UMES takes third at Kutztown Invitational
READING, Pa. — The University of Maryland Eastern Shore (UMES) women’s bowling team came up a little short, missing their fifth tournament title in their seventh try at the Kutztown Invitational.
Winners of the last three titles in a row, the Hawks put themselves in place yesterday to vie for the top spot. They came up short in their first match against Wisconsin-Whitewater (UWW), but turned around to top Arkansas State and then UWW again to claim third place. And did they sure put an exclamation point on their win, topping the WarHawks of UWW 4-0 and along the way shooting a perfect 300 Baker game, the third in program history and second at this event.
UMES last shot a perfect Baker game in 2013 at this very tournament and just as she was then, senior Mariana Alvarado was part of the lineup. Previously, former Hawk and All-American Paula Vilas shot an individual 300 at the same event, giving UMES three in Kutztown and one previously in 2004 in Houston, Texas.
The lineup that threw the perfect game was led-off by freshman Melanie Copey and followed by Victoria Jones, Valerie Riggin, Tatiana Munoz (Ibague Tolima, Colombia) and Alvarado in anchor.
The win (300-194) was in game two of the final match against the seventh-ranked and fourth-seeded WarHawks of UWW. It gave UMES a 2-0 lead after winning game one 236-182. The Hawks rolled through the next two games 211-198 and 213-200 to secure the win and take third place overall.
In order to get to the third place match the Hawks had to take out the sixth-seeded Red Wolves of Arkansas State first. ASU topped fifth-seeded Vanderbilt in their first match and it set up a rematch of last weekend’s championship match at the Mid-Winter Invite. UMES made quick work of the No. 3 ranked Red Wolves, winning game one 235-196 before dropping the second match 189-167. Just as it was last weekend, it seemed that if UMES topped 200, they could beat ASU. They rolled through the next three games 208-182, 247-240 and 234-201. The win vaulted UMES back into the third/fourth place match and dropped ASU into the fifth/sixth match where Vanderbilt got revenge to claim the fifth place spot with ASU settling for sixth.
It was the first match of the day that meant UMES couldn’t repeat as champions. They fell to the same WarHawk team they tossed a 300 game against later in the day. UMES won the first game 210-166 but UWW took the next four (225-176, 228-172, 219-182, 211-169).
While the Hawks were not able to win their third straight tournament this season, or fourth straight Kutztown Invite championship, they still had a solid outing, going 11-3 on the weekend and pushing their overall record to 56-19.
UMES now has four wins (2010, 2012, 2013, 2014), a runner-up (2011), a third place (2015) and a sixth place (2009) in one of the largest tournaments in the country each season to go along with three 300 games, all at Heister Lanes in Reading, Pa.
Fairleigh Dickinson, the nation’s second-ranked team won the event over No. 4 and top seed Central Missouri, edging them out 4-3. FDU represented one of the Hawks’ three losses on the weekend.
The event was covered live by the United States Bowling Congress (USBC), who provided three full days of live streaming from one of the top NCAA Women's Bowling events when they broadcasted live on BOWL.com's BowlTV. They have covered this event live for the last several years. Fans can tune in to see the recorded stream of the Hawks’ 300 game by visiting BOWL.com or YouTube.com/BowlTV.
UMES will now head south looking for similar or even better results.
UMES will next travel to the Prairie View Invitational in Arlington, Texas next weekend, January 30-Feb. 1 hosted at the International Training and Research Center, home of Team USA and the USBC.
For complete story, visit www.umeshawks.com
Lady Wildcats place 18th at Kutztown Invitational
READING, Pa. – Bethune-Cookman Bowling finished up in 18th place on Sunday, concluding its run at the annual Kutztown Invitational held at Hiester Lanes. The Wildcats finished up the weekend with a record of 9-6 overall in both Baker and Traditional matches.
Bethune-Cookman (42-27) competed in the bracket/tournament portion of the three-day tournament on Sunday, taking on No. 20 Monmouth to begin the competition. The matches were all held in a best-of-seven Baker format.
The Wildcats claimed the opening win on the strength of a 4-1 decision.
In the next round, B-CU took on Valparaiso, falling in the end by a count of 4-1.
The final match of the day for Bethune-Cookman was a tough 4-2 setback at the hands of Monmouth in a rematch of the day’s opener, putting the Wildcats in 18th place to finish the weekend.
Central Missouri claimed the tournament title, while Fairleigh Dickinson finished as the runner-up.
Bethune-Cookman returns to action next weekend, hosting the annual Wildcat Invitational at the Sunshine Bowling Lanes in DeLand, Florida. The event begins Friday, Feb. 6, running through Sunday, Feb. 8.
For complete story, visit www.bcuathletics.com