UMES wins Mid-Winter Invitational Championship
JONESBORO, Ark. — After a rough first half of the women’s collegiate bowling season, the Hawks of the University of Maryland Eastern Shore (UMES) dropped in the national rankings to ninth place.
Head Coach Kayla Bandy knew her team was better than that and after some solid work on the lanes, team bonding and a renewed focus on the roster, the team showed today that they are a lot better than ninth. UMES topped No. 1 Nebraska and No. 3 and host Arkansas State today to claim the championship at the 2015 Mid-Winter Invitational, an event featuring eight of the top nine teams in the country.
UMES took the opening day of the event on Friday to figure out the lanes, posting a 3-2 record and finishing in fourth place. Day two, other than an uncharacteristic loss to McKendree, saw the Hawks post four solid wins and climbed all the way up to second in the standings, including tossing the highest game of the event. That set up today’s outcome.
UMES opened the day facing off against the nation’s No. 1 team, Nebraska. The Huskers led the first two days wire to wire and were over 400 pins ahead of the Hawks, but that certainly didn’t faze UMES. After a rough game one, where the Hawks seemed out-matched, 204-145, the team regrouped and rolled from there.
In the best four-of-seven Baker format match, UMES got their four wins quickly, posting wins of 184-182, 240-192, 171-169 and 269-181. That win was a statement for the Hawks, who hadn’t seen the top team all season head-to-head, but proved that they are certainly on par with the Huskers. The Hawks flirted with some very high numbers, having the first five strikes in game three and throwing 10 of 12 strikes in game five, including the last nine.
The win also earned UMES a bye straight into the finals. In a 15 team field, there wasn’t even a match to bowl for the Hawks. They waited for the winner of the second match between the fourth-seed, No. 3 Arkansas State (ASU), who beat No. 4 Central Missouri 4-3 in their first match and the same Huskers squad they just topped.
Their match was a slugfest, with Nebraska building a 3-0 lead with games of 215, 244 and 196. While it looked like a rematch was brewing, the host Red Wolves stormed back to post games 231, 227, 204 and 219. It would mean the host, Arkansas State, would face UMES for the championship. Again, the Hawks were not fazed as they topped the Red Wolves the day before, posting the tournament high score of an 1135.
ASU was riding some momentum in game one and the Hawks had to get going again, so UMES got down quickly, 193-180. They turned around however to take game two 215-181 and game three 223-181. Up 2-1, ASU tied the match at two apiece with a 185-175 win in game four. UMES took the advantage right back with a 246-141 domination in game six. It appeared all UMES had to do was top 200 and they would win, that they did. They defeated ASU 221-173 in game six to take the match 4-2 and claim their third Mid-Winter Invitational championship in program history.
Freshman Melanie Copey was part of the team’s success again today as she subbed in against Nebraska and started the match against Arkansas State.
Mariana Alvarado and Thashaina Seraus took turns in anchor today with Alvarado anchoring the championship match.
Tatiana Munoz remained in the lineup all day as well and celebrated her birthday in Arkansas with a tournament championship.
Arkansas State took runner-up honors in their own event while top-seed Nebraska settled for third place, defeating Central Missouri who took fourth. Stephen F. Austin, Vanderbilt, McKendree, UAB, Wisconsin-Whitewater and Sam Houston State rounded out the top-ten finishers. Tulane, Valparaiso, Louisiana Tech, Jackson State and Alabama State rounded out the final five teams.
UMES celebrates their third event title, having won the event in 2010 and 2008, taking fourth in 2011 and 2009 and fifth in 2012.
For complete story, visit www.umeshawks.com
Spartans finish second at Fred Underwood Classic
LAUREL, Md. – Norfolk State’s only losses on the weekend came at the hands of No. 2 Kutztown, and the Spartan bowling team finished second at the Fred Underwood Classic hosted by Bowie State at the AMF Lanes Laurel.
No. 19 NSU began the tournament with a 3-1 record on Friday in Baker play, followed by a 4-1 mark on Saturday in traditional play. Following those first two days of play, NSU ranked behind FDU, which had the highest pinfall (9,972) and best record (9-0) heading into Sunday’s action.
There, Fairleigh Dickinson defeated NSU twice to finish undefeated and win the tournament title.
At 7-2 heading into Sunday, NSU was two games ahead of the next best teams, and its 9,424 pinfall was almost 9,000 pins more than the next closest squad.
Junior Carrie Hickey finished with the third-highest average at the tournament at 202.4 in all five games on Friday. She was joined by senior Delilah Bethel, who ranked right behind her with a 201.2 average in five games as well.
Senior Courtney Williford posted a 186.7 average in three games, and fellow senior Courtney Brown tallied a 182.3 average in four games. Senior Kelsea Yarbrough finished with a 177.4 average in five games, and senior Ashley Buck also bowled three games on Friday.
The Spartans opened up the tournament by playing five Baker games against each of its four opponents on Friday, with NSU coming out ahead against Hampton, 921-760, and Virginia State, 920-869. After an open game, the Spartans fell to FDU, 970-950, before closing out the day with a 995-850 win over Bowie State.
The Spartans took on FDU in the first match on Saturday, ultimately falling 1,009-940 to the Knights. NSU rebounded to win its next four, beginning with a 977-722 victory over Coppin State. Backed by games of 236 and 235 from Hickey and Bethel, the Spartans then triumphed over Howard, 926-865.
They also pulled out a narrow 942-937 win over Morgan State and closed the day with another resounding win, 890-654 over Virginia Union.
Seeded second heading into Sunday’s bracket round, the Spartans dropped a 4-1 decision to FDU, giving the Knights a bye to the championship match. NSU and Bowie State went back and forth before the Spartans won the seventh game, 218-155, for the 4-3 match win. Facing the Knights one last time, NSU tied things up at 2-2 before FDU won the last two games for a 4-2 victory.
A total of nine teams competed at the tournament.
NSU will compete next weekend in the always-challenging Kutztown Invitational from Friday through Sunday in Reading, Pa.
For more information, visit www.nsuspartans.com
Coppin State finishes seventh at Fred Underwood Classic
LAUREL, Md. – Junior Kristen Sharpe led the way for the Coppin State women’s bowling team this past weekend at the Lady Bulldog Classic.
The Eagles won three matches to finish seventh overall at the tournament hosted by Bowie State. Coppin State enjoyed a perfect Sunday afternoon by defeating Virginia Union, 4-2, and Hampton, 4-1, in Baker matches. In team matches, Coppin State defeated Hampton, 735-716, on Saturday.
Sharpe rolled a team-best 214, the sixth time she bowled over 200 since the start of the 2013 season. She tallied 815 pins and averaged a 163 pinfall to lead the Eagles.
In her first appearance in over two months, junior Kache Woods finished with 811 pins and a 175 high-game. She averaged 162.2 pins as Coppin State’s second-best scorer.
Freshman Jasmine Newman knocked down 743 pins and earned a 189.4 average. She bowled 189 in the Eagles victory over Hampton. Sophomore Maribel Lovos had a career day with 602 pins. She recorded a career-high 155 against Norfolk State and a 120.4 average. Classmate Shawdae Frederick tallied 572 pins and a 114.4 pinfall. She bowled a career-high 119 twice against Norfolk State and Howard.
Coppin State heads back to Reading, Pa. for the Kutztown Classic beginning Friday Jan. 23 through Sunday Jan. 25.
For complete story, visit www.coppinstatesports.com