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Feb. 13, 2008
Christopher Delgado
PRINCESS ANNE, Md.-The University of Maryland Eastern Shore (UMES) had four teams compete over the past week with men and women's basketball, bowling, and the indoor track teams all seeing action. BOWLING The bowling team posted a 10-4 record at the NCAA Mid-Winter Classic in Jonesboro, Ark. and in the process won their first tournament championship this season. UMES (77-19) took home the title as they combined for 13,289 pins. The third ranked Lady Hawks picked up wins over #5 Fairleigh Dickinson, #17 St. Francis (N.Y.), Grambling State, #7 Arkansas State, #16 University of Wisconsin-Whitewater, #12 Jackson State, #10 Delaware State, #2 Vanderbilt, Florida A&M, and Bethune-Cookman. The Lady Hawks dropped their first game of the tournament to #1 Nebraska and would eventually come out on the losing end against #9 Alabama A&M, #4 Central Missouri, and #11 Minnesota State-Makato. Jessica Worsley and Kristina Frahm were both named to the All-Tournament team after averaging 212.2 and 203.67 pins respectively. UMES posted 26 games over 200 during the first two days of competition. "We bowled great," said Head Coach Sharon Brummell. "Day three was a little disappointing, but overall, the team needed this. We went into an event with all five of the top teams in the nation and we came out on top. Sure, four more wins would have been great, be we knocked down more pins than anybody and showed we can bowl with anybody." UMES totaled 126 more pins than second place #8 Sacred Heart who posted a 14-1 mark. Finishing in third place was #5 Fairleigh Dickinson with an 8-7 record. Rounding out the top ten were #1 Nebraska, #4 Central Missouri, #11 Minnesota State-Mankato, #9 Alabama A&M, #7 Arkansas State, #2 Vanderbilt, and #10 Delaware State. Note: The tournament championship was decided by pinfall. UMES bowled one less game than the teams that placed second, third, fifth, sixth, seventh, eighth and tenth. Worsley was named Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) Bowling Athlete of the Week for the second time this season following her tournament performance. She finished with the second best average pinfall, 212.2, in a field of over 100 bowlers, while totaling seven games over 200. This marks the sixth time a UMES bowler has won the award. Meanwhile, Frahm was also recognized as an `Other Top Performer' by the MEAC for her effort as she finished with the fifth best average in the tournament. INDOOR TRACK In other action, the indoor track teams had an impressive performance as they set more than a dozen records and had one runner qualify provisionally for the NCAA Championships at the Yale Giegengack Invitational in New Haven, Conn. Allodin Fothergill, a mid-season addition, set the school and meet record in the 400-meter dash with a first place time of 47.92. He continued his dominant performance in the 200-meter dash as he posted another meet record with his time of 21.84, also good for first place. Fothergill also ran the anchor leg of the 4x400-meter relay team that featured Dexter Miller, Paul Jones-Burden, and Clayton James. They finished first in the event with a time of 3:14.13, which included breaking the meet record and running a school best time this season. On the women's side, Celia Whyte finished second in the 800-meter run with a time of 2:08.93, which provisionally qualified her for the NCAA Indoor Track and Field Championships. "We had an outstanding meet," said Head Coach Ernest Barrett. "The track was fast and so were our athletes. We set a lot of personal and meet records. We have left our mark on the event." Tanisha Wisdom, reigning Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) Track Athlete of the Week, also set a meet record in the 400-meter dash by finishing first with a time of 54.66. Wisdom ran the third leg on the 4x400-meter relay team of Sherie Brown, Whyte, and Danai Lendor that captured gold with a new meet record time of 3:45.06. Two more personal records were set in the women's events as Lendor finished the 400-meter dash with a time of 57.70, while James completed the 3000-meter run in 10:06.38. Tamica Thomas continued the record pace as she set personal bests in the 3000-meter run and mile run with times of 10:42.37 and 5:20.49 respectively. Not to be outdone, Saisha Woodward also set a personal record in the shot put with a throw of 13.83 meters (45'4.5"). In the men's events, Jones-Burden did not want to be left out of the record setting as he set a personal best and freshmen record for the school in the 400-meter dash with a time of 48.69, good enough for third place. "We showed well in almost every event we had an entrant," said Barrett. "We had just an outstanding meet." Note: There was no team scoring at the meet. Wisdom and Fothergill swept the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) Track and Field Athlete of the Week honors following their performances at the meet. Wisdom continued her solid season by capturing her fourth MEAC award the year, while Fothergill earned his first. For a