HARAHAN, Louisiana — The University of Maryland Eastern Shore went 5-0 on Saturday (October 15) at the Colonial Lanes Classic and picked up a pair of wins against Top 25 opponents — No. 8 Louisiana Tech and No. 17 host Tulane. The Hawks (9-0) are in second place in total pinfall.
"They didn't really look nervous at any given point about it," head coach Roger Petrin said. "They just bowled. We are continuing to just bowl and keep to ourselves and even against stiff competition we are just bowling and we seem to enjoy bowling together as a group."
Senior Elizabeth Ross (Schenectady, New York) carried the momentum from Friday's strong day into Traditional play on Saturday taking top individual honors with a 5-game average of 226.2 and a high game of 257 to end the day against the Bulldogs.
"I think that there are adjustments that we made after the end of last season," Petrin said. "And with me having a better understanding of her equipment too, it's really just coming to her now. I think she is seeing the lanes and seeing what she wants to accomplish. She's understanding who she is as a player and what she wants to see and how to get there when she bowls now. And — including in practice — she is seeing things that she never saw last year.
"Day-by-day, shot-by-shot I think we'll see some good things happening."
The Hawks finished the day in second place in pinfall just 124 pins behind top-seeded North Carolina A&T State, who they will open bracket play with on Sunday morning.
UMES opened the day with a 964-892 win against Texas Southern with junior Gabriella Ochoa Hubbard (Nogales, Sonora, Mexico) posting a team-high of 236.
"Gabby's game is starting to transform," Petrin said. "There are still some skills that she is developing. Not necessarily lack of those skills, but more not knowing exactly when to take them out. We learned a little bit today in those later games. She's doing a lot of good things and she's making her spares."
Next came a 978-965 victory against Prairie View A&M as Ross put up a 221 and Brooke Roberts (Port Orange, Florida) chipped in a 207.
It was host Tulane who fell next 1017-964, with Roberts the high bowler (223), Ross adding a 217 and Alyssa Zombirt (Southaven, Mississippi) a 207.
Jackson State fell next by a 983-847 score with Zombirt leading the way (244) followed by a red hot Ross (235) and a 220 from Roberts.
Ross' 257 against the Bulldogs helped the Hawks to a 1042-951 victory as Brooke Driver (Woodbridge, Virginia) added a 208 and Zombirt a 200.
"Brooke Driver struggled a bit early on, but I think it was just shot making," Petrin said. "She couldn't get comfortable. She had a good look and a good shape, but we just thought let's bring Alyssa in here and she put some good shots up. But in that last set when Brooke Driver came back in, the lanes were ugly. The funny thing is that when the lanes are ugly Brooke Driver usually has a good look. She's unique in that way for our team."
It wasn't the easiest of days for Roberts, who grinded through much of the day fighting to keep her scores up and still managed a five-game average of 207 for fifth place as an individual.
"She is not bowling her greatest," Petrin said. "She is not doing Brooke Roberts things, but she still finished fifth. She had to fight for all, but about a game and a half."
Zombirt had a strong day with a three-game average of 217.
"She came in and she threw a lot of really good shots," Petrin said. "Throughout the whole time, she didn't feel confident coming back from the practice pairs, but you know I basically said you wanted this so go prove it and she's proving it. She has proven that she is here, she can compete with this team and that's what she wanted. I think she is feeling pretty good about her performance today."
Freshmen Mariana Santos (Jumandi, Colombia) and Alexis Ingersoll (Fulton, New York) saw their first action of the season beyond fill shots. Santos bowled a game and a half, while Ingersoll finished out the second game.
"They both got some shots in and it was in a game where the score obviously wasn't needed for the win, but we were trying to figure out a way to gain some pins, so we got some college shots for them and got to see them playing with the rest of the team.
"Today hit all the cylinders. We were able to compete, get wins, stay in second and get our freshmen some shots."
Bracket play begins Sunday at 9:30 eastern.
"I think that even though we have some new people on the team there is still a lot of experience that we are starting to recognize that we have within the team. I think we are understanding our roles very well at the moment and that is only good for us moving forward."
