UMES takes third straight Kutztown title
READING, Pa. — The UMES women’s bowling team likes Reading, Pa. and Heister Lanes, the site of the Kutztown Invitational. Some would say it’s been good to them, others might suggest even renaming the event after the Hawks. That’s because today the Hawks won their third straight and fourth overall tournament title in the six years Kutztown has been hosting the event. They also have an individual and team 300 at those lanes and a second-place finish for good measure.
But in the 2014 version, UMES, seeded fourth heading into the final bracket, topped second-seeded Wisconsin-Whitewater 4-2 in the finals to claim the title and along the way knocked down top-seeded Fairleigh Dickinson (FDU) and third-seeded Vanderbilt.
That can be easily witnessed in one glaring statistic this season. In Baker matches UMES now stands at 33-0, undefeated in the team format.
UMES opened with the third-seed, Vanderbilt and the two rivals traded blows like heavyweight fighters. The Commodores took game one 204-193 but the Hawks rebounded to take game two 235-213. Vandy struck again in game three, 218-201. UMES quickly tied the match in game four with a 204-186 win. They took the lead in game five with a 204-171 win. Needing one more to win the Hawks were in a position to get it but missed a spare and tied game six at 190. Vanderbilt won game seven 168-160 and force a tiebreaker. UMES dominated the five-frame set 129-103 and advanced to the second round.
In the second match of the day UMES would face top-seed FDU who fell in the opener to Wisconsin-Whitewater (UWW). The Hawks would trot out the same lineup to face the Knights. Megan Buja, Victoria Jones, Tatiana Munoz would again lead-off the Hawk attack. Mariana Alvarado and Sara Pelayo would switch places in the fourth and fifth spots. They were shaky to start with FDU taking game one 222-159. UMES rebounded to take game two 205-198 despite struggling on the lanes. Alvarado went back into anchor in the second game and it paid off as she doubled in tenth frame to secure the win.
In game three the Hawks took advantage of a pair of missed spares from FDU to win 199-189. Game four went to FDU to tie the match at two apiece. Both teams missed spares late in the game but a Knight strike in the ninth secured the win.
Game five looked to be going FDU’s way with four straight strikes. But things looked up as the Knights then missed four spares in a row. UMES took advantage with a double in the tenth to leave FDU without numbers and was a 202-190 win.
Game six saw the Hawks post a turkey (three strikes in a row) early and an impressive 3-6-7 spare conversion from Jones. They looked ready to win but Pelayo left an 8-pin in the ninth and FDU threw their own turkey to close the gap. Like she did all day Alvarado stepped up big again and struck in the tenth to give UMES the 205-203 win and a ticket to the finals to meet UWW.
Next up was Wisconsin-Whitewater, the alma mater of Assistant Coach Tyler Schmitz. The battle of the Hawks and WarHawks was on and UMES got off to a rocky start. Despite starting with four in a row, the Hawks left three splits in a row to end the match and fall 216-183.
Game two was more to UMES’ liking. They took that game 208-171. In game three the match went back and forth. When it came down to the tenth UWW could win by striking out. That would give them a one pin win, but it wasn’t to be and the spare and strike combination meant UMES won 203-193.
In the next game the Hawks took a commanding lead, so commanding that they split in the tenth and still won, 182-173. Up 3-1 UMES struggled in game five and fell 182-168.
Game six was a pressure cooker. The two teams went back and forth but UWW held a slim lead throughout. Every time UMES marked, the WarHawks matched them. It seemed like the match was heading toward a game seven. But Munoz, now bowling in the fourth spot, struck in the ninth and Wisconsin-Whitewater spared. That left the door open for Alvarado. With ice water in her veins she calmly drilled the first ball into the pocket for a strike. UWW needed a strike to ensure a win. They didn’t get it. Alvarado walked up again and the arm was on repeat, drilling the pocket for a second strike. UWW had to convert. They did, setting up a dramatic fill-ball fight.
