SUMMARY:
The Hawks went 9-3 over a span of three days at this week's Stormin Blue & White Vegas Classic resulting in a fourth place finish in the 19-team field. UMES earned marquee wins against nationally ranked teams including Duquesne, Mount St. Mary's, Oklahoma Christian, Stephen F. Austin and Louisiana Tech.
 
THE SCOREBOARD:
Scores | Day One
No. 16 Hawks v. No.7 Duquesne (W 940-919)
No. 16 Hawks v. Adelphi (W 950-734)
No. 16 Hawks v. No. 12 Mount St. Mary's (W 1026-1014)
No. 16 Hawks v. Oklahoma Christian (W 943-942)

Scores | Day Two
No. 16 Hawks v. No. 1 Jacksonville State  (L 1080-926)
No. 16 Hawks v. No. 9 Stephen F. Austin (W 967-915)
No. 16 Hawks v. St. Anselm (W 948-793)
No. 16 Hawks v. Southern (W 1076-827)
No. 16 Hawks v. No. 10 Maryville (L 939-933)

Scores | Day Three
No. 16 Hawks v. No. 4 Louisiana Tech (W 4-3)
No. 16 Hawks v. No. 7 Duquesne (W 4-2)
No. 16 Hawks v. No. 2 Vanderbilt (L 4-3)
 
Location: South Point Hotel & Casino | Las Vegas, Nevada
 
HOW IT HAPPENED
Entering Wednesday's bracket play after going 7-2 over the first two days of competition, the Hawks had a dramatic come from behind win over fourth ranked Louisiana Tech in the opening match. UMES dropped the first two matches to Louisiana Tech before bouncing back with a narrow five pin win in the third game and a 4-pin win in the fourth to tie up the game. LTU took a 3-2 lead with a 240-162 win in the fifth game before the Hawks completed the comeback with victories of 218-205 and 202-192.
 
UMES recorded their second win over seventh ranked Duquesne in the second round with a 4-2 victory which included an impressive score of 256. Facing defending national champion and second ranked Vanderbilt in the final match of the day, the Hawks were narrowly defeated 4-3 by the Commodores to finish in fourth place.
 
Jacksonville State won the event with Nebraska coming in second and Vanderbilt finishing in the third spot.
 
BY THE NUMBERS
Entering this week's competition ranked No. 16 in the NTCA poll, the Hawks were perfect in the opening day of the event with a 4-0 mark before going 3-2 in on Tuesday and 2-1 in Wednesday's bracket play format. With this week's results, UMES is now 47-20 overall.
 
Brooke Roberts, who was named to this week's all-tournament team, finished seventh in individual competition. Roberts averaged 210.60 with a total pin count of 1,053.
 
All five UMES bowlers in action this weekend finished in the top 40 in a field that featured a total of 123 competitors. Diana Ochoa Hubbard finished in 25^th place with a total of 976 pins and a 195.20 average. Alexis Ingersoll was in 33^rd place with a score of 952 and an average of 190.40. Brooke Driver finished in 35^th with a pin total of 940 and an average of 188.0. Alejandra Amezcua averaged a 185.80 and a score of 929 for a 37^th place finish.
 
The Hawks' fourth place finish is the highest placement the team has earned this season.
  
SPARE THOUGHTS FROM COACH ROGER PETRIN
 "We competed well as a team this week. We won some crucial matches and I was happy with our overall team performance."
 
"We had all five ladies finish among the top third in the field led by a impressive performance by Brooke Roberts. Brooke's focus and execution in the tenth frame really stood as a key factor to our success."
 
"I was pleased with our patience throughout this week's competition. While we faced some challenges and pin deficits, our ladies did not panic and maintained their focus. We were able to earn some quality victories against top ranked opponents and showed that we can compete with the best."
 
"This week was a great way to open up the second half of our season. We will look to maintain our momentum as we prepare for another test against a 37-team field in Delaware next week."
  
UP NEXT
The Hawks will travel to New Castle, Delaware for the Northeast Classic held at Bowlerama. Competition will begin on Jan. 19.