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Sept. 17, 2008 Princess Anne, Md. - The University of Maryland Eastern Shore (UMES) saw the beginning to the cross country season at the Navy Invitational for men and Salty Dog Invite for women this past week. Also competing was the women’s volleyball team in the Ramada Invitational in Buffalo, N.Y., where they faced off against some of the toughest teams in the north and mid-west. CROSS COUNTRY Peter Sang finished 21st at the Navy Invitational for men, and Cynthia Anais was the Lady Hawks' top finisher in the Salty Dog Invite for women at the United States Naval Academy. Sang's time of 26:07 in the 8K led the Hawks to a 12th-place finish overall in the men's race. Anais was 84th in a time of 26:25 for the 6K women's event, the largest Salty Dog Invite in its seven-year history. Amon Kiprotich crossed in 27:39 in 62nd spot, while Solomon Kirongo (28:02), Jerome Pyuzza (30:13) and Paul Jones-Burden (31:30) finished 77th, 114th and 117th, respectively.
Other finishers for the UMES women were Celia Whyte in 27:45, Eunice Jones (28:34), Danai Lendor (32:15), Betty Chumbe (33:01), Janeth Chelangat (33:11) and Tiffany Webb (34:16). The Lady Hawks finished 15th as a team. WOMEN’S VOLLEYBALL Whitney Johnson was again in her conference player of the year form, tallying 20 kills on 43 swings with nine errors for a hitting percentage of .256 against the Butler University Bulldogs in the opening game of the University at Buffalo Ramada Invitational. Freshmen sensation Christine Edwards was also strong with 15 kills and two aces. However, her total 15 errors hurt the Hawks overall as they fell 3-2 (25-22, 20-25, 25-23, 17-25, 10-15). All-MEAC selection Caylin Woodward started slow, but rebounded for 11 kills on 33 attacks, hitting .212. Fellow conference player Christina Estebané tossed up 49 assists and led the defense with 18 digs. UMES never really found a rhythm against hosting University at Buffalo in the day’s nightcap game as they fell 3-1 (25-19, 26-24, 19-25, 25-18). Johnson again led the Hawks with 12 kills while Samantha Pimental served up a match high four aces. The teams’ best performances came from middle blockers Samantha Chukwura and Thonya Joseph, who tallied nine kills each. They were impressive when they swung as Chukwura had 18 attacks and two errors hitting .389, while Joseph only swung 12 times, but committed just one error for a .667 attack percentage. Estebané put up her second double-double of the day with 34 assists and 12 digs. In two stunning sets, UMES got the win they needed to close out the tournament, defeating the University of Maine Black Bears 3-0 (25-22, 26-24, 26-24). During the course of the second and third sets, the score was tied a total of 26 times with 13 lead changes. Edwards had a match-high 13 kills, hitting a much improved .379 on only two errors. Estebané posted her third double-double of the tournament with 27 assists and 14 digs. Woodward led the Lady Hawks in digs (15) and attack percentage (.462).
Estebané and Chukwura were both named to the Ramada Invitational All-Tournament Team. The event saw the Hawks leave New York with a 1-2 record, now 4-5 overall, and with the runner-up title of the tournament. Estebané had a good outing on the weekend, posting 15 kills on 53 swings, with amazingly, only one error. She tallied 110 assists over 12 games and was instrumental in almost knocking off tournament champion Butler. Chukwura was also impressive, tallying 18 kills on 39 attacks with only three errors, an amazing percentage of .385. She added six blocks to the Hawk defensive effort. For the third straight week a University of Maryland Eastern Shore (UMES) volleyball player has been named the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) Player of the Week. This week, the honor goes to Estebané, who earned the honor for the second time. Estebané' was also named to the All-Tournament Team of the Hokie Invite in week one, a performance that also earned her the MEAC Player of the Week. She is also this weeks inaugural UMES Female Athlete of the Week. UPCOMING MEET The cross country teams’ next challenge will be hosting the UMES Cappy Anderson Invite Saturday, September 20 at 10:30 a.m. UPCOMING TOURNAMENT The Lady Hawks will be traveling to Williamsburg, Va. to the William & Mary Colonial Challenge September 19-20 where they will face-off against the hosting Tribe, the Elon University Phoenix and the Radford University Highlanders. |