If Alvarado stuck, Wisconsin-Whitewater could do the same to force a tie at 206. If Alvarado missed, UWW had to get more to win. Alvarado made sure that was impossible, again drilling the pocket and ensuring at least a tie. The junior All-American was cold-blooded in the anchor spot, feeling no pressure. The WarHawk anchor wasn’t as confident, throwing a good shot, but getting just nine and giving UMES the 206-205 win.
UMES heads to Arlington, Texas this coming weekend for the Prairie View Invitational a tournament they took runner-up honors in last year.
For her efforts, Alvarado was named to the All-Tournament Team of the Kutztown Invitational. She was seventh overall with a 211 average. Munoz, who only bowled five of the six team games was also top ten in average, sporting over a 210.
Bethune-Cookman places 15th at Kutztown Invitational
READING, Pa. – The Bethune-Cookman University bowling team took part in bracket competition on Sunday, finishing up the three-day Kutztown Invitational housed at Heister Lanes. As the largest tournament in the NCAA for the fourth consecutive year, the three-day event was hosted by Kutztown University.
Bethune-Cookman went 5-1 in Traditional matches on Saturday, turning around a 3-3 showing in Baker matches from the first day of the tournament.
On Sunday, B-CU entered the bracket competition in 13th place. The Wildcats rolled against Monmouth in their opening match, falling to the Hawks in a tough match. The Cats then fell to St. Francis-New York, before taking out conference opponent Morgan State in the final match of the day.
That win allowed the Cats to finish 15th overall in a tournament field that included 26 teams, as well as 11 teams ranked in the latest NTCA Top 20 poll.
Bethune-Cookman gets back to the lanes on Friday, Jan. 31, traveling to Texas for the Prairie View Invitational. The event will serve as a three-day tournament.
Aspiras Named MVP at Kutztown Invitational
READING, Pa. – Senior Thea Aspiras was named the Most Valuable Player in helping the Norfolk State bowling team place seventh at the Kutztown Invitational over the weekend at the Hiester Lanes.
In a loaded field that featured 14 ranked teams, Aspiras topped all bowlers by averaging 222.8 in six games on Saturday. The Spartans ended the weekend with an 11-4 overall record, finishing Sunday’s bracket play in the same seventh place that they found themselves after Saturday.
Aspiras ended Saturday’s team play eight pins ahead of the next highest bowler thanks to four 200 games, including a 259 in the first game. She was not the only Spartan to have a solid weekend, as junior Kelsea Yarbrough averaged 205.5 in six games and just missed all-tournament honors.
Junior Delilah Bethel posted a 197.3 average in six games as well. Junior Courtney Brown posted a 178.8 average in five games, while freshman Nicole Rivera Santiago had a 180.3 average in four games. Juniors Emily Weber and Ashley Buck combined to bowl in the other three games.
The Spartans went 5-1 on Saturday, winning five straight to start the day. It began with a 1,013-986 win over No. 12 Sacred Heart. They followed it up with a victory over Mt. Aloysius, 968-566, and then downed No. 13 Adelphi, 952-892.
Two more wins followed, a 982-814 victory over PSU Altoona and a 1,062-915 triumph over No. 9 Kutztown. No. 11 St. Francis (Pa.) handed NSU its only loss on the day in the final match, 936-892.
The Spartans opened up the tournament on Friday in Baker play with an 881-690 loss to No. 4 Fairleigh Dickinson. NSU then won two in a row, 728-473 over Medaille and 818-531 to Pitt-Bradford. Another loss followed for NSU, 752-689 to No. 20 LIU Brooklyn.
NSU rebounded with two more wins over ranked teams, 739-713 over No. 18 Monmouth and 788-713 against No. 17 St. Francis Brooklyn. The Spartans were ninth in total pinfall at 4,452 after Friday’s opening round before jumping up to seventh after Saturday with 10,321.
In the Baker bracket round on Sunday, seventh-seeded NSU fell to No. 5 Stephen F. Austin, 4-1, before bouncing back with a 4-2 victory over St. Francis (Pa.). The Spartans wrapped up the tournament by knocking off North Carolina A&T for seventh place, 4-2.
NSU will be back on the road at the Prairie View A&M Invitational next weekend.