PRINCESS ANNE, Maryland — The University of Maryland Eastern Shore finished out bracket play at the Northeast Classic in Deptford, New Jersey with a 2-1 record and finished 15th in the event.
The Hawks (40-33, 3-5 MEAC) opened the morning up with a 4-0 win against National Tenpin Coaches Association No. 17 Long Island University. The second match of the day was a tough 4-3 loss to No. 25 Monmouth University.
In the final battle of the day, The Shore took down LIU once again — this time 4-1 — to finish the event with a 7-6 overall record.
Seventeen of the 18 teams in the event were ranked in the NTCA Top 25. The Hawks picked up wins against three teams in the Top 10 (No. 1 Sam Houston State, No. 5 Vanderbilt and No. 10 Maryville).
"I feel like closing it out with a 2-1 day and coming away 7-6 with this field in general is a good weekend," Hawks head coach Roger Petrin said. "There were a lot of good teams. If you had told me at the beginning of the weekend that we would go away 7-6 knowing that our top bowler would only be able to bowl one day and another would have to battle through thumb and hip issues just to finish the event, I would have said you were crazy."
Brooke Roberts (Port Orange, Florida) had a very strong Friday, but COVID protocols forced her out of the lineup before Saturday competition began and Eastern Shore with just five active bowlers. Brooke Driver (Woodbridge, Virginia) somehow managed to bowl eight matches while battling injuries.
"She was really tough and she said she didn't want to be the reason we had to pull out and go home," Petrin said. "She did really well to not just finish, but put up some good games and some good matches."
The Hawks will next travel to the James Brown Invitational Feb. 11-13 in Towson, Maryland.
