 NBC.

With a win Friday morning against Sacred Heart, FDU would face the winner of #2 Nebraska/Wilmington (Del.) at 3 p.m. that afternoon, however should Sacred Heart win over FDU the Knights would face the team defeated in the NEB/WIL match. The regional tournament is double elimination. Click here or the link below for the full bracket.

Fans can stay connected with FDU women's bowling on Twitter and Instagram, @FDUKnightsBOWL, and on Facebook, @FDUKnightsWBOWL.