4/8/2008 4:00:00 AM MEAC Media Relations

Second- Ranked UMES Set For NCAA Women's Bowling Championship

The Lady Hawks are primed and ready. After all, their goal is to improve just one spot from last year. Well that one spot will mean the first ever NCAA National Championship for the University of Maryland Eastern Shore (UMES) and if all goes according to plan, Head Coach Sharon Brummell will have her Hawks on top of the collegiate bowling world.

The Hawks leave on Wednesday for the 2008 version of the NCAA Championships and are one of just one of four teams in the nation to have attended every event.

UMES is just on of eight teams selected via an at large process for the NCAA Championship. Also participating will be defending champion Vanderbilt, #1 Nebraska, Central Missouri, Sacred Heart, New Jersey City, Arkansas State and Minnesota State. Teams will bowl four five-person regular team games plus Baker matches, completed in four five-game sets, on Thursday, April 10, determining seeding for the double elimination match play portion which begins Friday, April 11.

If things go as hoped UMES will bowl in the championship match Saturday, April 12 at 8 p.m. live on ESPNU. It will later be replayed on Monday April 14 at 7 p.m. on ESPN2.

Fans wanting to tune in to the championships can also view the live webcast of rounds 1-4 on April 11 at www.ncaa.com. If a round five is necessary it can also be seen on the site.

UMES also qualified for the USBC National Championships.

The USBC Intercollegiate Team Championships is an event that mainly is made up of club teams from colleges around the country and has a men and women’s division champion. UMES will attend the event since they were one of the top four teams at the Sectional Qualifier held March 15-16. The Lady Hawks attended the Allentown (Pa.) Sectionals and finished third to Pikeville and Morehead State with 11,492 pins in a 64 Baker System game format.

Two seasons ago UMES attended the event and were seeded first after day one. The Hawks did not participate last season.

UMES heads back to the Midwest the weekend following the NCAA Championships to go to Northrock Lanes in Wichita Kansas, April 16-19. They are the only NCAA-DI team in the field. That championship will also be televised, this time by CBS College Sports Network.