Columbus, OH -- The magical NCAA Tournament run of Fairleigh Dickinson bowling came to an end Friday at the Final Four in Columbus, OH.

FDU fell to Vanderbilt and McKendree in the double eliminaton format event.

The Final Four appearance was the ninth in FDU program history and first for the program since the 2012 campaign.

The opening match was an NCAA bowling instant classic. The Knights and Vanderbilt battled through all three legs of the Mega Match, including two tie breakers, with the Commodores triumphing by the slightest of margins.

In the opening traditional match, FDU took a two-pin lead after two frames, but Vanderbilt rallied to go up 14 pins two frames later. The Knights pulled back four of those pins in the fifth and rallied in the back five frames to knot the score at 957 apiece.

Vanderbilt would earn the traditional point with a 107-87 victory in the five-frame tiebreaker.

Needing to win the Baker Quints leg to remain in the match, the Knights opened with back-to-back wins, building a 372-349 edge. FDU ran away down the stretch, drawing even in the Mega Match with a 1,035-911 victory.

The Knights opened the best-of-seven Baker series with consecutive wins, rolling a 239-192 win in the opener and earning a 179-169 victory in the second. Vandy captured the third to cut the lead to 2-1.

FDU rolled 221 in the fourth, earning a 32-pin victory to go up 3-1 and move within a game of clinching the match. Vandy took the fifth, 191-157, and the two squads tied 214 in the sixth, before Vandy won in the seventh, 222-168, to knot the match at 3.5-3.5.

It all came down to a five-frame Baker tiebreaker to decide the match, and once again the Commodores prevailed, earning the half-point by virtue of a 137-84 final score.

The loss sent FDU to an elimination match versus McKendree. The Bearcats took a 20-pin lead through the midpoint of traditional play and didn’t let up, pulling away for a 1,059-933 win and the first point.

The Knights jumped out to a 23-pin lead in Quint Bakers, rolling a 209 in the opening game. McKendree chopped 10-pins of the margin in the second game and then used a 200-142 third game score to take a 45-pin advantage. The Bearcats won the fourth by 91 pins on its way to a 1,071-929 final margin and the match victory.