The 2018-19 Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) bowling season will get underway this weekend, starting a campaign unlike any other in recent conference history.
Coppin State, Delaware State and Howard will all be in Reading, Pa. this weekend for the Bud Whitman Memorial hosted by Kutztown University.
The MEAC heads into the 2018-19 campaign with 11 bowling institutions, including new associate members Alabama Birmingham (UAB) and Monmouth. With the addition of those two schools, the MEAC has five teams nationally ranked in the National Tenpin Coaches Association (NTCA) Preseason Top 25 poll: Maryland Eastern Shore (No. 7), Delaware State (No. 8), North Carolina A&T State (No. 11), UAB (No. 16) and Monmouth (No. 23).
Norfolk State was in the receiving votes category.
The Aggies, who won their first MEAC bowling title since 2004 last season and earned the MEAC's automatic bid to the NCAA Championships, were picked as the preseason favorite to win the MEAC this season -- which will no longer adopt division play for the regular season, instead holding two conference round-ups (Nov. 10-11 in Dover, Del. and Feb. 23-24 in Greensboro, N.C.) to determine the field for the 2019 MEAC Bowling Championships (March 29-31 in Chesapeake, Va.).
Maryland Eastern Shore and Delaware State, both of which competed in the United States Bowling Congress (USBC) Intercollegiate Team Championships last season, were picked to finish second and third respectively. UAB was picked to finish fourth, and Monmouth slotted in at No. 5 in the preseason poll.
Norfolk State, Morgan State, Florida A&M, Howard, Coppin State and Bethune-Cookman rounded out the predicted order of finish.
Delaware State's Alexis Neuer, the reigning MEAC Bowler of the Year and an NTCA All-America Honorable Mention in 2017-18, was selected as the conference's Preseason Bowler of the Year. She is joined on the Preseason All-MEAC Team by Maryland Eastern Shore's Alexandra Hernandez, North Carolina A&T State's Ana Olaya and Cameron Strombeck and UAB's Taylor Russell.
Oct. 13-14
Coppin State at Bud Whitman Memorial
Delaware State at Bud Whitman Memorial
Howard at Bud Whitman Memorial