UMES Bowlers Win Two Titles, Make History
By Roscoe Nance
When the University of Maryland Eastern Shore women's bowling team says it's No. 1, no one can dispute it.
The Lady Hawks have won an unprecedented two National championships this year to support their claim. They defeated Vanderbilt 4-2 on April 17 to capture their second NCAA crown in four years and outlasted Lindenwood 2-1 a week later for the United States Bowling Congress Intercollegiate Team Championships title.
It is the first time a school has won an NCAA women's title and an Intercollegiate Team Championships title in the same year.
"We finally proved what we already knew,'' says senior Maria Rodriguez, who along with Kristina Frahm and Martha Perez anchored the Lady Hawks' title run and were freshmen members of their 2008 NCAA championship team.
The Lady Hawks showed their championship mettle in the NCAAs and the ITC, coming from behind in the title round of each. They trailed Vanderbilt 2-1 in the NCAA Championships and were down 1-0 to Lindenwood in the Intercollegiate Championships.
Rodriguez, the MEAC Player of the Year the last three seasons and a three-time All-American, was the difference-maker for the Lady Hawks in both tournaments. With UMES leading 3-2 in the sixth game, she needed just an eight-count in the last two balls of the 10th frame to seal the title; she got a strike. Rodriguez converted a 3-6-9 spare in the final frame of the deciding game of the Intercollegiate Team Championships to give the Lady Hawks a 164-158 win.
"She's our anchor for that reason,'' Perez says. "When we need a critical shot, she can do it.''
Rodriguez says she was confident that would come through against Vanderbilt in the NCAA Championships, but she had second thoughts about her throw against Lindenwood, which came with time winding down.
"During the NCAA's, I wasn't thinking about anything,'' she says. "I was super confident. In the ITC's, I was not making my best shots. Once I threw the ball I knew it was bad. I was hoping it wasn't going to be a split. I was just hoping for a spare. I was thinking 'Everybody is going to kill me.'
The ITC title was the first for the Lady Hawks in eight appearances in the 16-team tournament.
The Lady Hawks' trio of seniors attributes their ability to come from behind and win in both championships to Coach Sharon Brummell's penchant for getting them to relax and the presence of assistant coach Doug Dukes, who returned to the team in February after a two-year absence to spend more time with his family.
"It was her letting us take over rather than standing there saying you got to do this or you got to do that,'' Frahm says. "We were so relaxed. We knew we had the team to win. We just had to make quality shots.''
With Dukes back giving them pointers, the team's confidence that they could make quality shots soared. He excels at reading lanes and giving advice about what moves are needed.
"With Coach Dukes back it gave us extra confidence,'' Perez says. "We knew we were going to win.''
Brummell downplays her role in the Lady Hawks' success formula.
"A lot of it had to do with the maturity and experience of this team,'' she says. "The seniors got a lot better as they got older. They were smarter and able to pass on their experience to the younger players.''
As for Dukes' contribution since returning, Brummell says he "has given everybody a lot of more knowledge about the game. He was able to fix a few things and the get girls lined up and make adjustments.''
With those ingredients in place, Brummell says she was able to get out of the way and let things fall into place.
"These young ladies are very talented and smart about the game,'' she says. "I let them do what they do best -- bowl. They have proved they know what they're doing. I let them go and not have the pressure from me saying do this, do that.''
However, Brummell made a move in the NCAA Championship that played key role in the Lady Hawks' victory. She substituted T'nia Falbo for leadoff bowler Paula Vilas, who had been one the team's most consistent performers in the tournament. Vilas left an open frame in the first frame of the second game and another in the sixth frame as Vanderbilt won 193-164. Vanderbilt won Game three 248-201, but the Lady Hawks had five strikes as they got back on their game after being down 2-1.
"She didn't have a shot,'' Brummell says of Vilas. "We're a team. If somebody is struggling, I'm taking them out. You have to get lined up and make shots. All seven of them are good bowlers. Pros struggle. They're going to struggle. The gamble would have been to leave Paula in there and hope she would find her shot. We probably would have lost. We had confidence in T'nia.''
Prior to taking their place in history by winning double titles, the Lady Hawks were already solidly entrenched as one of the top programs in the country. They have competed in all eight bowling Championships since the NCAA established them 2004.
The Lady Hawks finished seventh in each of their first three NCAA appearances. They picked up their first postseason victory in 2007 as they finished second. With Rodriguez, Frahm and Perez on board, they won the 2008 National Championship for the first NCAA title in school history. It was also the first NCAA women's team title for an HBCU.
After their success as freshmen, the trio expected more National Championships would follow.
"It was pretty frustrating (not to win another championship),'' Perez says. "We knew we had a talented team. Maybe we didn't work hard enough, didn't want it enough. It wasn't meant to be, but what better time than your last year to win another championship? We wanted that feeling back.''
Frahm, a three-time All-American and the Most Outstanding Bowler at the NCAA Championships says she entered each of the last three seasons knowing that the Lady Hawks would be contenders for the National Championship, but she didn't have a feel for how far they could go. The difference this season, she says, was the team's camaraderie. Team members spent more time together away from the lanes. They frequently had dinner together and went out for movie nights.
"We were close,'' Frahm says. "We're like a family. Our personalities meshed.''