complete recap and/or results visit www.umeshawks.com. WOMEN'S BASKETBALL In other news, the women's basketball team set a school record by winning their seventh straight game. Their last three wins have come against Coppin State University (CSU), Delaware State University (DSU), and Howard University. The Lady Hawks picked up their fifth straight win with a 69-62 decision over CSU and in the process helped Coach Batchelor earn his first career victory against the Eagles. UMES (12-8, 5-2 MEAC) rolled to their fourth straight conference road win behind some outstanding scoring and tremendous defense. The Lady Hawks had four players finish in double figures and for the second straight game had two players each record a double-double. McBride posted her seventh double-double with 18 points and 16 rebounds, while teammate Brittany Adkins recorded the second of her second career as she finished with 13 points and 13 boards. Morton and Reid added 18 and 15 points respectively. Reid also had three steals and three assists as well. The Lady Hawks dominated the boards with Chena Parker finishing with 10, while Jessica Ayilola pulled down six to make it a lopsided 55-35 advantage on the glass. Both teams controlled the ball fairly decently as there were just 31 turnovers between them. UMES did outscore CSU in the paint, 16-8, while taking better advantage of second chance opportunities, 21-8. The game featured seven lead changes and five ties with the Lady Hawks taking their first lead, one they would not relinquish, on a pair of McBride free-throws, 25-24. The Eagles did shoot out shoot UMES from the floor (41.1-32.8 percent) and downtown (40-21.4 percent), however; the Lady Hawks did hold the advantage at the free-throw line where they got there 19 more times than CSU (40-21). "This was a great win," said Batchelor. "We did a nice job of getting good plays and great rebounding. We scored when we had to and really found a way to control the game. I am proud of the team effort." The Lady Hawks improved their winning streak to six straight games, setting a school record, and moved into a tie for second place in the conference with a 61-55 decision over DSU in the W.P. Hytche Athletic Conference. "Six straight means a lot," said Batchelor. "It shows what we are capable of. It is a nice record to have but we have to stay focused on our ultimate goal." UMES (13-8, 6-2 MEAC) held the Hornets top two scorers to just six points, while finishing with four players in double figures. Morton gave the Lady Hawks their first lead since the opening stanza, 58-55, after converting on a three-point play with 34 seconds left in the game. Morton led all scorers with 17 points. "Coach called a play but the defender cheated and I had a one on one and I took it to the basket," said Morton. UMES converted 90 percent of their free-throws in the second half and 83.3 percent overall. The Lady Hawks made as many free-throws from the charity stripe in the second half as DSU took all game. "Free throws are a sign of mental toughness," said Batchelor. "We didn't start the game mentally tough, we were being pushed around and we were not ready to play. That is why the defense was so critical; it kept us in the game. I think after halftime we got mentally tough and grew as a team in that phase of the game." McBride finished with 13 points and a team-high eight rebounds, while Reid and Queenique Tyler added 11 and 10 respectively. "It's all coming together," said Morton. "But we are not there yet. We are gaining confidence in ourselves and coach has confidence in us too." "I was worried about us as a team tonight," said McBride. "But we played with our hearts and didn't have a letdown. We are just taking it one game at a time. Our goal is to win the MEAC, but we can't do that without concentrating on winning each game as they come." The Lady Hawks improved their school-record winning streak to seven games as they cruised past Howard, 105-87. UMES (14-8, 7-2 MEAC) led by as many as 41 points in the contest, while dominating Howard on the boards, 64-34, and shooting an impressive 53.2 percent for the game. The Bison turned up the pressure defense in the second half, which enabled them to hold a 26-17 advantage in the turnover department. "I would have liked for us to complete the game a little better," Head Coach Fred Batchelor said. "We have a much better bench than it looked like in the last couple minutes and I thought we didn't play our best to finish the game. I thought we played, at spurts, very well, particularly with the starting lineup and their rotation." Senior Kristi Veltkamp started in place of Parker who was out with an illness. Veltkamp answered with the best game of her season, finishing with 16 points and nine rebounds. McBride posted her seventh double-double of the season with 18 points and 13 rebounds, while Reid matched a career-high with 24 points. Josephine McLane chipped in with a career-high 16 points as well. Morton also finished with 12 points. UMES reached the 100 point plateau for the first time since the 1991-92 season when they downed Bowie State 