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Sept. 14, 2009 PRINCESS ANNE, Md. - The University of Maryland Eastern Shore cross country and volleyball teams both were on the road this past weekend. Both the men's and women's teams competed at the Towson Invitational and volleyball took on the Delaware State Invitational.
CROSS COUNTRY The men's and women's cross country teams traveled to Hunt Valley, Md. for the Towson University Invitational on Saturday, Sept. 12.
Three UMES male runners placed in the top three spots, which was good for a team second place finish with 49 points.
Junior Amon Kiprotich (Kapsabet, Kenya) took first place out of 44 runners in the men's five mile race with a time of 28:14.86. Teammates Peter Sang (Kapsabet, Kenya) and Shadrack Maritim (Kericho, Kenya) came in second and third with respective times of 28:27.86 and 28:50.93.
Senior Solomon Kirongo (Nairobi, Kenya) placed 16th overall with a time of 30:17.28. The next Hawk finisher was junior Paul Jones-Burden in 38th place with a time of 38:25.94. Sophomore Jermol Dix (Catonsville, Md.), junior Thomas Keene-Dawes and sophomore Damian Miles (Teaneck, N.J.) held the 42nd, 43rd and 44th places with times of 41:52.66, 47:56.58 and 48:31.94.
In the women's five-kilometer run, the Hawks tied for third as a team with 105 points.
Sophomore Cynthia Anais (Paris France) was the highest UMES finisher with a time of 20:57.88 which was good for a tenth place finish out of 65 runners. Senior teammate Tamica Thomas (St. Catherine, Jamaica) was close behind with at time of 21:00.37, good for 11th place. Fellow senior Celia Whyte (Manchester, Jamaica) placed 28th with a time of 22:30.99.
Jessica Abrantes (Scotch Plains, N.J.), a junior, placed 32nd with a time of 22:43.83. Freshman Emilie Ducados and Kenesha Abrams were close together with respective times of 24:26.89 and 24:26.89, good for 43rd and 45th places. Freshman Courtney Gray placed 65th overall with a time of 34:14.08.
VOLLEYBALL Volleyball traveled north to Dover, Del. to participate and go undefeated in the Delaware State Invitational by sweeping Navy, LaSalle and Norfolk State 9-0 at Memorial Hall. The University of Maryland Eastern Shore improved their season record to 8-3.
Sophomore outside hitter Christine Edwards (Lakewood, Calif.) recorded a match-high 12 kills to lead UMES to a 3-0 (25-16, 25-23, 25-14) win over Navy on Friday, which was their first against the Midshipmen since Oct. 21, 2003.
Freshman setter Bella Jade Romero (Arlington, Texas) led all players with 30 assists while also tallying team highs of five digs and three service aces. Senior hitter Whitney Johnson (Prince Frederick, Md.) chipped in with eight kills, a .357 attack percentage, an assist and a dig.
As a team, the Hawks posted a .373 attack percentage (39-11-75) and held Navy to .281 (26-10-57). UMES also held the advantage in aces, 10-5.
Four players had at least six kills as UMES defeated LaSalle 3-0 (25-13, 25-14, 25-16) in the first game on Saturday.
Johnson led the way with a game-high nine kills, followed by seniors Caylin Woodward (Garden Grove, Calif.) and Thonya Joseph (Bridgetown, Barbados) who had seven apiece. Sophomore Zoe Bowens (Long Beach, Calif.) tallied six kills of her own to help UMES win for the sixth time in seven matches and improve to 7-3 on the season.
Romero pitched in with 25 assists and nine digs for the Hawks. Bowens (eight digs) and Woodward (seven) also had strong matches on the defensive end.
Freshman Gina Abbott (Salinas, Calif.) and redshirt junior Samantha Chukwura (Brooklyn, N.Y.) each had a pair of service aces in the victory. UMES hit a season-high .413 (38-7-75) against the Explorers (2-9) and held them to just .045 from the floor.
In the last game of the Invitational, Johnson and Bowens both reached double figures in kills as UMES dispatched Norfolk State 3-0 (25-18, 25-15, 25-14).
Johnson tallied 12 kills and three digs with a .500 attack percentage while Bowens had 11 kills and five digs to help the Hawks win their fourth consecutive match and seventh in their last eighth. UMES did not drop a set on the weekend and hit a solid .372 (43-11-86) against the Spartans, who fell to 2-9 on the season.
Woodward put together another strong performance with nine kills and seven digs and hit .389 in the win and Joseph had three kills, an assist, a dig and three of the team's eight block assists for the day. Sophomore Rebecca Prado (Annandale, N.J.) and freshman Karin Vikterlof (Orebro, Sweden) and Romero each recorded six digs. Romero also chipped in with 32 assists.
UPCOMING WEEK (Sept. 14-21) The men's and women's cross country teams stay in Princess Anne, Md. for the UMES Cappy Anderson Invitational on Saturday, Sept. 20 at 10 a.m.
Volleyball hits the road once again as they travel to Pittsburgh, Pa. for the Pitt Blue and Gold Tournament. On Friday, Sept. 20 they take on Valparaiso at 12:00. On Saturday, Sept. 20 the Hawks play against Pittsburgh at 11:00 a.m. and Youngstown State at 2:00 p.m.
For complete recaps, results and news of Hawk athletics, please visit www.umeshawks.com.
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