After   getting   off   to   a   so-so   start   in   the   qualifying   rounds   of   the   2012 Intercollegiate  Team  Championships  (ITCs),  Maryland  Eastern  Shore  (UMES) showed signs of fatigue from bowling 24 games.  They opened the double-elimination round against the 12th seeded Newman Jets, falling 4-0 but rebounded to eliminate Wright State 4-2 in the second and final match of the night.

The Hawks are the fifth-seed in the event, the same seed they were last year when they won the title and the same seed as last week before winning the 2012 NCAA Championship.

In the first match UMES fell 162-167, 197-231, 169-184 in the first three games and lost by just one pin in game four.  The Hawks opened that final game throwing strike, spare, strike, spare but found themselves down by 13 pins in the eighth frame after opening in the sixth frame.  Newman opened but then threw three strikes in a row.  After the Hawks and Jets exchanged strikes in the ninth the clutch anchor, T'nia Falbo shot a spare and strike in the tenth but Newman only needed eight pins.  They got nine and missed the single-pin spare, giving them the one pin lead.

In the second match UMES struggled early but got a break when Wright State opened in the eighth and ninth frames, allowing Falbo to strike out to secure the win, 178-171.  The Hawks would cruise to a game two win, 230-181, striking out the last six frames.  Game three, saw UMES throw just a 170 and allowed the Raiders to win with a 196.

In  a  match  reminiscent  of  the  NCAA  finals,  UMES  took  the  game  four  win  188-121  but  allowed Wright State to make it 3-2, falling 182-190 in game five.  UMES cruised in game six, 203-178 to secure the win and advance to tomorrow's matches.

For the complete story, visit www.umeshawks.com