NJCU SCORESHEET
HOWELL, NJ (NJCUGothicKnights.com) | New Jersey City University will be the No. 3 seed in the 2011 Northeast Conference Tournament. On the final day of the NEC Meet #3 on Sunday, NJCU posted a 3-2 record, including its fifth win over #1 ranked Fairleigh Dickinson University in eight meetings this season, finished with a 5-4 record on the weekend in the final event of the regular season at Howell Lanes, to claim third place overall in the 10-team Division I conference.
NJCU, ranked No. 7 in Division I, II, and III, finishes the regular season 83-33 overall (.716) and 19-8 in the conference (.704)—one game behind second place and #9 Sacred Heart University (20-7) and three behind FDU, the defending NCAA champions, who won the regular season title with a 22-5 NEC mark.
In a see-saw day of action, NJCU fell to #19 Saint Peter's College, 881-872, before surviving #15 St. Francis College (NY), 900-898. Monmouth University outlasted NJCU in the third match, 879-857.
In the fourth match, NJCU continued to be the monkey on the back of archrival FDU, the nation's #1 ranked program, breezing by the Knights, 955-902. NJCU snapped FDU's 11-match winning streak. For FDU, which had also won 16 of its last 17 matches, the defeat was its only on the weekend in nine matches (8-1). NJCU finishes the regular season 3-0 against FDU (86-17, 22-5 NEC) in league play and 5-3 overall. Of FDU's 12 other losses to this season to all other opponents, no other school has more than two wins. FDU also went 22-2 against the other eight schools in the NEC this year.
In the final match of the weekend, NJCU jumped out to a sizeable lead and held on in the 10th frame to outlast Saint Francis University (Pa.), 932-923.
“There are no easy teams in this league,” said 11th-year head coach FRANK PARISI, the reigning NEC Coach of the Year. “You have to be on your game every match and we were not. The team never quit though. Three of our wins came down to the last frame of the last bowler. Now it's time to focus on the post-season conference tournament.”
In the five traditional team games on Sunday, seven Gothic Knights contributed, led by sophomore KELLY DAUNNO (Carteret, NJ/Carteret) with a 193.80 average for the day and 969 pinfall (183-223-176-188-199). Rookie ALEXIS FREES (Linden, NJ/Linden), who most notable athletic highlights this year have come as a starting midfielder on the NJCU women's soccer team, had the best bowling day of her career, finishing with a three-game average of 190.0 and total wood of 570 (171-205-194).
Also on the day junior JENNIFER DAUNNO (Carteret, NJ/Carteret) posted total wood of 892 in five games (165-164-182-203-178; 178.40) while senior NICOLE DREJERWSKI (Levittown, PA/Conwell-Egan Catholic), the reigning NCAA Division III National Player of the Year, added a five-game pinfall of 882 (153-198-184-167-180; 176.40).
NJCU freshman ASHLEY JOHNSON (North Arlington, NJ/North Arlington) had a two-game average of 181.50 (219-144) and freshman NICOLE BAGINSKY (South River, NJ/Cardinal McCarrick) added total wood of 517 in three games (144-192-181; 172.33). Junior AMY BREHM (East Brunswick, NJ/East Brunswick) tacked on scores of 152 and 171.
Overall in the two-day event, NJCU had three players place among the top 13 in total pinfall out of 74 competitors. KELLY DAUNNO was sixth with a nine-game average of 194.33 and 1,749 pinfall. Older sister JENNIFER DAUNNO was 11th with 1,649 total pins and a 183.22 average and Drejerwski was 13th with 1,634 pins and a 181.56 average. No other Gothic Knight bowled more than five games.
