MILLSBORO, Delaware — The opening day of competition of the Hawk Classic was a battle from the start for host University of Maryland Eastern Shore. The opening match of the morning saw Eastern Shore fall to Tulane 939-867. Things didn't get much better from there as the Hawks (24-15, 8-2 MEAC) finished the opening day with a 1-3 record  and stand in 10^th place with a pinfall of 4,753 (190.1 per game) over five Baker Matches.

"The splits were just killing us," Hawks coach Kayla Bandy said. "We missed to many makeable spares too. We miss a spare and leave a split and all of a sudden you are down by 30 pins. Every set it seemed like we had a 140-150 game mixed in there. We have to get rid of that in order to get better."

Sophomore Paulina Torres (Ponce, Puerto Rico) filled 38 of the 40 frames she bowled, but several players struggled on and off all day.

"Obviously, Paulina in the middle of the game was doing everything she could to keep us above water," Bandy said. "From a coaching standpoint, maybe she should have been toward the end of the lineup. When she is only one of two of seven who are hitting targets and have good ball motion you kind of want to leave them alone so you can build off it."

The Hawks followed up the loss to the Green Wave with a bye since Caldwell University was a no-show. But even the bye was a problem as the team rolled a season-best 1,128, but were later penalized when a player bowled practice balls after throwing fill shots.

 "We need to take accountability for shot making, this is two weekends in a row that Danielle August (Mililani, Hawaii) and Brigitte Jacobs (Freeport, Illinois) basically bailed us out at the end," Bandy said. "It could have been ever worse if they hadn't stepped up at the end of the day. Cayla Hicks (Salem, Virginia) was pretty consistent all day, Brigitte was pretty consistent all day."

Eastern Shore rebounded to edge Mount. St. Mary's 928-921, but the relief was short-lived. Next came losses to Duquesne (1065-916) and Kutztown (1,023-981).

Vanderbilt — which was 4-1 on the day — leads the event with a pinfall of 5,258 (210.3 per game), while the Hawks are 505 pins off the lead.

 "The girls just have to figure it out themselves," Bandy said. "They have to figure out what they are bowling for. We are trying to get better for March, but during that last match, they had the right balls in their hands, they were playing the right part of the lanes and they just have to make shots when it counts.

"Long story short, they just have to figure it out tonight and we have to get better. It's a day we can all recover from and I'd rather it be now than March."

Saturday's Traditional competition begins at 9:55 a.m.