March 9, 2014
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NASHVILLE - UMES took one more spot to finish third place overall at the 2014 Music City Classic. Making a charge yesterday from seventh to fourth, the Hawks put themselves in a position to bowl for the championship, and although they just missed bowling for it, put together two good efforts to take the bronze medal and show in the toughest field they have bowled in all season.
"Victoria Jones was there when we needed her today, filling the tenth frames," said head coach Kayla Bandy. "Megan Buja really kept the tempo going with her `fill every frame' mentality. I can see why they both won tournament honors and they really were a big part of our success this weekend."
The University of Maryland Eastern Shore (UMES) opened up the day against No. 8 Vanderbilt who were the third-seed overall. The Hawks, fresh off their big day on Saturday, played the hot hands and veterans.
All-American Mariana Alvarado (Leon, Mexico) would lead-off. Valerie Riggin (Vista, Calif.) and Tatiana Munoz (Ibague, Tolima, Colombia) were second and third and All-Tournament Team selections Buja (Rockford, Ill.) and Jones (Baltimore, Md.) would bowl fourth and fifth.
The Hawks would take game one 184-155. They would make some adjustments in game two and continued to roll, putting up a 236 and getting strikes in each frame from Riggin, Buja and Jones and getting a strike from Munoz as well. Justyne Falbo (Greensburg, Pa.) threw a pair of spares in the first and fifth frames subbing in for Alvarado after game one. They easily rolled past the Commodores 236-167.
Game three saw Vandy get the wheels back on the bus. UMES bowled well, posting a 202 but was bested by nine pins with a 211. Riggin and Buja each had an open, but the team was clean otherwise and were still in the lead 2-1. The Hawks took a commanding 3-1 lead after the next game with a 231-197 win. The team was clean with seven strikes and looked poised to take on Arkansas State for the championship.
But something went wrong.
UMES couldn't get it together over the next three games, tossing a 169, 179 and 182 respectively. Vanderbilt was good, but wasn't sensational, throwing 203, 191 and 206 respectively. UMES just couldn't find the pocket anymore. In game five they tossed six spares and two opens, getting a strike each from Jones and Buja. Game six saw four strikes, including a pair from Falbo, but two opens at bad times equaled a 179 and a 12 pin loss. Game seven had three opens which equated to a 182 and a 24 pin loss.
The Hawks tallied more pins over the seven games than the host Commodores (1383-1330) but in this format that doesn't matter and Vandy advanced to the finals with a 4-3 win.
UMES was undoubtedly frustrated and took them out on their next opponent, Wisconsin-Whitewater. The nation's ninth ranked team was quickly disposed of by the Hawks 4-1. Even a tough 161 in game one amounted to a win with UWW's 138. The Hawks took game two 180-173 and game three 196-181. The Warhawks fought back to take game four 213-201 but UMES poured it on in game four.
Back to a closer to `normal' lineup in this match, with Buja leading-off, UMES tossed seven strikes in the win. Buja and Munoz each doubled and Jones, Riggin and Falbo each had one more en route to a 247-175 win and a spot in the consolation match, vying for third-place.
That match would pit the Hawks up against their east region rival Fairleigh Dickinson. FDU was the number one overall seed for the tournament, but they were struggling on Sunday with losses to Arkansas State and Vanderbilt. Also on the Hawks side, UMES has beaten the Knights five out of six times the two teams met.
The lineup of Buja, Falbo, Riggin, Munoz and Jones was still working. They jumped out to a quick lead with a 189-160 win. Game two was all Hawks. It was clean and three spares were the only other marks than Xs. Jones struck out to end the game with a 248 and give UMES a 55 pin win (193).
FDU rebounded in the third game, topping UMES 202-179, cutting the Hawk lead in half. Game four looked more like a heavyweight fight than a bowling match as the top two teams in the east region slugged it out. They traded strike after strike as Jones struck out again and four other Xs came across the board. Falbo opened in the second, but that was the only blemish on the scorecard for UMES. They took a 3-1 lead with a close 216-211 win on the back of Jones' perfect tenth frame.
The two top teams fought again in the fifth game. It went more FDU's way as they were able to close out a 206-191 win. Opens from Munoz and Falbo couldn't be negated by six strikes, including a pair from Riggin.
Game six however was more tenacity than polish for UMES. Buja would spare the first frame and Falbo would repeat that. Riggin opened in the third and things looked headed to FDU tying up the match. Munoz however came up big with a strike. Jones then opened, something she did very little of this weekend, missing the single-pin spare.
The Hawks then rallied on the back five.
Buja struck, Falbo spared, Riggin struck, Munoz struck. The Hawks needed a big tenth frame. Jones redeemed her earlier open with a double and a nine, propelling UMES to a 201, besting FDU's 179 and taking the match 4-2. The win gave UMES third place overall and dropped the one-seed FDU to the fourth place spot.
"This tournament was a battle with all of the top teams present," said a weary Bandy. "Of course we wanted to win the whole thing and repeat as champions, but we learned a lot about what we were made of. We rallied and rebounded and we can build on that heading into the post-season."
Victoria Jones was named the Music City Classic MVP and Megan Buja joined her on the All-Tournament Team. Both were outstanding on the weekend. Buja's career-high 280 was the high-game of the tournament.
"Victoria has been working hard and it is showing," said Bandy. She is throwing the ball great right now. Her hard work showed this weekend as she filled over 90% of her 125 frames this tournament. While these awards come from how great they did in team games, it was the Baker games today that were excellent."
"It's awesome," Jones said of her tournament MVP honors. "I was feeling it this weekend and I really think like my teammate's momentum, energy and support kept pushing me. We have a great team and I think we are in a great place heading to the championship part of our season."
The event, which featured 19 of the country's top 20 teams, was full of drama and excitement. Vanderbilt topped Arkansas State to win the title, 4-1, throwing a perfect 300 Baker game in the final game to clinch the win. Nebraska, who topped UWW for fifth pace also threw a perfect 300 Baker in that final match.
The University of Central Missouri, who topped UMES over the weekend, had the best record of the event at 12-2 but finished seventh overall after earning the ninth seed based on pinfall. Nebraska, who didn't bowl a BYE went 12-3.
The field finished with Vanderbilt, Arkansas State, UMES, FDU, Nebraska, Wisconsin-Whitewater, Central Missouri, Stephen F. Austin, Sam Houston State and Valparaiso rounding out the top ten.
Kutztown, Sacred Heart, North Carolina A&T, St. Francis (Pa.), who was fifth after day one, and LIU-Brooklyn went 11th through 15th. MEAC schools Delaware State, Bethune-Cookman and Howard took 16th, 26th and 28th place respectively.
The tournament concludes the Hawks' regular season and they begin post-season play next weekend as they bowl in the USBC Sectional Qualifier in Allentown, Pa. If they place in the top four of the event they will earn a bid to the USBC Intercollegiate Team Championships in Reno, Nev. in April.
The Hawks will bowl for the MEAC Championship in Chesapeake, Va. March 21-23, 2014.
"I have had a blast with the girls on this team," said Bandy. "Now that we are heading to the post-season part of our schedule I look back on the regular season as one that has surpassed all expectations. I have loved every minute of it and am so glad that our team has three different post-season titles we can play for. These young ladies deserve it."
