WALLINGFORD, Conn. – Senior right-hander Kristen Keller (Reading, Pa./Schuylkill Valley) easily bested the Felician University women's bowling record for pinfall in a traditional five-game series as the Golden Falcons went 3-2 in dual matches at the Sacred Heart University Bowl for the Cure, a one-day event held Saturday at Wallingford Bowl.
Saturday's tournament format called for five round-robin traditional team matches in the six-team tournament. Scores were high all day. Felician averaged 192.4 for the day, with no one hotter than Keller. One of three Golden Falcons to start all five matches, Keller put together games of 211-214-205-217-231. Her five-game total of 1,078 (215.6 average) eclipsed the previous Felician record of 1,004 by teammate Nicole Aumack (Brick, N.J./Brick Township).
Among the field, however, Keller finished only 13th in scoring average and eighth in total pinfall. The six teams combined to average 201.1 for the tournament, including a 223.4 figure by the host and No. 9 nationally-ranked Pioneers.
Two of Felician's dual victories on the day came against other nationally-ranked opponents – No. 22 Franklin Pierce University (1028-957) in Match 1, and no. 15 Adelphi University (1006-981) in Match 4. The Golden Falcons also earned a 953-942 triumph over Caldwell University. They were defeated by Sacred Heart, 1059-856, and Molloy College, 1032-967.
A victory over Molloy in Match 5 would have allowed the Golden Falcons to win the tournament via tiebreaker over Adelphi. Instead, Adelphi was declared the champion with a 4-1 record. Felician was one of three 3-2 teams, but finished fourth due to its losses to the other two (Sacred Heart, Molloy).
Individually, Felician senior Heather Androvich (Carteret, N.J./Carteret) shot 996 for five games (199.2) and placed 21st out of 43 in tournament average. Aumack also started all five games, totaling 904 (180.8) and placed 31st. Sophomore Kristin Verbeke (Wayne, N.J./Wayne Valley) fired 640 for three games (213.3), including a collegiate-best 225 against Adelphi, and slotted into 16th place (based on tournament average).
Sacred Heart freshman Julia Favata was the tournament Most Valuable Player with an 1186 for five games, including a 299 effort in Match 4. The All-Tournament Team consisted of Favata and Amanda Nardiello (1173) of Sacred Heart, Lena Sorrentino (1183) and Katelyn LaRocca (1123) of Adelphi, and Carly Licht (1112) of Molloy.
Felician next competes in the Fairleigh Dickinson University New Jersey Jamboree on November 1-3 in Stratford, N.J.
