TOWSON, Maryland — The University of Maryland Eastern Shore didn't have the best record after Day 1 of the James Brown Invitational at 3-2, but finds itself in a pretty good spot heading into Day 2 in third place.
The Hawks (48-29, 6-2 MEAC) — who remained at No. 10 in the newest National Tenpin Coaches Association ranking which came out Friday (Feb. 10) — picked up wins against No. 19 Medaille, Coppin State and Bryant University.
"Its third place," Hawks coach Roger Petrin said. "We didn't take bad losses. It was really poor timing matching up with the hottest team in the building in the opening match."
UMES opened the day with a 1062-984 loss to Mount St. Mary's, then topped Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference foe Coppin State (1020-853). The win against Medaille came before a 1046-991 setback against No. 6 North Carolina A&T State.
The last match victory against Bryant was a grinder as the oil had transitioned and nobody in the center seemed to find the right approach.
"The last set was tough," Petrin said. "Ultimately, we came away with a decent overall pin total compared to the rest of the field. Nobody shot 1000 in the last set. It felt like it was still easy to adjust, but then the ball would do the opposite of what we thought would happen. Unfortunately, we missed spares in that last set. We were solid through the first four."
Senior Elizabeth Ross (Schenectady, New York) had a strong overall day for UMES.
"She was pretty solid pair-to-pair all the way through," Petrin said. "She filled a lot of 10th frames. I don't remember her opening in 10th at all and she was there all day."
Competition resumes on Saturday at 9:55 am and will feature five Traditional matches. The Hawks will face: Howard, Alabama A&M, No. 6 North Carolina A&T State, Felician and Saint Francis (Pa).
"I think we had a solid game plan through the first four sets, we just need to keep making adjustments," Petrin said. "When we stick to what we do well and communicate well, usually good things happen."
