NEW CASTLE, Del. – By most measures, the Felician University women's bowling team put forth its best effort thus far of the 2019-20 season during the Wildcat Division II/Division III Invitational, hosted by Wilmington (Del.) University on Friday through Sunday at Bowlerama.
Felician finished fourth out of 12 teams in attendance. The Golden Falcons posted an 8-5 record in their dual matches and averaged 179.2 per game over the weekend for all formats. Felician set a program record score for a five-game Baker match, and nearly did the same for a team traditional match.
Felician completes fall-semester competition with a dual-match won-lost record of 19-24. The Golden Falcons are now idle until Jan. 24-26, 2020, when they travel to the Red Flash Invitational, hosted by Saint Francis (Pa.) University in Altoona, Pa.
The format for the weekend called for five five-game Baker matches on Friday, followed by five traditional team games on Saturday. The teams were then seeded by total pinfall into a bracket for three Baker playoff matches on Sunday. Felician ended each day in fourth place.
After dropping their first match on Friday, the Golden Falcons rebounded to win their final four. Felician concluded its day with a 1041 score in a victory over Caldwell University, a school-record for a five-game Baker match. The lineup consisted of, in order, Kaitlyn Lowey (Fords, N.J./Union Catholic), Fiona McDermott (New City, N.Y./Clarkstown South), Natalie Swindell (Beachwood, N.J./Toms River South), Jenn Ingulli (Oakhurst, N.J./Ocean Township) and Nicole Aumack (Brick, N.J./Brick Township).
Felician established another program first in traditional play. Aumack, a senior right-hander, shot 1,025 for the five matches, an average of 205.0. Swindell, a sophomore righty, fired 1,005 (201.0). It was the initial time that the Golden Falcons ever had multiple players shoot 1000+ in a traditional block consisting of five games in the same event. Aumack had a 254 game and Swindell a 243 as the Golden Falcons totaled 1036 in a Match 8 triumph over Daemen College. It was the second-best traditional team game in Felician history.
Of all participants to start at least one match, Aumack finished seventh of 71, and Swindell was 11th.
After posting a 3-2 record on Saturday, Felician fell to Molloy College, 4.5-1.5 in Sunday's first playoff match. The result set up an exciting contest against Kutztown University. The Golden Falcons jumped ahead, 3-0, only to see the Golden Bears come back to tie the match. Felician, which averaged 205.7 for the match, claimed Game 7, 222-170, to earn the victory.
In the third-place match which followed, the Golden Falcons were defeated by Molloy again, four games to two.
Chestnut Hill College won the tournament for the second consecutive year, defeating host Wilmington, 4-3, in the championship match.
