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Feb. 6, 2008
Christopher Delgado
PRINCESS ANNE, Md.-The University of Maryland Eastern Shore (UMES) had four teams compete over the past few weeks with men and women's basketball, bowling, and the indoor track teams all seeing action. BOWLING The bowling team picked up eight wins and just one loss at the final MEAC Northern Division meet of the season in Hampton, Va. In doing so, the Lady Hawks improved their overall record to 59-13 and finished first place in the division with a 24-3 mark in MEAC play. The Lady Hawks picked up wins over Howard (2), Hampton (2), Morgan State (2), Coppin State, and # 10 Delaware State (DSU). Their only loss came to rival DSU in a head to head match. The teams split all six meetings this season, giving UMES their only three conference losses this season. UMES had only three games over 200 with Laura Zanrucha rolling the highest game at 223. "It was a tough meet for us," said Head Coach Sharon Brummell. "However, we got through with eight wins and only one loss so we should be in good shape for MEAC's. Now we get ready for this weekend." The Lady Hawks looked solid in their preparation for MEAC Championships as they took home third place after posting nine wins and two loses at the Bowie State Invitational in Bowie, Md. UMES (67-15) picked up baker game wins on day one over #5 Fairleigh Dickinson, #17 St. Francis (N.Y.), and Kutztown, while losing to #8 Sacred Heart and #6 New Jersey City. The Lady Hawks cruised through the team match games on day two with wins coming against Norfolk State, South Carolina State, Coppin State, Virginia State, #20 Bowie State, and Elizabeth City State. Maria Rodriguez, a mid-year addition, was solid in her first appearance for the Lady Hawks as she knocked down 1,224 pins on her way to a 204 average. Meanwhile, Sara DiScioscia finished with the third highest average, 213.33, out of more than 130 bowlers. Overall, UMES finished with 16 games over 200. Jessica Worsley and Rodriguez led the way with four apiece, while Martha Perez's 268 was the highest game by a Lady Hawk at the tournament. Rodriguez earned Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) Bowling Athlete of the Week, the fifth of the season for UMES, following her first collegiate meet. She joins teammates DiScioscia, Worsley, and Kristina Frahm (twice), as MEAC winners this season. INDOOR TRACK Both the men and women's teams continued to show well at the Fordham Invitational held at the Armory Track & Field Center in New York City. The men tied for second, while the women finished third as they both competed in 14 team fields. On the men's side, senior Clayton James picked up a win in the 800-meter run with a time of 1:55.54, while the team of Dexter Miller, Paul Jones-Burden, Corey Alexander, and James won the 4x400-meter relay with a time of 3:17.88. The women ran well as Tanisha Wisdom, reigning MEAC Track and Field Female Athlete of the Week, won both of her events as she finished first in both the 200-meter dash and the 400-meter dash with times of 24.57 and 55.55 respectively. Merrecia James also picked up a win in the one mile run as she crossed in 5:05.19. The 4x400 meter relay team of Sherie Brown, James, Celia Whyte, and Wisdom won the event in dominating fashion as they posted a 3:50.34, which was more than five seconds better than Princeton. "It was a great meet," said Head Coach Ernest Barrett. "We had some impressive finishers and showed that we can compete with some of the best teams in the East." Following her performance in the meet, Wisdom, was named MEAC Track and Field Female Athlete of the Week for the second straight week, while James was named as an `other top performer' on the men's side. Both teams had another solid performance at the Penn State Open. The women's 4x400-meter relay team of Brown, Whyte, James, and Wisdom set a new school record with a time of 3:42.40, shattering the previous time of 3:37.93, and with that time finished two seconds shy of provisionally qualifying for the NCAA Indoor Track and Field Championships. They finished second behind Penn State. James Moore also set a new school record in the high jump with a jump of 2.09 meters (6'10.25"), which was good for second in the event based on a judge's decision. Moore broke the previous record held by Christopher Morrison who set the record in 2005 with a jump of 2.08 meters (6'10"). The women's only first place finish came from James who won the 800-meter run with a time of 2:14.85 "We accomplished some impressive feats today," said Barrett. "I am proud of the way we competed and we are very close in a few areas of qualifying for nationals." For a complete recap and/or results visit www.umeshawks.com. The indoor track teams had one runner qualify for the NCAA Championships, while several others set personal and school records at the Great Dane Classic in New York, N.Y. Wisdom was impressive on the track yet again, as she ran a 54.37 in the 400-meter dash, which provisionally qualified her for the NCAA Indoor Track and Field Championships. Wisdom also ran the anchor leg of the 4x400-meter relay team that featured Brown, Whyte, and James. They