Story courtesy of the Northeast Conference
2010 Northeast Conference Bowling Championship: Lower Seeds Succeed on First Day
3/20/2010
Elmwood Park, NJ - Throw the seeding out the window. The Northeast Conference Bowling Championship bracket was turned upside down on the first day of the league's second annual postseason tournament. No. 5 seed Fairleigh Dickinson, the defending champion, and No. 6 seed Sacred Heart each won a pair of matches to advance into Sunday's semifinal round unscathed.
No. 2 seed Kutztown and No. 4 seed Adelphi are the other two teams that survived day one at Parkway Lanes, but both have a blemish on their records and will be eliminated if they incur another loss.
"This is a sample of how high a level of competition our conference creates," said Fairleigh Dickinson head coach Michael Lopresti. "It doesn't matter where you are seeded. Any one of us is strong enough to win this tournament."
Kutztown's Joe Ambrose had a similar take.
"Seeding means nothing at our tournament," said Ambrose, whose Golden Bears ousted top-seeded New Jersey City, 4-1, in an elimination match on Saturday afternoon.
Six of the eight teams that comprise the NEC Tournament bracket are ranked amongst the nation's top-13 teams in the latest edition of the National Tenpin Coaches Association Top 20 Poll. Fairleigh Dickinson holds the highest national ranking - No. 3 - of the group, but its 7-7 regular season NEC record was only good enough to land the No. 5 seed in this weekend's championship tournament.
Kutztown's backs will be up against the wall when they face Sacred Heart to open play on Sunday while Adelphi will be in the same predicament as it faces FDU. Both matches are slated to begin at 10:35 am EST.
The double-elimination tournament consists strictly of best-of-seven baker play. The first team to win four 10-frame baker games takes the match.
Fairleigh Dickinson, which defeated Kutztown in the 2009 NEC final, began its title defense by besting No. 4 seed Adelphi, 4-1, in a first round matchup.
"The game plan worked to perfection in that first match," commented Lopresti. "Sara [Litteral] was key for us in the No. 4 hole, setting up Danielle [McEwan] at anchor."
Litteral (Chesterfield, MI/L'anse Creuse North) threw eight strikes and filled all 10 frames she bowled against Adelphi before leaving only one of eight frames open in FDU's second round sweep of top-seeded NJCU. Sophomore teammate Joely Carrillo (Clifton, NJ/Paramus Catholic) was equally as impressive in the first round victory, filling 10 of 10 frames and bowling eight strikes.
Fresh off receiving the NEC Rookie of the Year award at last night's championship banquet, McEwan (Stony Point, NY/North Rockland) was on fire from the start. The FDU freshman filled 18 of 18 frames over the Knights' two matches.
The conference's top rookie looked like a seasoned veteran in the first game of Fairleigh Dickinson's triumph over New Jersey City. McEwan punched out the 10th frame, rolling three straight strikes, of game one to lift the Knights to a narrow 197-191 victory. That performance appeared to spark FDU, which took each of the next three games from NJCU by no fewer than 26 pins.
Adelphi, which rolled a 257 to even its opening match against FDU at 1-1 before dropping the ensuing three games by a combined 191 pins, bounced back to win its next two matches and keep its title hopes alive. The Panthers swept No. 8 seed Long Island, 4-0, in an elimination match before handing No. 7 seed Saint Peter's a 4-1 defeat that sent the Peahens home.
Despite falling victim to an opening round upset, Kutztown managed to find its way back to the tournament's final day for the second consecutive year. The Golden Bears fell to Saint Peter's in a match that needed two baker roll-offs before a winner was decided.
"I have to give my team a lot of credit for coming back following an emotional match with Saint Peter's," said Ambrose.
Kutztown, which accounted for a 201 baker game average for the day, responded by ousting both No. 3 seed St. Francis (NY) and NEC regular season champion New Jersey City.
Sophomore Kayla Jones (Johnstown, PA/Westmont Hilltop) was key to KU's comeback as was freshman Heather Shoemaker (West Milton, PA/Lewisburg). The former struck in nearly 50 percent of the time throughout the day, and the latter rolled 7 strikes in 10 attempts against NJCU.
Sacred Heart cruised past St. Francis, 4-0, in its first match before surviving a scare from Saint Peter's in the second round. The Pioneers held a 3.5 to 0.5 lead before the Peahens stormed back to even up the match. SHU hung on by winning the modified baker roll-off tiebreaker, which consists of a mini five-frame game, by a 109-75 margin.
Three of Sacred Heart's starters were locked in throughout both matches.
Junior Sarah Pelletier (Lewiston, ME/Lewiston), the team's anchor, posted a 19.65 baker frame average and left only three opens all day. Sophomore Nicole Caggiano (Woodbridge, NJ/Woodbridge) and senior Marissa Gagliardi (North Branford, CT/North Branford) each filled 20 of 22 frames bowled.
Match 1
#1 New Jersey City 4, #8 Long Island 1
(211-103, 140-163, 162-133, 173-131, 179-134)
Match 2
#5 Fairleigh Dickinson 4, #4 Adelphi 1
(210-176, 240-257, 182-143, 258-188, 236-154)
Match 3
#6 Sacred Heart 4, #3 St. Francis (NY) 0
(177-173, 212-203, 189-169, 180-171)
Match 4
#7 Saint Peter's 3.5, #2 Kutztown 3.5 (*SPC wins double roll-off)
(172-197, 140-192, 199-155, 146-163, 159-138, 182-172, 177-177, 167-162*)
Match 5
#5 Fairleigh Dickinson 4, #1 New Jersey City 0
(197-191, 181-147, 206-180, 215-180)
Match 6
#6 Sacred Heart 3.5, #7 Saint Peter's 3.5 (*SHU wins baker roll-off)
(194-126, 189-189, 192-172, 170-167, 144-175, 193-209, 162-153, 109-75*)
Match 7
#4 Adelphi 4, #8 Long Island 0
(226-127, 191-159, 178-150, 198-138)
Match 8
Kutztown 4.5, St Francis (NY) 2.5
(171-198, 164-152, 169-169, 170-180, 168-146, 198-158, 177-131)
Match 9
#4 Adelphi 4, #7 Saint Peters 1
(171-118, 201-200, 157-144, 175-178, 200-161)
Match 10
#2 Kutztown 4, #1 New Jersey City 1
(208-146, 217-178, 179-166, 202-217, 201-176)