Lady Wildcats finish even at MEAC Southern Divisional #2
DeLAND, Fla. – Bethune-Cookman Bowling went 2-2 Sunday on the final day of the two-day MEAC Southern Division event hosted by Bethune-Cookman at Sunshine Bowling Center in DeLand, Florida. This was the second Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) Southern Division event of the 2015-16 season for all five participating schools in the southern division of the league.
The teams took part in four Baker matches Sunday, as Traditional play was held during the course of Saturday’s portion of the event.
Bethune-Cookman (18-24, 8-8 MEAC) began the day collecting a hard-fought 879-877 decision from Florida A&M. The Wildcats used the rotation of Krysta Coleman, Amyre Tensley, Jasmine April, Ivory Miles and Rebecca Goodwin throughout the day.
April, a freshman from Port Orange, Florida, turned in the weekend’s best Traditional scores out of all five teams, finishing with an average of 206.5. That includes three consecutive 200-plus performances to conclude Saturday’s slate of four games.
In Sunday’s second match for the Wildcats, Bethune-Cookman fell to Norfolk State, 970-849. That was followed by an 846-814 defeat of Southern Division newcomer Hampton University.
The Wildcats closed the day with a 1,014-894 setback against North Carolina A&T State. The Aggies’ final game score was the highest team performance out of all competitors in Baker format.
B-CU finished the MEAC Southern #2 with an even record of 4-4 overall.
Norfolk State closed the weekend with the best team record, finishing the event at 7-1. That was followed by North Carolina A&T State (5-3), Bethune-Cookman (4-4), Hampton (2-6) and Florida A&M (2-6).
Norfolk State also collected the highest total pins, registering 7,241 pins across 45 games. Following suit was the Aggies of North Carolina A&T State (7,233) and host B-CU (7,028), respectfully.
The Maroon and Gold will break for the holidays before returning to the lanes January 22-24, taking part in the annual Kutztown Invitational in Reading, Pennsylvania. The next MEAC Southern Division will be February 27-28, hosted by FAMU in Tallahassee, Florida.
For complete story, visit www.bcuathletics.com
Maryland Eastern Shore struggles during day two of the MEAC Northern Divisional #2
MIDDLETOWN, Del. — Up the Delmarva Peninsula in Middletown this past weekend, the University of Maryland Eastern Shore (UMES) bowling team blazed out to a fast start in the season’s second meeting of the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) Northern Division.
However the team faced several challenges at the conclusion of each day, resulting in the Hawks going 5-3 for the weekend.
By far, the best day for the Hawks was on Saturday during individual performances. In the first matchup against Howard, the Hawks got a good showing from their Bison adversaries, who scored a 980. But that score was overshadowed by an impressive round courtesy of senior Thashaina Seraus, sophomore Melanie Copey and freshman Jacqueline Rhoda. Seraus and Copey each bowled a 269 while Rhoda locked in a 237 to score 775 of the team’s 1155 total pinfall as the Hawks won the opening matchup.
Seraus remained consistent all Saturday long. Although never eclipsing her opening game of 269, she finished the day with a 976 series, easily the best among the field of bowlers. Rhoda continued to bowl well after her 237 game, finishing with an 855 series. Freshman Haley Cummings chipped in a pair of 200 plus games to finish with a pinfall of 834, and Copey completed her day with an 832.
With scores of 1026 and 1108 in the second and third pairings, respectively, UMES cruised past challengers Coppin State and Delaware State to start 3-0. But they ran into a staunch Morgan State squad on the final match of the day. The Hawks bowled fine with a 977, but the Bears rose up to score 1036 for their second defeat of UMES this year.
The loss did not prevent the Hawks from capturing first place after day one, as their pinfall of 4,266 pins was good enough to lead the way.
Baker play on day two started out with the same promise as the individual rounds the day before. With a score of 878, the team rolled by Coppin State in the opener, then went on to defeat Morgan 980-878 in the second matchup.
In the third round of Baker play, however, Howard would take revenge on the Hawks. Starting with a 257 in the first game, the Bison started ahead and stayed there, winning the round 977-892. Delaware State, who also fell to the Hawks in the individual rounds, gained a game back as well with a 976-902 victory in the final pairing of the weekend.
With the five wins, UMES improved their conference record to 11-5 on the season. In individual games the Hawks are 7-1 against MEAC competition, while going 4-4 in Baker play.
The Hawks will have one month off of competition until they head to Jonesboro, Ark. for the Mid-Winter Invitational beginning on January 15th. The final MEAC Northern Division Meet will be hosted by the Hawks at Millsboro Lanes in late February.
For complete story, visit www.umeshawks.com
Lady Hornets win seven of eight games to extend MEAC North lead
MIDDLETOWN, Del. --- Led by season-best outings from Chelsey Merklinger and Elizabeth Burkholder, the Delaware State bowling team posted a 7-1 record in the second MEAC North competition of the season this weekend. The Hornets swept four Baker matches and won three of four traditional games to improve to a league-best 14-2 in the conference this season.
In Sunday’s Baker competition, DSU posted victories over Morgan State (995-874), Coppin State (879-600), Howard (966-764) and UMES (972-901).
The Hornets are 8-0 in MEAC Baker contests this season.
In Saturday’s traditional games, DSU was victorious over Coppin State (1077-534), Howard (1034-870) and Morgan State (1095-986), before dropping its lone match of the weekend to UMES (989-1108). Merklinger was second among all competitors with a four-game total pinfall of 958 for a season-best 239.5 average. She had the weekend’s top game of 278, a career-high, vs. Coppin State. Merklinger also posted scores of 264 and 245 this weekend.
Burkholder was sixth in total pinfall at 857 for a season-best average of 214.3. She topped the 200 mark in each game, including a high of 238 vs. Morgan State.
DSU is 6-2 in traditional games vs. MEAC North competition. The Hornets hold a three-game lead in the current MEAC North standings.
Delaware State, ranked 10th in the latest National Tenpin Coaches Association monthly poll, has an overall record of 39-14 this season.
For complete story, visit www.dsuhornets.com