NORTH BRUNSWICK, N.J. - After a solid opening weekend two weeks ago, the young ladies of the University of Maryland Eastern Shore (UMES) headed north to New Jersey to compete in their first NCAA tournament of the season.

The 10-woman squad features just two returners, but one First-Team All-American Thashaina Seraus (Oranjestad, Aruba) is already in mid-season form after leading the 160-woman field last weekend. Freshman Haley Cummings (Huber Heights, Ohio) set the bar high in her first event, taking fourth overall while returner Melanie Copey (Ontaro, N.Y.) and newcomer Jacqueline Rhoda (Portage, Ind.) both posted top 25 appearances.

Still, none of that mattered as the tournament doesn't count toward NCAA records or statistics, only toward ones kept on the college bowling side.

"This is the weekend it all starts counting," said head coach Kayla Bandy after Thursday's practice session. "We seem to have good ball reaction with each player having several options. Since the Orange & Black Tournament we have been focusing on developing our spare game. This weekend we look to fill frames, stay on the head pin and have positive energy. If we do all of those things we should be able to have some success."

UMES comes into the event as the nation's 11th ranked team and hopes to make a statement in one of the largest fields in the event's history.

The Jamboree features 26 teams this season with 19 teams being ranked in the NTCA Preseason Poll. Of those 19 teams seven are ranked in the Top 10 - Arkansas State (No. 2), Stephen F. Austin (No. 3) and Vanderbilt (No.5), Sam Houston State (No. 6), Wisconsin-Whitewater (No. 7), McKendree (No. 9) and North Carolina A&T (No. 10).

It also includes fellow Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) teams Delaware State, Morgan State, Howard and Bethune-Cookman.

Action begins on Friday morning at 9:00 a.m. with official matches starting at 10: 30 a.m. All teams will bowl five rounds of traditional team games. On Saturday, the teams start at 8:30 a.m. with five more rounds of traditional team games starting 30 minutes later. Action concludes on Sunday starting at 9:00 a.m. and ends about 2:00 p.m. Sunday's finals will feature the top six teams in a championship bracket while the remaining 20 teams will bowl in a consolation bracket. The tournament will be bowled on NCAA Pattern #3.

Follow the action on the team's Twitter account @UMES_Bowling and through the host Fairleigh Dickinson's @FDUKnights. UMES will attempt to live stream, via the app UStream, most of the matches. Check the Twitter account for links each day. Recaps will be posted at the end of each day on www.umeshawks.com