RALEIGH, North Carolina – The University of Maryland Eastern Shore dropped its lone matchup of Saturday play 2-0 to North Carolina A&T. However, the Hawks will still have an opportunity to play for the MEAC Championship Sunday.

After each side wrapped up Day 1 with a 2-0 record, UMES and North Carolina A&T met in a matchup of top seeded teams from the regular season as the Hawks came in No. 2 and the Aggies as the No. 1 with the winner advancing automatically to the MEAC Championship match on Sunday.

The Hawks, though, fell behind through the opening five-game traditional matchup in the best-of-three mega-match as North Carolina A&T took a 918-814 win against UMES. Mariana Santos Rivero led the Hawks in their traditional match efforts with a team-high 181 while Ara Pitts followed up with a 168. Brooke Driver, Aaliyah Friend and Gabriella Ochoa Hubbard closed out the Hawks' efforts with a 156, 155 and 154, respectively.

UMES closed the gap in the second portion of the mega-match of five Baker games, though the Aggies held their ground and beat the Hawks 918-886.

Despite the loss, UMES earned a berth to Championship Sunday with its perfect mark during Day 1 of the double elimination tournament. The Hawks will face the University of Alabama at Birmingham in a 9 a.m. matchup in another best-of-three mega-match Sunday with the winner advancing to the championship match at 2 p.m. against North Carolina A&T with the winner of the tournament automatically advancing to the NCAA Tournament Championship.

The championship match at 2 p.m. will be broadcast live on ESPN+. Fans will have another opportunity to watch the action when the match re-airs on ESPNU on Monday, March 24, at 6 PM ET.