Dec. 6, 2015 Day 1 Scoresheet 
Day 2 Scoresheet
MIDDLETOWN, Del.- Up the Delmarva Peninsula in Middletown this past weekend, the University of Maryland Eastern Shore (UMES) bowling team blazed out to a fast start in the season's second meeting of the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) Northern Division. However the team faced several challenges at the conclusion of each day, resulting in the Hawks going 5-3 for the weekend.
By far, the best day for the Hawks was on Saturday during individual performances. In the first matchup against Howard, the Hawks got a good showing from their Bison adversaries, who scored a 980. But that score was overshadowed by an impressive round courtesy of senior Thashaina Seraus (Oranjestad, Aruba), sophomore Melanie Copey (Ontario, N.Y.) and freshman Jacqueline Rhoda (Portage, Ind.). Seraus and Copey each bowled a 269 while Rhoda locked in a 237 to score 775 of the team's 1155 total pinfall as the Hawks won the opening matchup.
Seraus remained consistent all Saturday long. Although never eclipsing her opening game of 269, she finished the day with a 976 series, easily the best among the field of bowlers. Rhoda continued to bowl well after her 237 game, finishing with an 855 series. Freshman Haley Cummings (Huber Heights, Ohio) chipped in a pair of 200 plus games to finish with a pinfall of 834, and Copey completed her day with an 832.
With scores of 1026 and 1108 in the second and third pairings, respectively, UMES cruised past challengers Coppin State and Delaware State to start 3-0. But they ran into a staunch Morgan State squad on the final match of the day. The Hawks bowled fine with a 977, but the Bears rose up to score 1036 for their second defeat of UMES this year.
The loss did not prevent the Hawks from capturing first place after day one, as their pinfall of 4,266 pins was good enough to lead the way.
Baker play on day two started out with the same promise as the individual rounds the day before. With a score of 878, the team rolled by Coppin State in the opener, then went on to defeat Morgan 980-878 in the second matchup.
In the third round of Baker play, however, Howard would take revenge on the Hawks. Starting with a 257 in the first game, the Bison started ahead and stayed there, winning the round 977-892. Delaware State, who also fell to the Hawks in the individual rounds, gained a game back as well with a 976-902 victory in the final pairing of the weekend.
With the five wins, UMES improved their conference record to 11-5 on the season. In individual games the Hawks are 7-1 against MEAC competition, while going 4-4 in Baker play.
The Hawks will have one month off of competition until they head to Jonesboro, Ark. for the Mid-Winter Invitational beginning on January 15th. The final MEAC Northern Division Meet will be hosted by the Hawks at Millsboro Lanes in late February.