102-50. The Lady Hawks are proving to be just as successful off the court as on. Veltkamp was announced as a First Team selection to the ESPN The Magazine Academic All-District Women's Basketball Team, a program from the College Sports Information Directors Association (CoSIDA). Veltkamp was selected from the District Two, University Division; along with four other of the region's top players. The University Division is inclusive of only DI schools. As a first-team selection, Veltkamp goes to the national ballot where she will be voted on as an Academic All-American. Voting begins on February 12. In order to be voted upon for All-District honors, players must carry a minimum of a 3.2 grade point average (GPA) and be a significant contributor to the team. Veltkamp is one of two seniors on the Lady Hawks and was the 2005-06 Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference Defensive Player of the Year. She is a Human Ecology major with a GPA of 3.98. MEN'S BASKETBALL Meanwhile, the men's basketball team had dropped 12 straight games with a recent loss coming against Coppin State University (CSU) before ending the skid with a win over Howard University. The Hawks tried to end an 11 game skid behind the play of Tyson who accounted for more than half the team's points in a 59-54 loss to CSU. Tyson led all scorers with 30 points on 10-of-18 shooting from the floor. "Ed Tyson was outstanding," said Smith. "However, we don't have anyone else to score. We have to play the hand we are dealt and we tried everything and no one else would step up and provide any more offense tonight. We can't win when Tyson is the only one scoring." Marc Davis added 11 points while Denzel Jackson chipped in with eight points and 14 rebounds. The two remaining starters and bench combined for just five points, a three-point basket from Gary Lee and a field-goal from BJ Nimocks. The Eagles shot better than UMES from the field (46.3-39.6 percent), beyond the arc (40-23.5 percent), and free-throw line (62.5-44.4 percent). UMES did outrebound CSU on the glass, 36-27, while scoring more points off turnovers, 13-11, and taking better advantage of second chance opportunities, 9-2. "We have to put the ball in the basket," said Smith. "We just aren't doing that." The Hawks capitalized on solid free throw shooting and turned up the pressure on both ends of the floor in route to a 59-56 win over Howard. UMES (3-21, 1-8 MEAC) were able to convert on 11 straight free throws in the second half and 21-of-27 (77.8 percent) overall for the game, while limiting Howard on the defensive end to just 11 total free-throw attempts (6-of-11). "I thought our ability to execute down the stretch made all the difference in the game," said Interim Head Coach Smith. "We spent a lot of time in the 2-3 zone during practice this week and I felt it helped us tonight." The Hawks snapped a 12 game losing streak and picked up their first Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) win of the season behind a solid performance from freshmen Davis who led all scorers with 20 points on 12-of-15 shooting from the foul line. Davis also added a career-high eight assists to go along with four steals and four rebounds. The Bison made it interesting down the stretch as they cut the lead down to three on two separate occasions and then to 58-56 on a White three-point basket with 12 seconds to go in the game, but each time were thwarted off by key UMES free throws as they held on for the win. Tyson, the leading scorer in the MEAC, finished just below his season average with 18 points. While no other Hawk player finished in double digits, Ishmawiyl McFadden, Lee, and Nimocks did add eight, seven, and six points respectively. Lee also grabbed a career-high seven rebounds. Both teams shot a respectable number from the floor with UMES holding the slight advantage (38.3-36.4 percent). Howard did manage to out shoot the Hawks from beyond the arc (35.7-18.2 percent) but on 28 attempts. The Hawks did outscore Howard in the paint, 14-10, and off turnovers, 21-12, while holding close in several other categories, including rebounds (36-31), turnovers (15-12), and second chance points (14-9). UPCOMING MEET The UMES indoor track teams will try to better last year's second place finishes when they compete at the MEAC Championships in Landover, Md. on February 15 and 16. UPCOMING TOURNAMENT The UMES bowling team will head to Baltimore to participate in the Morgan State Invitational on February 16 and 17. The Tournament is scheduled to begin at Noon on both days. UPCOMING GAMES The UMES men and women's basketball teams will travel to Greensboro, N.C. for a set of games against North Carolina A&T on Saturday, February 16. They then stop in Virginia to take on Norfolk State on Monday, February 18. The Lady and Fighting Hawks will face the Bulldogs at 2:00 and 4:00 p.m. respectively on Saturday, while Monday's tip-off times against the Spartans are set for 5:30 p.m. for the women and 7:30 p.m. for the men. All basketball games can be heard live on www.umeshawks.com and live on the radio at WTGM-AM 960 The Team. |
