ELMWOOD PARK, N.J. — They were hoping to claim the championship, but ultimately, the University of Maryland Eastern Shore (UMES) accomplished what they wanted to do when they headed to New Jersey this weekend, beat the nation’s No. 2 team, twice.
UMES beat the second-ranked Knights two-times, and were hoping to do it a third time, but the No. 14 Terriers of Saint Francis-Brooklyn got in their way in the semi-finals. The match was a heartbreaker for the Hawks as two pins in a tiebreaker separated the two teams and the Terriers rolled away with the victory and a chance to bowl FDU for the ECAC Championship.
Still, UMES went to the tournament to match-up with their old foe, FDU, the only team in the top-ten in the nation they hadn’t beat this season. That was what was important, and they pulled it off.
UMES opened the day bowling in a position round where the teams would match-up based on their day one position. The Hawks rolled out their seasoned lineup in the five-game Baker match. They rolled out to a 237-174 win in game one and a 214-167 win in game two. FDU technically won the next three games, 155-183, 185-198 and 196-199, but the much closer games meant that UMES kept the edge and pulled off the upset, 987-921.
It was not however enough pins to give UMES the top-seed. Instead they remained the second-seed and would wait, along with FDU for an opponent in the second round. For UMES, that meant they eventually got the third-seed, St. Francis-Brooklyn. The Hawks jumped out to an advantage in the best-four-of-seven Baker match. They won game one 213-210, but the three pin difference was a sign of how close this match would be.
The Terriers won game two 205-191 to tie the match at one all. SFU then went up 2-1 with a 210-177 win. Game four was a rare tie with both teams shooting a rough 158 to make the match 2.5-1.5. The Hawks were down. UMES got it going in game five, 189-159 but SFU-Brooklyn returned the favor in game six by ONE PIN, 166-165. It would turn out to be the difference in the match with the Terriers leading 3.5-2.5. The Hawks took a commanding game seven, 223-170 and that would force a tiebreaker.
Rolling just five frames, the teams went back and forth and in the end the Terriers edged out the Hawks 90-88 to give them a win over UMES for the second time in two days. The loss forced UMES into the third-place game and denied them a shot at the title against FDU, who they had already beat twice. The Hawks tallied more pins, 1316-1278, but pinfall didn’t matter in this format.
UMES rebounded in that match with a 4-0 victory over St. Peter’s (195-138, 177-163, 167-144, 184-171).
FDU would go on to beat St. Francis-Brooklyn 4-1 in the finals.
UMES had three bowlers selected to the All-Tournament Team, as Mariana Alvarado, Tatiana Munoz and Thashaina Seraus all earned three of the six spots, all based on Baker average.
Meghan Wing from the Terriers and Melanie Hannon of FDU joined them on the All-Tournament Team while Liat Vizenfeld of FDU was named Most Outstanding Performer and to the team.
UMES will build on this strong showing next weekend at the MEAC Championships where they will look for their eighth conference title. The event is Friday through Sunday in Chesapeake, Va.