TOWSON, Md. – Freshman right-hander Nicole Aumack (Brick, N.J./Brick Township) was named to the all-tournament team in leading the Felician University women's bowling squad to a third-place finish out of 13 schools at the James Brown Invitational, hosted by Morgan State University on Friday through Sunday at AMF Towson Lanes.
The third-place result was Felician's best tournament finish of the 2016-17 season. The Golden Falcons also matched their top tournament dual-match record of the campaign by going 9-3. They were 4-2 against nationally-ranked opponents.
During Saturday's five traditional team matches, Aumack set a Felician record by shooting 1,004, one pin better than teammate Kristen Keller's (Reading, Pa./Schuylkill Valley) previous school mark. Her total included a season-high 239 game in a victory over Saint Peter's University. Aumack's 200.8 average was good for fourth place out of 90 entrants, nabbing one of five all-tournament spots.
The tournament format called for five 5-game Baker matches on Friday, followed by Saturday's traditional match play. The teams were ranked by total pinfall and bracketed for Sunday's three best-of-seven Baker playoff matches.
Felician, which had a bye on Friday to the event's odd number of teams, finished 2-2 after Day 1, including a narrow 945-942 win over No. 25-ranked St. Francis College-Brooklyn. With either Keller or Aumack handling "anchor" responsibilities, the Golden Falcons averaged 169.7 for the day.
Saturday's traditional round was a strong one for the Golden Falcons, with four different bowlers shooting a total of six 200+ games. They went 4-1 on the day, with the only loss coming to No. 15 Saint Francis (Pa.) University. Felician finished the evening with an 853-804 triumph over No. 22 Norfolk State University, and entered Sunday in fifth place. As a team, Felician averaged 180.5 for the traditional portion of the tournament.
The Golden Falcons then went 3-0 on Sunday, with seven-game wins over Howard University and Norfolk State. They secured third place by sweeping St. Francis-Brooklyn.
In addition to Aumack, Keller and junior Jessica Zalewski (Barnegat, N.J./Barnegat) started at least four traditional matches. Zalewski shot 748 for four matches (187.0 average) and placed 14th in the individual field, while Keller made five starts, felled 892 pins (178.4) and finished 25th.
St. Francis (Pa.) defeated No. 12 Monmouth University in the championship match on Sunday to win the tournament. The Red Flash went 11-1 in dual matches for the tournament.
Felician saw its won-lost record for the season improve to 39-30. The Golden Falcons are back in action next Saturday and Sunday, Feb. 25 and 26, at two single-day tournaments hosted by Molloy College in Mineola, N.Y.
