Elmwood Park, NJ - It was a weekend-long progression for Fairleigh Dickinson, one that ended with the Knights becoming the inaugural Northeast Conference Bowling Champions. 

 

Third-seeded FDU swept past top-seeded Kutztown, 4-0 [223-142, 221, 126, 232-167, 199-181], in the 2009 NEC Championship Match on Sunday at Parkway Lanes.  All matches at the first-ever Conference Championship followed a best-of-seven baker game format.

 

“We built momentum as the event continued,” commented Fairleigh Dickinson head coach Michael LoPresti whose team will go before the NCAA Selection Committee sporting an overall 111-27 (.804)  record. “We just kept getting better and better all the way through to the climax.”

 

Before the Knights could think about celebrating, they had to successfully navigate through a championship bracket that featured five of the nation’s top-20 teams according to the latest edition of the National Tenpin Coaches Association Top 20 Poll.

 

The Knights outlasted No. 16 Adelphi in seven games and needed only four games to sweep past No. 19 St. Francis (NY) on the Tournament’s first day.  Adelphi received a grudge match opportunity when it faced FDU again on Sunday, but by that time the Knights were locked into a groove.

 

“It started with Erica Perez [on Saturday] and by the end we were firing on all cylinders,” LoPresti said.

 

All-NEC first team selection Erica Perez (Carteret, NJ/Carteret) provided a spark Saturday when she rolled a strike 16 times over her final 22 opportunities on the afternoon. 

 

The third-year Knight and her team were in high gear right from the start on Sunday.  Fairleigh Dickinson, whose arsenal includes three all-NEC bowlers, fired fast out of the gate in both of their championship round matches.   

 

The Knights rolled a 233-pin baker game to open an eventual 4-1 series win over Adelphi before starting their sweep of Kutztown with a 223-pin baker performance.

 

FDU’s first four frames of its championship match against Kutztown consisted of a strike, 9-spare, strike, and another 9-spare.  The Knights’ two strikes in the first three frames of a 223-142 game one victory would turn out to be more than 25 percent of Kutztown’s entire strike total for the match.  The talented, but young Bears, totaled only seven strikes during four baker games on the championship stage.

 

“We’re young and we had never been here before,” said Kutztown head coach Joe Ambrose, whose program is only in its second season of existence.  “FDU was outstanding and we ran out of gas by the end of a long season.”

 

Game two resulted in more of the same frustration for the young Kutztown team.  Fairleigh Dickinson notched a strike followed by four 9-spare frames the first time through the order while Kutztown did not make its first mark until the sixth frame.  FDU left little room for KU to catch up as it rolled five straight strikes the second time down the lineup, the fifth of which came from Perez.

 

The All-NEC First Teamer went 15-for-29 during strike opportunities in Sunday’s two victories.

 

The final day of competition began with three teams holding out hope for the title.  Third-seeded Fairleigh Dickinson held the edge over top-seeded Kutztown and No. 4 seed Adelphi as it was the lone team to make it through early round play undefeated.

 

Adelphi was the first of the three to fall.  FDU took responsibility for eliminating the Panthers, 4-1, in the first best-of-seven baker match of the day.

 

Adelphi began the match by registering a 9-spare, strike, 9-spare, and another strike over its first four frames, but the Panthers’ impressive start was only modest compared to that of FDU. 

 

“We wanted to make a statement out of the gate and take control right away,” said head coach Michael Lopresti.  “The ladies did just that.”

 

The Knights struck six consecutive frames to open the contest with junior Nichole Toto (Piscataway, NJ/Bishop George Ahr) doubling at the top of the lineup on the way to a 233-187 first game victory.

 

Facing elimination and down two games to none, Adelphi rallied in its third baker game against FDU.  The Panthers trailed by three pins heading into the ninth frame before its two NEC all-rookie honorees stood up.   Freshman Danielle Merino (College Point, NY/St. Francis Prep) rolled a ninth-frame strike to set up second team all-league bowler Erica Drake (Miller Place, NY/Floral Park) who doubled in the tenth to solidify a 210-184 victory.