In the opening match of the day, NJCU suffered its first loss to cross-city foe Saint Peter's in four meetings this season, 881-872. NJCU, now 15-5 against the Peahens in the last four seasons, entered the match averaging six doubles per match, but could string together only three and had a spare percentage below 70 percent, allowing SPC, which finished ninth in the NEC this season and did not qualify for the conference tournament, to hold on for the nine-pin win. It was NJCU's first loss to SPC since losing by eight pins on March 6, 2010. Johnson tossed a 219 in the loss for NJCU, which was 2-1 against SPC in the league this year.
Despite a high-game of 223 by KELLY DAUNNO, the second match came down to the very last shot in NJCU's 900-898 win over #15 St. Francis (NY). The Gothic Knights led by a considerable margin early in the match but assistant coach RUSTY THOMSEN described the club's play midway through the match as 'complacent.' NJCU had to dig in late before Drejerwski, who tossed a 198 in the match, spared in the 10th frame to seal it. NJCU finished the regular season 3-0 against St. Francis (NY)—all contests coming in conference action—and improved to 21-4 against the Terriers in the last four years.
In the third match, NJCU was surprised by first-year program Monmouth University, the event host, losing by 22 pins, 879-857. NJCU and the Hawks split the regular season meetings, 2-2, but Monmouth was 2-1 in NEC matches, and it proved to be a critical win for the upstart program, which earned one of the final two berths into the NEC Tournament, finishing in eighth place. The 879 was Monmouth's highest score of the day by 41 pins over any other match. Drejerwski led NJCU with a 184.
In the fourth match, NJCU bowled its best match of the day and FDU struggled in a seldom seen fashion—committing 14 open frames. NJCU led the entire match, and owned margins of 510-422 after the fifth frame, 598-528 after six, and 685-630 after seven. Frees had a tremendous effort for NJCU, tossing a turkey in the eighth, ninth and 10th frames, to shoot 205. JENNIFER DAUNNO fired a 203 and Baginsky added a 192.
Meanwhile, FDU All-American sophomore anchor Danielle McEwan, the Most Outstanding Player of the 2010 NCAA Finals, had an uncharacteristically poor game, shooting 149. She opened the first three frames and finished with six opens in the match. NJCU extended its lead to 792-714 after eight frames and 891-811 after nine, before registering a 955-902, 53-pin decision.
In the final match of the weekend, NJCU improved to 4-0 all-time against the first-year Saint Francis (Pa.) program, and 3-0 in NEC play against the Red Flash, but for the first time, the Gothic Knights, which had defeated SFU by margins of 149, 106 and 195 pins, respectively, had to pull out a close win at the end. KELLY DAUNNO led NJCU with a 199 and Frees added a 194. NJCU, which held a sizeable lead early, saw the Red Flash rally, pulling with 752-734 after eight frames and 852-841 after nine frames, as the league's 10th place program posted 10 consecutive marks in the seventh and eighth frames.
In the 10th frame, it got uncomfortably close for NJCU, which needed to win to avoid finishing in fourth place in the final league standings. And after Baginsky and Frees left pins standings in the 10th frame, NJCU's three veteran players needed to make their shots. KELLY DAUNNO tossed a double and an eight count and JENNIFER DAUNNO fired a strike and a 6-3. SFPA's No. 3 bowler, Jessica Henri, finished with a 192, but opened in the 10th frame and setup bowler Heidi Baumert, who added a 200 game, was left with a 6-7-10 split. It came down to the club's two anchors. Red Flash senior Christina Medley had a 194 in the match, but could only knock down six on her first ball of the 10th frame, and one pin on her second throw. Drejerwski sealed the win for NJCU with a nine-spare-eight in the final frame.
In a Senior Day ceremony following the match, Parisi honored Drejerwski, his lone senior, a four-year standout for the Gothic Knights, who was last year's Division III National Player of the Year and an Honorable Mention All-American while earning First-Team All-NEC distinction.
