March 7, 2011
PRINCESS ANNE, Md. -- An exciting weekend of Hawk athletics as the UMES men's and women's basketball teams played their final home game in the regular season with Senior Night in the Hytche Athletic Center against Delaware State. Plus, the Hawks indoor track team competed in the IC4A and ECAC Championships in Boston.
MEN'S BASKETBALL
The Hawks ended their season on a high note with a strong win over rival Delaware State 60-50, winning their final four home games of the season. UMES led nearly the entire second half, avenging a loss earlier this season in Dover. The Hawks improve to 8-21 this year and 5-11 in the conference, getting the 10-seed in the MEAC Tournament starting this week.
Before the game, five UMES seniors, Josh Bright (Salisbury, Md.), Tim Burns (Franklinville, N.J.), Freddy Obame Obame (Libreville, Gabon), RJ Tucker (Arnold, Md.) and Kevin White (Brooklyn, N.Y.) were honored at center circle in front of over 3,000 in attendance.
Tyler Hines (Sickerville, N.J.) earned his fifth double-double of the season with 11 points and 12 rebounds for UMES. Kevin White outdueled one of the top point guards in the MEAC in Jay Threatt, earning eight assists with just two turnovers, while Threatt had only four assists and four turnovers.
WOMEN'S BASKETBALL
The Lady Hawks finished the season strong with two victories, winning against Delaware State 55-49 on Senior Night and 63-54 in the made-up game against Bethune-Cookman. UMES finishes .500 in conference play at 8-8 and ends with an 11-18 overall record.
Before the Delaware State contest, Casey Morton (Mardela Springs, Md.) was honored for Senior Night. Morton is one of four players that scored over 1,000 points for the Lady Hawks in her career.
Chelsea Sanders (Rochester, N.Y.) scored double digit points in both contests, with 13 against DSU and 14 against Bethune-Cookman. Morton only played against the Hornets, scoring 18 points with six rebounds and four assists. Adobi Agbasi (Columbus, Ga.) got a combined 17 points and nine rebounds in the two games.
INDOOR TRACK
The UMES men's indoor track team put up a strong showing in the I4CA Championship in Boston, finishing tied for fifth with 33 points. Fellow MEAC school Hampton also got 33 points. The Hawks finished above all other MEAC schools that competed, including Delaware State, Coppin State and Morgan State. The University of Connecticut got first with 73.5 points.
Highlights for UMES include Ackeem Smith (St. Catherine, Jamaica) finishing second in the 60-meter hurdles with a time of 7.87 seconds, Jermol Dix (Catonsville, Md.) getting fifth in that same race at 8.07 seconds, Damian Miles (Teaneck, N.J.) earning fifth in the 200-meter dash with a time of 21.31 seconds and Marcus Brown (Gaithersburg, Md.) getting fifth in the shot put with a distance of 16.94 meters.
The women's indoor track team competed in the ECAC Championship in Roxbury, Massachusetts, finishing 18th overall with 15 points. Connecticut earned first place with 96.5 points.
Vanessa Henry (Capital Heights, Md.) finished second overall in the shot put with a distance of 15.60 meters. Eunice Jones (Lanham, Md.) and Cynthia Anais (Martinique, France) placed seventh and eighth respectively in the 800-meter run finals with times of 2.12:99 and 2:18.98. The UMES 4x400 meter-relay team of Emilie Ducados (Paris, France), Jennell Wade (White Plains, Md.), Melina Gallas (Paris, France) and Anais finished fifth overall with a time of 3:46.82.
BASEBALL
It was a rough week for the Hawks baseball team, falling in four games where it had the lead in the final inning, going 0-6 overall at home during the seven days. On the season the team stands at 1-11.
UMES fell against Fairleigh Dickinson 22-20, in two games to Longwood 5-3 (7) and 3-1 (8) plus a three-game set to Long Island 13-3, 6-5 and 12-7 (8).
James Newsome (Mechanicsville, Md.) had a career day against Fairleigh Dickinson, going 5-for-5 with a pair of doubles and triples with five RBI. Bryan Chaikowsky (Bethlehem, Pa.) had a pair of solo home runs in the final game against Long Island, but the first home run of the season came from Jeffrey Fleetwood (Delmar, Md.), who hit a solo shot against Fairleigh Dickinson.
SOFTBALL
It was a tough tournament for the Hawks softball team, falling in all four contests they played. They lost to Central Connecticut State 4-3 (8), Fairleigh Dickinson 11-2 (6), Marist 11-3 (5) and Rutgers 11-3 (5). UMES is now 1-10 on the season.
Charlise Castro (Saugerties, N.Y.) hit her fourth home run of the season with a solo shot against Central Connecticut State. Lisa Bates (Beauvelt, N.Y.) got her first home run of her Hawks career with a two-run blast against Marist.
UPCOMING WEEK (MAR. 7-13)
The MEAC Basketball Tournament is set to start in the Joel Coliseum in Winston-Salem, North Carolina on Tuesday, March 8th. The paths for each team are as follows: --The Hawks men's basketball team, the 10-seed in the tournament, will play 7-seed Florida A&M at 6:30 p.m. on Tuesday, March 8th. If the Hawks advance, they will play 2-seed Hampton on Wednesday, March 9th at 9:30 p.m. If UMES defeats the Pirates they will play in the semifinal round on Friday, March 11th at 8:00 p.m. If the Hawks reach the finals they will compete for a chance to dance in the NCAA Tournament on Saturday, March 12th at 2:00 p.m. --The Lady Hawks earned the 7-seed in the tournament and will begin with 10-seed Delaware State on Tuesday, March 8th at 11:00 a.m. If they defeat the Hornets, they will face 2-seed Morgan State on Wednesday, March 9th at 10:00 a.m. If UMES reaches the semifinals, the team will will play on Friday, March 11th at 2:30 p.m. If the Lady Hawks win three games, they will compete for a chance at the NCAA Tournament with the finals contest at Saturday, March 12th at 5:00 p.m.
The bowling team will be competing in the USBC Sectional Qualifier in Allentown, Pennsylvania over the weekend. Last year, the Hawks won their sectional in Chattanooga, Tennessee with a total pinfall of 12,842.
Baseball will hit the road this week and look to defeat the Owls of Temple University in Philadelphia on Wednesday, March 9th. First pitch is set for 2:30 p.m.
Softball will compete in their third invitational of the season when they head to Virginia to play in the Norfolk State Spartan Classic on March 12th and 13th. The Hawks will play in four games, facing Marist and St. Francis (PA) on the 12th then Delaware and tournament host Norfolk State on the 13th.
The men's and women's tennis teams will continue their season with a trio of matches this week. After competing in the MEAC Roundup, both squads will face Winston-Salem State on Monday, March 7th. Then this weekend, the Hawks will begin MEAC regular season play with a road contest on Saturday, March 12th against Howard in Washington D.C. Then on Sunday, March 13th, the Hawks play their first home match of the season when Morgan State comes to Princess Anne.
