March 19, 2010
GREENSBORO, N.C. - The University of Maryland Eastern Shore (UMES) women's bowling team struggled on the opening day of the 2010 Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) Bowling Championship, held at the Gate City Lanes in Greensboro, North Carolina.
The eight team field competed in team games and Baker games to determine seeding for the remainder of the championship.
Delaware State, the defending MEAC champion, earned the top seed with an 8-1 mark. They posted 7,418 pinfall including 3,763 in Baker play. Florida A&M, last year's tournament runners-up, received the second seed with a 7-2 mark and 7,076 total pinfall. Maryland Eastern Shore earned the third seed, followed by Norfolk State in fourth and Hampton in fifth. Morgan State, South Carolina State and Bethune-Cookman earned the sixth through eighth seeds, respectively.
In the Baker style seeding format UMES took on Delaware State, Morgan State, FAMU, South Carolina State and Norfolk State. The Hornets had the Hawks number again to open the event, topping them 787-722. UMES rebounded to defeat Morgan State 638-605 but fell to upstart Florida A&M, the same team that eliminated them from last year's championship, 715-672. They then topped the Bulldogs 717-596 but were stunned by Norfolk State 714-681. The pinfall earned them the third seed but they posted a 2-3 record in Bakers.
Earlier, in team games, UMES went 3-1, topping SCSU (923-858), Bethune-Cookman (935-753) and Hampton (908-769). They however lost to Norfolk State, now twice on the day, 760-849. The struggles were in the scores, as the team managed just three games of 200 or better. MEAC Player of the Year Maria Rodriguez rolled the high of the day for UMES with a 208 against SCSU, while All-MEAC selection Martha Perez posted a 206 over B-CU. Rodriguez also had a 202 against the Wildcats. In the loss to Norfolk State no Hawk rolled better than a 169.
This is the first time since the MEAC Championships moved to March (the 05-06 season) that UMES hasn't qualified first after the opening day. They were the second seed the two previous years when the event was held in November.
The competition will continue tomorrow beginning at 8:20 a.m. with teams competing in a best-of-seven Baker series.
The championship wraps up on Sunday at 9:50 a.m. beginning with the semifinal round and concluding with the championship final at 11:45 a.m. The championship match will be televised in a tape-delayed format and will air on ESPNU.
Admission to the bowling championship is free and open to the public.
