Hawks enjoy record-setting day
MILLSBORO, Del. — The 2014 portion of the 2014-15 season concluded for the University of Maryland Eastern Shore (UMES) women’s bowling team today as they completed the second day of Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) Northern Division Meet No. 2. And they did it in record setting fashion. The Hawks not only went 5-0 on the day to improve to 20-0 on the season in league play, but they tossed the highest ever score for the program in the five-game Baker format.
UMES set the record with an 1106 against Coppin State in the second match of the day. The Eagles only mustered a 656 against the Hawks, a score UMES took just three games and three frames to amass. They exploded for games of 204, 206, 193, 248 and 255, impressive scores in the Baker format where each player rolls two frames in the game.
But the Hawks weren’t done there. They opened the day with an 871-566 win over Hampton and followed up the record with a 984-892 win over 19th-ranked Delaware State. The fourth game saw UMES toss another impressive score, a 1040 against Morgan State. The Bears had just a 781, more than a 250 pin difference. They rolled scores of 198, 233, 208, 177 and 224 in a game that entered the record books as the fourth-highest five-game Baker total in school history. UMES then dropped a 997 bomb in a win over Howard, the ninth highest score for the Hawk record books. The Bison posted an 860 in defeat.
With three scores of the Hawks’ five matches today ranking in the top ten in the record books, it was safe to say it was a good day on the lanes for UMES.
While the lineup changed from match to match, it usually started with Tatiana Munoz and Victoria Jones and ended with Valerie Riggin, Thashaina Seraus and Mariana Alvarado in the third, fourth and fifth spots. Even freshman Melanie Copey got in on the action, starting several matches, including the record setting match against Coppin State.
This season at Millsboro Lanes in Millsboro, Del. UMES is now 19-6 for their home record. They extend their MEAC record to 20-0 and are now 36-13 on the year. The perfect weekend guarantees UMES a spot in the MEAC Championship in March.
This is the second of three conference meets for the teams in the MEAC season. UMES is a perfect 20-0 in the north while Delaware State went 8-2 on the weekend to improve to 15-5. Morgan State was 6-4 to improve to 12-8 while Howard went 4-6 to go to 9-11 in the conference. Coppin State went 0-10 on the weekend, suffering losses to previous winless Hampton who went 2-8. The two are now tied for fifth place in the northern division with 2-18 records.
UMES now heads into finals this week and then the winter break. They return to the lanes January 16-18, 2015 at the Mid-Winter Classic, hosted by Arkansas State.
For complete story, visit www.umeshawks.com
Spartans Rebound to Finish 7-1 at MEAC Southern Divisional
NORFOLK, Va. – A little home cooking was all the Norfolk State bowling team needed to rebound from its disappointing finish at the first MEAC Southern Divisional of the year. On its home alley, Spartan Lanes, NSU went 7-1 over the weekend at the second divisional of the season.
The host Spartans won all four of their Baker matches on Sunday and only fell to Florida A&M on Saturday in traditional play. NSU now stands 10-6 overall in the conference. The team closed the gap on first-place North Carolina A&T, which owns a 12-4 MEAC record.
Of those four losses on the year for the Aggies, three were at the hands of NSU, including both matches this weekend. The No. 13 Aggies finished 5-3 overall, with Bethune-Cookman and Florida A&M both going 4-4. North Carolina Central dropped all eight of its matches.
All five NSU bowlers averaged at least 181 on Saturday in traditional play, led by senior Kelsea Yarbrough. She posted a 215.0 average in all four games, easily the best tournament performance of her career. She finished third over the weekend in terms of overall individual averages.
Yarbrough and her teammates had the unfortunate circumstance of playing Florida A&M first on Saturday, as the Rattlers had their best match of the tournament by far against the Spartans. FAMU won that opening contest, 1,027-889.
NSU shook it off, though, to win the next three matches after the bye. It began with a takedown of first-place N.C. A&T, 1,007-922, and continued with a dominating win over N.C. Central, 1,005-701. Bethune-Cookman was NSU’s next victim, 957-905, in the last match of the day.
Yarbrough had a career-high 238 in that last match, while senior Courtney Brown bowled a career-best 254 to pace NSU’s win over the Aggies. Brown finished with the second-highest average on the team, 193.5 in four games, also a career best in terms of tournament average.
Junior Carrie Hickey tallied a 189.0 average in four games, while senior Ashley Buck finished with a 185.3 average. Like Buck, sophomore Nicole Rivera Santiago also competed in all four games and rounded out the NSU lineup with a 181.8 average.
In Baker play on Sunday, NSU again saved the best for N.C. A&T. In the third match of the day, the Spartans averaged 237.6 in five games to defeat the Aggies, 1,188-945. The Spartans bookended the win with games of 268 and 269.
NSU had opened up the day with a 954-917 win over Bethune-Cookman. The Spartans struggled but still defeated N.C. Central, 848-740, in the second match before taking on the Aggies. After a bye, NSU closed out the day with an 876-828 victory over Florida A&M.
The third and final divisional will be held Feb. 28-March 1 in Tallahassee, Fla. NSU will next compete at the Fred Underwood Classic from Jan. 16-18 in Laurel, Md., and hosted by Bowie State.
For complete story, visit www.nsuspartans.com