The Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference's (MEAC) 11 bowling institutions will gather in Delaware this Saturday and Sunday for the first conference meet of the season, hosted by Delaware State.

This past weekend saw Maryland Eastern Shore finish fourth in the Track Kat Klash hosted by Sam Houston State, a tournament that featured 12 nationally-ranked teams that also saw Monmouth come in ninth and UAB finish 10th. Coppin State, Howard, Morgan State and Norfolk State each competed in the Virginia Union Invitational.

Howard led the way for the MEAC schools in that tournament, finishing fifth. Morgan State's Kiersten Bateman was the tournament's top individual, earning Tournament MVP honors after averaging 198.6 pins in traditional play.

UAB's Caitln Cunningham, who came in second in the individual standings at the Track Kat Klash and averaged 217 pins in traditional play, was named MEAC Bowler of the Week. Her weekend best of 268 is the second-best single-game total in the MEAC this season, behind the 278 that Stefany Toala of Delaware State and Isabel Hughes of Maryland Eastern Shore have each recorded.

North Carolina A&T State was the preseason favorite to win the MEAC this season, in a preseason poll conducted by the MEAC's head coaches and sports information directors. The Aggies are also the defending MEAC Tournament champions, and they are one of five MEAC schools ranked in the National Tenpin Coaches Associatipon (NTCA) Preseason Top 25 poll.

The Aggies sit at No. 11, behind Maryland Eastern Shore (No. 7) and Delaware State (No. 8). UAB (No. 16) and Monmouth (No. 23) were also ranked in the poll.

For the 2018-19 season, the MEAC's bowling schools will not be broken up into divisions. instead, all 11 schools will compete in a pair of meets -- this weekend and Feb. 23-24 in Greensboro, N.C. -- that will determine the six teams that will qualify for the 2019 MEAC Bowling Championships.

The 2019 MEAC Bowling Championships will be held March 29-31 in Chesapeake, Va.