Hannon had one of the hottest hands in the Music City this past weekend. Leading Fairleigh Dickinson up against a Music City Classic field that featured every ranked team in the NTCA Top 20, Hannon posted a 22.12 overall frame average over the course of 15 matches. The first-year Knight filled an amazing 93.1 percent of frames bowled during the three-day event in Smyrna, TN. Hannon threw strikes on 56.1 percent of her attempts and cleaned up her spares at an .879 rate at the annual event hosted by Vanderbilt. Helping the Knights earn the tournament’s No. 1 seed heading into Sunday’s best-of-7 championship bracket play, Hannon posted a 224.8 game average during six traditional team matches. That mark ranked her second overall on an individual leader board that included the names of several former All-Americans. Hannon opened Saturday’s traditional round by throwing a team-best 233 in a win over Tulane. The western New York native followed with a 234-pin performance in a win over Louisiana Tech. She also eclipsed the 230-pin mark in lop-sided victories over Prairie View A&M and Alabama A&M. Hannon also led FDU during baker play, averaging 21.86 pins per baker frame.
FDU head coach Mike LoPresti seems more than satisfied with the play of Hannon, who is now a seven-time NEC Rookie of the Week.
“I am extremely proud of Melanie Hannon, who performed at an elite level in the strongest field of the year. She just missed the highest average by three pins and is exceeding all expectations. I am extremely proud of her and hope that she is able to play at this high level the rest of the year.” LoPresti said following the conclusion of the Music City Classic.