9/19/2014 1:19:00 PM Associated Press

UMES ANNOUNCES ITS 2014-2015 BOWLING SCHEDULE

PRINCESS ANNE, Md.--The University of Maryland Eastern Shore (UMES) Women's Bowling team has released its 2014-2015 schedule, which will feature the same competitive type of schedule that Hawk fans have become used to while including a new event for the Hawks.

Second-year head coach Kayla Bandy opens the first season with her own recruiting class on October 31 through November 2 with the Fairleigh Dickinson University New Jersey Jamboree. UMES struggled in that event last year to a ninth place finish but did post a solid 9-3 record at the event, including a win over Vanderbilt in Bandy’s first match as coach.

The following weekend (11/8-9/14) they attend their first of three Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) events, this one in Washington, D.C. UMES then hosts their home event, the Hawk Classic Invitational at Millsboro Lanes, in Millsboro, Del from November 14-16. UMES has won the last two Hawk Classic events and looks for the trifecta in November.

The Hawks bowl just once in December, the 6-7 hosting a MEAC match in Millsboro, Del.

In 2014 UMES returns to the lanes for six events, including a trip to the Mid-Winter Invitational, hosted by Arkansas State, January 16-18. It will be a return trip to the event that traditionally features some strong competition from the schools in the Central Region. The Hawks won the event in 2010.

Three weeks later they head to a tournament they won the last three years, the Kutztown Invitational, from January 23-25. The event has been good to the Hawks and has seen them roll both individual and team 300 games.

The following weekend (1/30-2/1) the Hawks head to Arlington, Texas for the Prairie View Invitational, held at the International Training and Research Center (ITRC). After a couple of weekends off from competition, the Hawks head back to Texas, bowling in the first ever SFA Jacks Invite, hosted by Stephen F. Austin University, February 20-22.

The last MEAC match of the regular season will be bowled on February 28-March 1 in Baltimore, Md. The following weekend (3/6-8/14) UMES goes to their last NCAA event of the regular season, the Music City Classic in Smyrna, Tenn. They were third at the event last season and as the nation’s largest NCAA bowling event, is a good tune-up for the post-season.

The post-season begins with The United States Bowling Congress (USBC) Sectional Qualifier, which will be March 14-15 at a location that has yet to be determined by the USBC.

The championship portion of the schedule for UMES kicks off with the MEAC Championships held from March 20-22, where they look to defend their back-to-back conference titles if they qualify as one of the top four teams in the northern division.

After a couple weeks off, the Hawks hope to attend the NCAA Championships which will be held from April 9-11 in St. Louis, Mo., a new site for the championships where they will look for their fourth NCAA Championship in the sport. The Hawks then hope to close out their year at the USBC Intercollegiate Team Championships, held in Wichita, Kansas on April 16-18. To earn that bid they would need to finish fourth or higher at the sectional event in March. A win there would be the programs third USBC Collegiate National Championship.

“It’s a strong schedule,” said Bandy. “We are excited; we have a strong mix of events in both the east and central regions and in our traditional conference play. It should test us and really prepare us for post-season play.”