The double-elimination NEC Championship will be contested on Saturday, March 26 and Sunday, March 27 at Parkway Lanes in Elmwood Park, NJ. In the first round Best-4-of-7 Baker series, #3 seeded NJCU will face sixth-seeded St. Francis College (NY), with the winner advancing to meet the winner of second-seeded Sacred Heart University and seventh-seeded Long Island University. The remainder of the bracket features top-seeded FDU against eighth-seeded Monmouth University and fourth-seeded Kutztown University against fifth-seeded Adelphi University.
—www.njcugothicknights.com—
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NEC MEET #3: Day 2
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NORTHEAST CONFERENCE
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PLACE
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SCHOOL
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WON
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LOST
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WON
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LOST
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PCT.
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1
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Fairleigh Dickinson University
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4
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1
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22
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5
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0.815
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2.
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Sacred Heart University
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3
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2
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20
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7
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0.741
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3
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New Jersey City University
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3
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2
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19
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8
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0.704
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4.
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Kutztown University
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3
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2
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18
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9
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0.667
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5.
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Adelphi University
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3
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2
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14
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13
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0.519
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6.
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St. Francis College (NY)
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1
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4
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12
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15
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0.444
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7.
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Long Island University
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2
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3
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9
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18
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0.333
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8.
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Monmouth University
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1
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4
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8
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19
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0.296
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9.
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Saint Peter's College
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3
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2
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8
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19
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0.296
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10.
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Saint Francis University (Pa.)
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2
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3
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5
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22
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0.185
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PLAYER
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TM 1
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TM 2
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TM 3
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TM 4
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TM 5
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TM 6
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TM 7
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TM 8
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TM 9
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PINFALL
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Fairleigh Dickinson University
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1,028
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959
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1,009
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934
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1,047
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844
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933
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902
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995
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8,651
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Sacred Heart University
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926
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870
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1,005
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1,025
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950
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986
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893
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982
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916
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8,553
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New Jersey City University
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888
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920
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906
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981
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872
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900
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857
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955
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932
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8,211
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Kutztown University
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1,023
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890
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884
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871
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852
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1,022
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1,008
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928
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939
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8,417
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Adelphi University
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926
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912
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886
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927
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952
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906
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882
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945
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887
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8,223
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St. Francis College (NY)
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966
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839
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955
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785
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798
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898
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881
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843
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922
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7,887
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Long Island University
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893
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954
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897
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899
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881
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874
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886
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844
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785
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7,913
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Monmouth University
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848
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946
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779
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887
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805
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824
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879
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817
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838
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7,623
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Saint Peter's College
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881
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846
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753
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869
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881
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903
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895
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899
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878
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7,805
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Saint Francis University (Pa.)
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853
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848
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886
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796
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892
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833
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836
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820
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923
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7,687
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FDU vs. NCAA Teams (2010-11 season)
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Adelphi
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4-1
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Bethune-Cookman
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2-0
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Bowie State
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2-0
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Central Missouri
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1-2
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Chowan
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1-0
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Delaware State
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3-0
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Elizabeth City State
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1-0
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Florida A&M
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2-0
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Hampton
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3-0
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Howard
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4-0
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Johnson C. Smith
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2-0
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Kutztown
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6-2
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Livingstone
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2-0
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Long Island
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3-0
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Md.-East. Shore
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5-1
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Monmouth
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3-0
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Morgan State
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2-1
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North Carolina A&T
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1-0
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North Carolina Central
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1-0
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NEW JERSEY CITY
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3-5
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Norfolk State
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4-0
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Penn State-Altoona
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1-0
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Sacred Heart
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5-0
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Sam Houston State
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1-1
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Shaw
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1-0
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St. Augustine`s
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1-0
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St. Francis (NY)
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5-1
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St. Francis (PA)
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3-0
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St. Paul`s
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1-0
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St. Peter`s
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4-0
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Stephen F. Austin
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0-2
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SUNYIT
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1-0
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Texas Southern
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1-0
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Valparaiso
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3-0
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Vanderbilt
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5-1
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Virginia St.
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1-0
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Wis.-Whitewater
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1-0
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