The Hawks earned the fifth seed in the 2013 NCAA Women’s Bowling Championship tonight after finishing the evening block a perfect 3-0.  That was the same seed they were last year when the University of Maryland Eastern Shore (UMES) claimed their third NCAA Championship.

The top eight teams bowled today for seeding and while UMES struggled early, going 0-3, they rebounded to win their last four, elevating themselves to the fifth spot.  They will take on the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater, the No 4 seed tomorrow morning.  This is the Warhawks first appearance in the NCAA Championships.

While the record wasn’t want they wanted UMES never bowled bad.  Along with top seed Nebraska, the two powerhouse programs were the only two to break 7,000 in pinfall.  The Hawks tallied 7,154 pins while the Huskers knocked down 7,201, just 47 pins more.

UMES used a 259 from First-Team All-American Anggie Ramirez (Bogota, Colombia) and a 224 from another All-American Kristie Lopez (Ponce, Puerto Rico) to defeat Sam Houston State by 242 pins, 1038-796. 

Sam Houston though had a solid outing, going 5-2 on the day and getting the third seed via tiebreaker.

UMES gave them their final loss of the day, 1026-898, getting a 210 from Megan Buja (Rockford, Ill.), a 215 from Ramirez and a 235 from Falbo.

Bracket play begins tommorrow at 11:40 a.m.  The matchups are:

No. 1 Nebraska vs. No 8. Central Missouri

No 2. Fairleigh Dickinson vs. No 7. Vanderbilt

No 3. Sam Houston State vs. No 6. Arkansas State

No 4. Wisconsin-Whitewater vs. No 5. Maryland Eastern Shore

If UMES wins they face the winner of Nebraska and Central Missouri.  They need to win four matches tomorrow to secure a spot in the finals.

In the Baker format, each of the five team members, in order, bowls a complete frame until a complete (10-frame) game is bowled. A Baker match tied 3½ games to 3½ games after seven games will be decided by a tiebreaker using the Modified Baker format.

The championship final will air on ESPNU Saturday, April 13 at 8 p.m. Eastern Time. Limited tickets are available and can be purchased at Super Bowl Lanes. A tape delay broadcast of the championship finals will air on ESPN Sunday, April 14 from 2 - 3:30 p.m. Eastern Time.

For the complete story visit, www.umeshawks.com