HANRAHAN, Louisiana — The University of Maryland Eastern Shore went undefeated in bracket play on Sunday (Oct. 21) and took third place at the Allstate Sugar Bowl Collegiate Bowling Invitational.
The Hawks, ranked No. 7 in the National Tenpins Coaches Association Preseason Poll (10-3) finished behind only No. 5 Sam Houston State and No. 1 Vanderbilt, while defeating three Top 25 squads on the day.
Six seeded Eastern Shore opened bracket play on Sunday with a 4-1 win against No. 13 Lincoln Memorial From there, they topped No. 19 University pf Alabama Birmingham 4-2 and then finished out the day with a 4-1 win against No. 17 Louisiana Tech.
"I am feeling super excited about our performance this weekend and what we are going to accomplish with this group," head coach
Kayla Bandy said. "
Brigitte Jacobs (Freeport, Illinois),
Chloe Skurzynski (Carlisle, Pennsylvania), and
Alejandra Amezcua (Baja California, Mexico) were great. They were consistent and that's what we are working towards, consistency in our performance and lineup."
Jacobs left just two of 32 frames unmarked on Sunday, while Amezcua led the team in strike percentage on the day with 53 %.
Skurzynski was named to the All-Tournament Team after finishing second in traditional play on Saturday with a 220 average.
"Others had bright moments this weekend that we can build on.
Isabel Hughes (Raleigh, North Carolina) and
Brooke Roberts (Port Orange, Florida) had a good weekend, their hard work in preseason shows," Bandy said. "
Cayla Hicks (Salem, Virginia) and
Paulina Torres (Ponce, Puerto Rico) gave us everything they had to get the job done. Paulina filled frames like a champ and Cayla found her rhythm Sunday.
Morgan Cooper (Gloucester Point, Virginia) didn't get a lot of frames in, but this girl is what being a teammate is all about as she was always ready when we needed her and constantly provided moral support to her teammates."
Hughes was second in strike percentage with a 50 % and marked in 11 of her 12 frames. Hicks and Skurzynski each put up an 88 % fill percentage.
It was an impressive performance by the team for the second day in a row after rebound from a rough start on Friday. As a team they had a 42 % strike percentage, took out nine pins or better on the first ball 70 % of the time, had an 83 % fill percentage and picked up single-pin spares 92 % of the time.
The Hawks return to action Oct. 25-27 at the Cougar Classic at Rockaway Lanes in Rockaway, New Jersey.