finished first in the event with a time of 3:47.66. Not to be outdone the distance medley team of Tamica Thomas, James, Whyte, and Wisdom took third place as they set a new school record in the event with a time of 12:14.19. The previous record held was 12:30.37. Two personal records were set in the women's events as James finished the mile run with a time of 5:01.75 and Joycelyn Wheeler had a throw of 12.39 meters in the shot put. In the men's events, Amon Kiprotich took second as he ran a personal best of 8:37.64 in the 3000-meter run, while Jones-Burden set a personal record finishing sixth out of more than 40 competitors in the 400-meter dash with a time of 48.98. The men's team finished the meet in eighth place while the women came in fourth. "The team had some outstanding performances," said Head Coach Ernest Barrett. "We really showed well against some top programs." Wisdom was named Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) Track and Field Female Athlete of the Week for the third time this season following her performance at the meet, while Kiprotich was recognized as an `Other Top Performer' on the men's side. WOMEN'S BASKETBALL In other news, the women's basketball team has won four consecutive games, including their last three over Florida A&M University (FAMU), Bethune-Cookman University (BC-U), and Morgan State University (MSU). UMES (9-8, 2-2 MEAC) spoiled the Rattlers homecoming by converting seven-of-11 (63.6 percent) from downtown and 14-of-22 (63.6) from the field in the second half to take a 60-50 win. "I thought both the effort and the energy were better in the second half," said Head Coach Fred Batchelor. "We were able to knock down some shots, which I thought gave us a lot of confidence and swung the momentum in our favor." Meanwhile, the Lady Hawks defense helped their cause by holding FAMU to 31.6 percent from the field and 25 percent from downtown. UMES dominated the Rattlers on the boards, 47-32, including grabbing seven more on the offensive end, 16-9. There were 37 total turnovers in the game with FAMU holding a 20-17 advantage, however; the Lady Hawks made the most of those mistakes by converting 15 points to just eight from the opposition. "This was a good win for our team," said Batchelor. "I think it is important to go on the road in a hostile environment and come away with the victory." Tiffany Reid led all scorers with 16 points on six-of-10 shooting from the field and four-of-eight from three-point range. She converted all four of her shots in the second half, which included three from beyond the arc. April McBride recorded her fifth double-double of the season as she added 12 points and 12 rebounds. Chena Parker grabbed a season-high 10 rebounds to go along with six points. The Lady Hawks used a balance attack to cruise past BC-U and secure their third straight win, 77-51. "I thought we did a lot of things well tonight and had great production from our bench," said Batchelor. "I am very proud of the way we played defensively and I thought our offensive play was solid." UMES (10-8, 3-2 MEAC) had 11 different players score in the game, all but one, and outscored the Wildcats bench 38-13. Jelila Abdul-Bassit, one of three Lady Hawks to finish in double figures, finished tied for a game-high 14 point on five-of-seven shooting from the field. Casey Morton and McBride added 13 and 11 respectively. Overall, UMES outrebounded BC-U, 43-31, outscored them in the paint, 24-18, and had eight more assists, 17-9. The Lady Hawk defense held the Wildcats offensive players in check for majority of the night as they would only convert on 31.3 percent from the field and 7.1 percent (1-of-14) from downtown. "I think this is a positive step for our team to come down to Florida and take two wins back home with us," said Batchelor. "I think we are really starting to come together as a team." The Lady Hawks made it four in a row as they capitalized on an impressive shooting effort in route to a 95-80 win over MSU. UMES (11-8, 4-2 MEAC) connected on 32-of-59 (54.2 percent) from the field and 13-of-21 (61.9 percent) from downtown in the game, while limiting the Bears to just three-of-18 (16.7 percent) from beyond the arc. "I thought we shot the ball extremely well and it helped open up the entire floor for our team," said Batchelor. "Coming in we knew this was an important game and it was a total team effort in the win." Reid, one of two Lady Hawks to have a double-double, finished with a career-high 24 points and 12 rebounds, which was one shy of tying a personal best. She connected on nine-15 from the floor and six-of-nine from beyond the arc, while adding five assists. McBride added the second double-double, finishing with 20 points and a career-high 19 rebounds to go along with a new personal best, six assists. Morton also chipped in with 14 points. In the end, UMES outrebounded MSU, 48-32, had more assists, 19-7, but was outscored in the paint, 50-24, and had more turnovers, 20-11. "It felt good to get this win and the team continues to improve with each game," said Batchelor. "I was really pleased with the way everyone played tonight." MEN'S BASKETBALL Meanwhile, the men's basketball team