Feb. 23, 2010
Perry Hall, Md. - It wasn't first place, but the University of Maryland Eastern Shore (UMES) will take it. After winning their last three events, UMES was hoping for a fourth but will settle for a third place finish and a 7-3 record at the Morgan State Invitational.
"We didn't bowl all that well," said Head Coach Sharon Brummell. "We still took third and finished the first day in second place. It is a good sign when you can be a little off and still do fairly well."
The Hawks opened with a two-pin loss to no. 4 Fairleigh Dickinson University (FDU) (934-932) before rattling off four wins on the opening day. They topped North Carolina Central (893-770), no. 9 New Jersey City (972-857), no. 20 Morgan State (905-781) and Virginia Union (939-562).
That earned them a second place seeding with a pinfall of 6,915, just 47 pins behind top qualifier Nebraska.
Entering day two the Hawks topped North Carolina A&T (722-585) and Elmhurst (744-618) both in four-game Baker sets. They then ran into the defending National Champion Nebraska Huksers. UMES was bested once more, 806-824, this time by just 18 pins.
That earned them the third seed in a best four out of seven Baker final round. UMES fell again to FDU, this time 4-1 before rebounding to topple no. 10 Saint Francis (N.Y.) 4-0. That secured UMES the third place title, giving SFU fourth. Nebraska would top FDU for the tournament win.
Individually Maria Rodriguez (Ibague Tolima, Colombia) and Paula Vilas (Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic) were named to the All-Tournament Second Team.
Rodriguez was sixth overall with an average of 195.6 and a pinfall of 969. Vilas was ninth, averaging 193.2 and a pinfall of 966. Kristina Frahm (Oswego, Ill.) was 12th, averaging 188.4
As a team the Hawks totaled just six games over 200 on the tough shot. Only three bowlers in the 166 athlete field averaged 200 or better. UMES got 200 or better games from Frahm who threw a 216 over Virginia Union, Rodriguez who posted a 213 and 211 over NJCU and Virginia Union respectively, Vilas, who posted a 213 and a 210 against FDU and NCCU and Stacy Parsons (Delran, N.J.) who rolled a 214 against NJCU.
UMES now heads to the Holiday Classic this coming weekend, February 27 & 28 in Bessemer, Ala.
