The Fairleigh Dickinson women's bowling team won the Jeanette Lee Tournament hosted by St. Paul's College in Richmond, VA on Dec. 5-6. The Knights had a total pin fall of 9,326 to capture first and finish the two-day, 20-team tournament with a 10-1 record. Overall on the season, FDU is now 29-14.
New Jersey City finished second with a total of 9,316, Sacred Heart place third (9,166),Adelphi captured fourth (9,136), Central Missouri rounded out the top five teams (9,017).
In the first match of the day, FDU defeated Livingstone College, 762-468. The Knights then won against Elizabeth City State, 728-604.
Against Bowie State, Fairleigh Dickinson won, 797-533. The Knights made it four-straight wins versus Fayetteville State, 737-656.
In final match of the day, the Knights, as the first seed in the Northeast region, fell to Central Missouri, the first seed in the Midwest region, 768-772.
This win marks the first tournament victory of the season, and makes it six consecutive years that the program has won at least one tournament.
Individually, Erica Perez (Carteret, New Jersey/Carteret) was named the Tournament MVP, finishing with a 207.17 average that led all bowlers.
Sara Litteral (Chesterfield, MI/L'anse Creuse North) averaged 194.33 for seventh place. Danielle McEwan (Stony Point, NY/Stony Point) finished ninth overall with a 193.00 average.
"While we lost the battle in the final round, we achieved our primary goal, to come and win the event," said Head Coach Mike LoPresti. "This is something we haven't done yet at this event, despite having a good deal of success here. This is something that speaks volumes about the development of the team."
"Erica was masterful, winning the MVP. The tournament accolades never get old; she's had a great career for us and as this season progresses, her confidence will improve and her game will improve. We need her strength at the bottom of the order and she supplies it often."
"It's also fantastic that we had two other players make the top ten. Sara has been a key player in our program and she played a new role in this tournament in the leadoff spot and she succeeded. Danielle is going to have a great future for this program and she really showed consistency this tournament."
"We keep losing is close matches and to Central Missouri. They are a good team, but we need to stand up to those type of teams better and perform at our best in crunch time."