has dropped 11 straight games with recent losses coming against Florida A&M University (FAMU), Bethune-Cookman University (BC-U), and Morgan State University (MSU). UMES (2-18, 0-5 MEAC) held a brief second half lead before falling to FAMU, 72-64. "Our guys definitely fought hard." Interim Head Coach Meredith Smith said. "At the end of the day though, this game was still more about the shots that we didn't make, as opposed to those that we made." UMES did shoot the basketball better than they had, going 25 of 50 from the floor, including five-of-11 from beyond the arc. The Hawks came into Saturday's contest shooting just 33 percent on the season. Both Marc Davis and Ed Tyson finished with solid numbers; Davis had 16 points on six-of-10 shooting before fouling out, while Tyson scored a team-high 18 points on 50 percent shooting from the field. Although the Hawks were without the services of both their centers they were only outrebounded by the Rattlers, 35-33. Unfortunately, UMES also turned the ball over nine more times than FAMU, 16-9, which led to 25 points for the Rattlers compared to just nine from the Hawks. "We turned the ball over too many times, which may have spoiled our chance to win the game in the second half," said Smith. "It seems like it's the same type of things that hurt us every game." The Hawks then turned their attention to BC-U where they exchanged leads 12 times before falling, 63-54. "I think we put ourselves in position to win the game, but again, we couldn't make a lay-up when we needed it," said Smith. "We missed four of five lay-ups in the first half." Tyson led the UMES offensive attack with a game-high 24 points, while adding a career-high five steals in all 40 minutes of action. Davis, the only other Hawk player in double figures, added 13 points and six assists, while Denzel Jackson grabbed a team-high nine rebounds. Jahmal Bivins had a career night as he finished with seven points, seven rebounds, and two assists in 20 minutes of play. BC-U turned on the shooting in the second half and finished the night 42.2 percent from the field, 50 percent from three-point range, and 81 percent from the free-throw line. It was the Wildcats defense that held stiff in the end, limiting UMES to just three-of-21 (14.3 percent) from downtown although the Hawks finished a respectable 36.8 percent from the floor. Without the services of both centers, UMES was tough on the boards only getting outrebounded, 37-32, while essentially holding an advantage in several other categories, including points in the paint, 26-10, second chance points, 16-8, fast break points, 7-2, steals, 12-5, turnovers, 21-13, and points of them, 24-13. "The defensive effort was good, but we hurt ourselves by missing easy baskets and in the final analysis that was a big part of the outcome," said Smith. UMES went for the upset bid against MSU but came up short in the second half as the Bears pulled away to 67-52 win. "Overall, I thought the team played extremely well in the first half and I was very pleased, but in the second half we had a tough time making a basket," said Smith. "We had a hard time getting rebounds and shots to fall and I thought that hurt us at the end of the game." UMES (2-20, 0-7 MEAC) went cold from the floor in the second half, converting 21.4 percent from the field and going zero-for-six from beyond the arc as they finished just one-of-15 (6.7 percent) in the game. Despite holding a one rebound advantage in the first half, the Hawks were outrebounded by MSU 29-16 in the second frame and 46-34 overall. Tyson, the only Hawk to finish in double figures, led all scorers with a game-high 28 points on 13-of-15 shooting from the line, while adding six rebounds and three steals in all but one minutes of action, 39. "I thought Tyson played exceptionally well and I was very impressed with his performance," said Smith. The Hawks finished close in several categories with MSU, including points in the paint, 26-22, turnovers, 14-13, second chance points, 16-14, and bench points, 16-15. UPCOMING MEET The indoor track teams will gear up for MEAC Championships when they compete at the New Balance Gotham Cup in New York, N.Y. on February 8 and 9. UPCOMING TOURNAMENT The UMES bowling team will start continue preparing for the MEAC Championships as they head to Dover, Del. to compete in the Capital Classic on February 9 and 10. The Tournament is scheduled to begin at 10:00 a.m. on both days. UPCOMING GAMES The UMES women's basketball team will return home to the friendly confines of the William P. Hytche Athletic Center for a three game stand beginning with rival Delaware State University on Wednesday, February 6. Tip-off is scheduled for 6:00 p.m. They Lady Hawks then join the men's team in hosting Howard University on Saturday, February 9, and Hampton University on Monday, February 11. The Lady and Fighting Hawks will face the Bison at 2:00 and 4:00 p.m. respectively on Saturday, while Monday's tip-off times against the Pirates are set for 6:15 p.m. for the women and 9:00 p.m. for the men, which will be broadcast on ESPNU. All basketball games can be heard live on www.umeshawks.com and live on the radio at WTGM-AM 960 The Team. |
