March 21, 2010
2010 MEAC Tournament Bracket Photo Gallery 
GREENSBORO, N.C. - The University of Maryland Eastern Shore (UMES) women's bowling team took them as far as they could go, but in the end, top-seeded Delaware State University defeated the Lady Hawks 4-3 to claim their second straight Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) Championship Sunday afternoon at Gate City Lanes in Greensboro, N.C.
The championship final was televised in a tape-delayed format and will air on Monday, March 29 at 6 p.m. on ESPNU.
UMES had gotten themselves into a hole the previous day, falling to DSU and sending them into the loser's bracket. That meant today they had to play a semi-final match against seventh-seeded South Carolina State. The Bulldogs pushed the Hawks to a seventh game but UMES pulled it together in the end, pulling out a 224-178 win to take the game 4-3 ( 191-224, 192-176, 258-170, 166-168, 167-161, 152-189, 224-178).
Now the Hawks had to beat their rival Delaware State twice to earn the crown, easier said than done. In the first game the two teams would battle back and forth, forcing the seventh and decisive game seven. Needing to strike out in the tenth, MEAC Player of the Year Maria Rodriguez (Ibague Tolima, Colombia) did just that, pulling out the 206-205 win. UMES took the match 4-3 (202-148, 117-216, 209-173, 163-246, 202-225, 201-174, 206-205) and set up another Baker game set, best four out of seven.
In the second set it was more of the same. The two teams would go back and forth. The Hawks, riding the momentum of the first match win, took game win 180-172. DSU pulled out game two 182-180. The two heavy weights would trade blows again. UMES took game three, 189-179 and drop game four 220-156. In game five DSU would land a knockdown punch putting up a 200-179 win, taking a 3-2 lead. UMES got up and countered with a knockdown of their own, 224-179 in game six.
With UMES ranked first in the nation, and DSU fifth, the two schools which are separated by less than a 90 minute drive, would undoubtedly head to a seventh game with everything on the line. Needing to mark twice in the tenth, Rodriguez would strike but leave a split, being unable to convert the spare. That gave the Hornets the 178-156 game seven win and their second MEAC Championship in a row.
Delaware State Head Coach Ricki Williams-Ellison, who was named Outstanding Coach, was complimentary in the win. "We didn't expect anything less than seven games because Maryland Eastern Shore is a great team and they know how to win", said Williams-Ellison.
DSU's Angela Reynolds earned Outstanding Performer accolades. Reynolds on the All-Tournament Team are teammates Brooke Peterson and Adriana Jaime. Florida A&M's Samantha Mighty and South Carolina State's Stephanie Sinclair completed the team.
UMES struggled on the opening day with no performers in the top five and thus were unable to place any on the all-tournament team.
"We got ourselves in a hole from day one," said Head Coach Sharon Brummell. "We had to fight to get back in this. I am proud of our effort today, but it may have been better had we been in a different situation from the start. Now, we go and get ready for the NCAA Championships. Losing the MEAC hurts, but we will feel a lot better if we can go into New Jersey and bowl well."
The NCAA Championships are April 8-11 in East Brunswick, N.J.
