By Roscoe Nance
The MEAC Bowling Championship, which will be held at the Gate City Lane in Greensboro, N.C., this weekend, shapes up as a heavyweight showdown.
In one corner is the reigning conference champion, Maryland Eastern Shore, which is also the defending national champion and is ranked fifth in the latest National Tenpins Coaches Association top 20 poll.
In the other corner is the challenger, fourth-ranked Delaware State, the runner-up in last year’s MEAC Championship.
Maryland Eastern Shore and Delaware State each was 25-5 in conference matches this season, and the coaches of both teams expect a rematch of last year’s final even though the eight-team field is teeming with highly regarded contenders. Morgan State is ranked 14th in the National Tenpin Coaches’ Association Poll and Norfolk State is 18th. North Carolina A&T, Florida A&M and Bethune-Cookman, who also received votes in the poll, and Hampton complete the field.
“If the records and rankings come true I suppose we’d be most likely to be in the finals,’’ Delaware State coach Kimberly Terrell-Kearney says, envisioning another crack at Maryland Eastern Shore.
In addition finishing the season with identical conference records, Delaware State and Maryland-Eastern were the top two teams statistically. Maryland Eastern Shore led the conference with 65,715 total pins and a 938.7 average. Delaware State was second with 58,767 total pins and a 904.7 average. The Lady Hawks had the single-game high score of the in the conference, 1,118, in the Bowie State Bulldog Invite. Delaware State had the second-high, 1,103, in the same tournament.
The level of success Delaware State has had this season is somewhat surprising to Terrell-Kearney, the 2009 MEAC Coach of the Year, who is in her second year at the helm. The Lady Hornets set a school record for victories in a season with a 110-34 mark despite having five newcomers on the squad.
”I knew we had some talented kids coming into the program,’’ Terrell-Kearney says. “I had high hopes of making the NCAA Championship and the conference championship. They have outperformed my expectations. It’s been eye-opening to see them progress. It’s been a lot of fun.’’
Freshmen Jazmyne Hefflefinger and Adriana Jaime, both named to the All-MEAC first-team, have sparked the Lady Hornets. Jaime was also named Rookie of the Year. She has a 196.8 average with a high game of 256. Jaime knocked down 12,400 total pins and 200 or better in 10 of 12 matches.
“We have student-athletes intent on getting better,’’ Terrell-Kearney says, “and they have love for the game.’’
Terrell-Kearney says the Lady Hornets success in the MEAC Championship hinges on their ability to maintain their poise and focus on the task at hand.
“We have to do what we’ve done all year,’’ she says. “We can’t get too caught up in drama and excitement. We have to rely on fundamentals and have fun with it.’’
Maryland Eastern Shore head coach Sharon Brummell acknowledges that the Lady Hawks (109-35) lack the experience of last year’s national championship squad. However, she is confident they are capable of defending their conference crown.
”We’re just as strong as we were,’’ Brummell says. “It’s a matter of everybody coming together. If we do that, we’ll be just as competitive.’’
Brummell estimates that Delaware State “probably beat us more than we beat them this year’’ and that the Lady Hornets are 80% better than they were a year. But she is undaunted.
“I hope when everything counts we can come together and overcome them,’’ Brummell says. “I hope our past experience will get over hump.’’
The status of sophomore Kristina Frahm, the 2008 MEAC Tournament MVP, is a major concern for Brummell. Frahm returned home to last week following the death of her mother. However, Brummell can’t be certain of her mental state, or that of Frahm’s teammates, who shared her grief.
“If we get past that, we can come out on top,’’ Brummell says. “We are strong enough otherwise. Hopefully, we can pull ourselves together.’’
Maria Rodriguez, the 2009 MEAC Player of the Year, averaged 200.4 with 14,032 total pins. Her 279 in the Bowie State Bulldog Invitational was the second-highest individual game in the conference this season.
Frahm (258), a first-team All-MEAC selection, and senior Sara DiScioscia (257) had the eighth and ninth highest individual games, respectively.