BALTIMORE, MD (NJCUGothicKnights.com) | Newly #7 ranked New Jersey City University split a pair of best 4-of-7 matches, defeating #20 Florida A&M University, 4-games-to-1, before falling to 16th ranked Delaware State University, also by a 4-1 margin, finishing sixth overall on the final day of the Morgan State University Invitational.
NJCU, which extended its winning streak to nine straight with the win over FAMU, improves to 71-27 overall on the season. The Knights entered the day ranked No. 7 in Division I, II and III based on the most recent national poll released late on February 19.
In the opening match, NJCU lost game one before reeling off four straight wins—193-204, 223-166, 169-122, 149-131, 202-160.
NJCU also outscored the Rattlers in total Baker pins in the series, 936-783.
In the fifth-place match, Delaware State won the first three games of the series, before sealing the match with a three-pin win in game five. The final game scores were 213-141, 189-172, 211-201, 166-206, and 196-193. The Hornets also edged the Knights on total pinfall, 975-913.
NJCU maintained the same starting Baker lineup throughout the day, with junior AMY BREHM (East Brunswick, NJ/East Brunswick) leading off, followed by freshman NICOLE BAGINSKY (South River, NJ/Cardinal McCarrick) in the No. 2 position and sophomore KELLY DAUNNO (Carteret, NJ/Carteret) in the bridge role. NJCU's two returning First-Team All-NEC selections from last season completed the rotation as junior JENNIFER DAUNNO (Carteret, NJ/Carteret) setup for senior NICOLE DREJERWSKI (Levittown, PA/Conwell-Egan Catholic), the reigning NCAA Division III National Player of the Year, in the anchor spot.
Brehm and JENNIFER DAUNNO each earned selected to Second-Team All-Tournament Team after Brehm placed sixth of 122 bowlers and Daunno was ninth in the field during the individual games on day two of the tournament. KELLY DAUNNO earned a 21st place finish while Drejerwski listed 28th overall.
In the loss to Delaware State, NJCU dropped the first three games before taking game four, 206-166. The Knights led game five before a pocket open in the ninth frame, a 4-9 pin split, gave the Hornets life, and DSU record a double in the 10th frame to rally for the 4-1 match victory.
“10 and 2 is a good record and there's not a lot matches left to go this season,” noted 11th-year head coach FRANK PARISI about his team's record in the three-day event. “We were one spare away from beating [eventual tournament champion] Nebraska. Overall, it was a good weekend and it's a step in the right direction with a few tournaments left. We just have to continue to bowl well and hopefully win the critical matches coming down the road.”
NJCU is back in action on Saturday and Sunday, February 26-27 at the 2011 ECAC Championship at Parkway Lanes in Elmwood Park, NJ.
—www.njcugothicknights.com—
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BEST 4-out-of-7 PLAYOFFS
|
PINFALL
|
|
NJCU
|
193
|
223
|
169
|
149
|
202
|
936
|
|
Florida A&M
|
204
|
166
|
122
|
131
|
160
|
783
|
|
NJCU
|
141
|
172
|
201
|
206
|
193
|
913
|
|
Delaware State
|
213
|
189
|
211
|
166
|
196
|
975
|
