STRATFORD, N.J. – The Felician University women's bowling team recovered from a sluggish opening day to post a 7-5 dual-match record and finish ninth out of 15 teams at the New Jersey Jamboree, hosted by Fairleigh Dickinson University on Friday through Sunday at 30 Strikes Bowling Center.
Individually, Felician senior right-hander Alex Laurenzano (Brick, N.J./Brick Township) placed 16th out of 102 entrants. Laurenzano was one of three Golden Falcons to start all five traditional matches on Saturday. She rolled a 959 for the day (191.8 average), closing with a 224 in a victory over No. 21 nationally-ranked St. Francis College-Brooklyn.
The tournament format called for five 5-game Baker matches on Friday, followed by Saturday's five traditional games. The dual match-ups were based on season RPI rankings. The teams were then arranged into a playoff bracket for Sunday's competition, which consisted of three best-of-seven Baker matches.
Felician drew a bye in Match 4 on Friday, against which it shot 905. But that was its highest score of the day. The Golden Falcons averaged 171.3 for their 25 Baker games, and struggled to a 1-3 record. Felician edged Chestnut Hill College, 851-834, in Match 3 for its only victory on Friday.
Saturday's traditional play was more to the Golden Falcons' liking. Led by Laurenzano and a 914 (182.8 average) from senior Jessica Zalewski (Barnegat, N.J./Barnegat), Felician bowled to a day's average of 182.0 and put up a 4-1 record. The latter figure included wins over nationally-ranked Adelphi (No. 15) and St. Francis-Brooklyn.
After completing Friday in 12th place, Felician moved up to 10th after Saturday's competition, and was aligned once again to face ninth-place St. Francis-Brooklyn in Sunday's first playoff match. Trailing 3-2, the Golden Falcons captured Game 6, 211-120, and Game 7, 204-146.
Felician suffered a five-game loss to Kutztown before completing the weekend with a 4-0 win over Chestnut Hill. Both triumphs on Sunday came with Zalewski in the "anchor" position. For the tournament, the Golden Falcons were 3-3 versus nationally-ranked opposition.
Senior Heather Androvich (Carteret, N.J./Carteret) shot 874 for her five traditional games and finished 35th overall. Sophomore Nicole Aumack (Brick, N.J./Brick Township) averaged 195.5 in four starts, and senior Kristen Keller (Reading, Pa./Schuylkill Valley) started four matches and shot 723 (180.8).
No. 9-ranked Sacred Heart University defeated No. 8 and host FDU, four games to two, in the championship match to win the tournament. Sacred Heart went 12-1 on the weekend.
Felician is off until the Wildcat Invitational, hosted by Wilmington (Del.) University on Dec. 1-3 in New Castle, Del.
