BY TIM MORRIS
Staff Writer
Lisa Friscioni sure knows how to go out in style.As a senior at Howell High School, Friscioni led the Rebels to the 2002 bowling state championship while garnering all-state honors herself.
This spring, as a senior at Fairleigh Dickinson Univer-sity, she was back at it again, leading FDU’s women to the national championship while being named the tournament’s Most Valuable Player.
FDU defeated Alabama A&M, 4-1, in the nationally televised final in Houston, Texas, on April 15.
The Knights drew first blood 209-179, but Alabama A&M took the second game 184-148 to even the score.
But, led by Friscioni, the Knights won the next three games (172-165, 200-179, 196-165) to claim the NCAA championship, the school’s first.
Friscioni, who was the Knights’ anchor, was almost speechless after the win.
“You can’t even put it into words,” she said.
“When we started, our one goal was to win it all. This has been such a great year and everything just clicked.
“We all had the same goal and same mind-set, and I couldn’t have picked a better group of people to do this with.”
Along with the team title, Friscioni had the best score in the individual competition, averaging 219 over the four games. Her teammate Rebecca Ketcham ranked fourth (201), while the Knights’ Kristina Szalay, who was named All-Tournament with Friscioni, was 16th.
Friscioni and Szalay, both seniors, were the first recruits of coach Mike LoPresti.
In the finals, Friscioni struck on eight of her 16 first-ball attempts and three-of-four in game five.
“There’s no difference between the shot in practice and the shot here, except for the pressure,” said Friscioni. “The pressure is what you make it. If you let it affect you, it does. All you can do is make a good shot and let the pins fall where they may.”
According to FDU Coach LoPresti, Friscioni bowled as well as she ever has in Houston.
“Lisa was well-deserving of the honor, she by far turned in the clutch performance of her career,” said LoPresti. “Every time we needed a strike in a 10-frame, she got it. She saved her best performance for last and this is a great way for her to end her career.
“To see how she has grown in four years into arguably the best player in the country right now is quite remarkable,” he added. “
Friscioni’s NCAA laurels were only the latest in long list of accomplishments for the Howell grad. Earlier in the season, she won the ECAC singles championship and was named All-Tournament as the Knights won the team title, their sixth team championship of the season to that point.
This was FDU’s third straight ap-pearance at the NCAA’s. The Knights were fourth in ’04 and third in ’05. In ’04, she made the All-Tournament Team. In her three NCAA tournaments, the ex-Rebel averaged 219.
As a freshman, she rolled FDU’s first-ever 300 game.
To Dave Clampffer, Howell High School’s bowling coach, Friscioni’s success was not unexpected.
“There was something special about her,” he said. “I’m not surprised she did well in college. She always had the determination and work ethic.”
When Friscioni first entered Howell, Clampffer recalled, there was no bowling program.
“She started on the boys team as a sophomore,” he noted.
The next year, the Howell girls program, started and led by Friscioni, finished seventh at the state championships. Her senior year, Howell won it all, and she was first team all-state. Now she is an NCAA champion and MVP.