PRINCESS ANNE, Maryland — The University of Maryland Eastern Shore will return to action on Friday (Feb. 10), but will face just a short jaunt across the state to Towson for this week's competition.

"Practices have been going well and we are transitioning back to competing during school, so that is the big thing," Hawks coach Roger Petrin said. "That has meant some 6:30 a.m. practices and I think the girls are transitioning well. Hopefully, by going to 6:30 they'll be more ready to compete at the start of competition, because we'll already be used to getting up so early."

The Hawks (45-26, 6-2 MEAC) will be part of a 13-team field at the James Brown, which has allowed the organizers to get a little creative with the competition structure.

"We're going to bowl every team in the field and then after the last match, we'll bowl a one-match final based on seeding," he said. "They made it so you could bowl every team once and then add a match to have a final. Total pins are very important in this format, so this weekend we aren't looking to be in the Top 4, but rather the Top 2 before that final."

The field may not be as strong as some of the Hawks' recent events, but they aren't going to take anyone for granted.

"The second that you don't give a team respect is when they make it challenging on you," Petrins said. "But again it's not really about who is across from us. It's about knocking down pins and hopefully you get the most out of what you are trying to do and by the end of each match it's more pins than the other team."