Nov. 16, 2009
PRINCESS ANNE, Md. - It was once again a very busy weekend for the University of Maryland Eastern Shore Athletic Department as they hosted over 3,000 people for the NCAA Mid-Atlantic Region Cross Country Championships, men's and women's basketball both opened their regular seasons, bowling continued theirs and volleyball finished their regular season.
MEN'S BASKETBALL
The men's basketball team lost to 75-57 to Stony Brook University Friday at the W.P. Hytche Athletic Center in their season opener.
Redshirt sophomore Hillary Haley (Oxon Hill, Md.) led the Hawks in scoring with 13 points, who began the season 0-1. Redshirt freshman Mark Robertson (Lakewood, N.J.) also scored in double digits with 10 points, nine of which came in the first half.
The charity stripe did not treat UMES well as they made just 47.1% of their free throws (16-for-34), while SBU shot 77.8% (21-for-27).
Senior Neal Pitt (Fort Washington, Md.) grabbed a team-high eight rebounds. Redshirt junior Tim Burns (Franklinville, N.J.) led the Hawks with three assists while freshman James Cotton (Pocomoke, Md.) had three steals.
WOMEN'S BASKETBALL
Freshman Chelsea Sanders (Rochester, N.Y.) scored a game-high 23 points, 14 in the second half, and pulled down five rebounds as the Lady Hawks defeated Division III Salisbury University, 82-56, in their sole exhibition match of the season Tuesday.
Sanders was 9-of-16 from the floor, including 3-of-6 from 3-point range to lead UMES. Junior Casey Morton (Mardela Spring, Md.) and senior April McBride (New Rochelle, N.Y.) also finished in double figures with 17 and 10, respectively, as all 11 Lady Hawks to see action scored. McBride led UMES with six boards, four on the offensive glass. Morton also chipped in with a game-high eight steals while the Lady Hawks forced 38 turnovers.
In their regular season opener, Morton and redshirt freshman Krystal Watson (Buffalo, N.Y.) combined for 22 points, but the University of Maryland Baltimore County was too much for UMES as they fell, 102-65, at the Retriever Activities Center Sunday afternoon.
Morton had a team-high 12 points, including 7-of-10 from the free throw line and three steals and Watson tallied 10 points and eight boards. McBride chipped in with nine points and eight rebounds.
BOWLING
The No. 4 bowling team again dominated most of the MEAC Northern Division this past weekend at the Mid-Country Lanes in Middletown, Del. They posted wins over all of them except the Delaware State University Hornets, who picked up two wins over the Hawks to go to a perfect 10-0 in the event and overtake UMES for the lead in the conference's northern division. The Lady Hawks (28-8, 17-3 MEAC) posted an 8-2 mark on the weekend.
UMES was without two of their start bowlers as Maria Rodriguez (Ibague Tolima, Colombia) was qualifying for her country's National Team and Katherine Brown (Level Green, Pa.) is currently out for medical reasons. Nonetheless, the Hawks rolled on and got a great outing from Martha Perez (Bogota, Colombia) who posted a 1002 pin fall and averaged an impressive 200.4 in the team outings.
Stacy Parsons (Delran, N.J.) was also solid, averaging a 194.25 in four games with an impressive high game of 254, the highest of any Hawk on the weekend. Anggie Ramirez (Bogota, Colombia) was also on her game, posting a 184.75 average in four games.
CROSS COUNTRY
Despite all the mud and small ponds that were formed after days of rain and months of planning, the cross country teams successfully hosted the NCAA Division I Mid-Atlantic Regional Championships on Saturday.
The Lady Hawks placed 25th overall with six runners and a score of 745 points. The men's team did not run enough athletes to qualify, but nonetheless had a solid performance.
Junior Eunice Jones (Lanham, Md.) led the women's team in the six-kilometer race with a time of 24:14, which was good for 113th place overall. Senior Tamica Thomas (St. Catherine, Jamaica) was the next UMES finisher in 140th place with a time of 24:43.
Junior Cynthia Anais (Paris, France) placed 168th overall in 25:47 while senior Celia Whyte (Manchester, Jamaica) was 175th in 26:23. Freshman Emilie Ducados and junior Jessica Abrantes (Scotch Plains, N.J.) came in 183rd and 184th places with respective times of 27:23 and 28:39.
On the men's side, juniors Amon Kiprotich (Kapsabet, Kenya) and Peter Sang (Kapsabet, Kenya) finished 133rd and 134th with times of 35:30.06 and 35:30.08, respectively.
Sophomore Shadrack Maritim (Kericho, Kenya) followed close behind with a 35:44.20 finish, which was good for 140th place. Senior Solomon Kirongo (Nairobi, Kenya) was 192nd with a time of 38:27.50.
VOLLEYBALL
Sophomore Christine Edwards (Lakewood, Calif.) tallied a match-high 12 kills and the volleyball team limited North Carolina Central to -.014 percent from the floor in a 3-0 (25-9, 25-18, 25-15) win on Senior Day at the W.P. Hytche Athletic Center Saturday.
The Eagles had 18 kills and 19 errors on 70 total attacks as the Hawks secured their lowest opponents' hitting percentage of the season, extending their winning streak to 13 matches.
The match marked the final one at home for seniors Caylin Woodward (Garden Grove, Calif.), Whitney Johnson (Prince Frederick, Md.) and Thonya Joseph (Bridgetown, Barbados) and improved UMES to 22-6 on the season heading into the MEAC Tournament next weekend at Coppin State. Matchups will be announced Monday.
Woodward led all players with nine digs while freshman Karin Vikterlof (Orebro, Sweden) served a match-best seven aces for the nation's top team in aces per game. Johnson had eight kills on 11 attacks for a .545 percentage and Joseph had four kills, two assists and a dig.
UMES hit .373 (34-9-67) for the match including a blistering .611 in the third set.
Redshirt junior Samantha Chukwura (Brooklyn, N.Y.) paced the Hawks with a .714 efficiency.
UPCOMING WEEK (NOV. 17-23)
The men's basketball team embarks on a seven-day road-trip with a stop in Milwaukee, Wisc. for an 8 p.m. match-up on Tuesday against Marquette University. The Hawks then travel to Springfield, Mo., for the Hispanic College Fund Challenge. On Friday, they take on Missouri State at 9:05 p.m. Saturday is a matchup against The Citadel at 6:30 p.m. and they round out the tournament with a game against Eastern Michigan on Sunday at 6:30 p.m.
The women's basketball team continues their travels as they play at Manhattan in the Bronx, N.Y. at 2:00 p.m. on Sunday.
The bowling team hosts their one of the nation's best tournaments of the season with the Eastern Shore Hawk Classic from Friday to Sunday in Millsboro, Del. All three days begin at 11 a.m. and admission is free.
The cross country teams have finished their seasons.
The volleyball team takes on Norfolk State Friday at 1 p.m. in the MEAC Tournament, hosted by Coppin State.
