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Oct. 13, 2008 PRINCESS ANNE, Md. - The University of Maryland Eastern Shore (UMES) men's and women's cross country teams performed well on their home course during the Hawk Challenge on Saturday and the women's volleyball team continued their dominance of the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) Northern Division by sweeping their matches in straight sets. CROSS COUNTRY Senior Merrecia James and sophomore Peter Sang were named UMES Athletes of the Week for the period ending October 5. James finished fourth overall in 18:43 in the women's 5K at the Towson Invitational, leading the Lady Hawks to fourth place as a team. She was the top MEAC runner in the event.
The UMES men were also fourth thanks in part to a seventh-place result from Sang. He ran 26:51 on the 8K course and was the top finisher from the conference. At the UMES Hawk Challenge on Saturday, the women's cross country team finished first bolstered by a second-place showing from James, while the men's team, edged by Norfolk State University, was second. James (18:23.99) and the Lady Hawks scored 36 points, securing the top spot over NSU by 15. Despite Sang and Amon Kiprotich running first and second in times of 25:24.77 and 25:25.21, respectively in the men's 8K for the Hawks, the Spartans placed all five of their scorers in the top-seven spots to take the win by 17 points. Celia Whyte was fifth in the women's 5K event in 18:50.66, followed by Eunice Jones, who was seventh in 18:57.54. Tamica Thomas and Cynthia Anais rounded out the UMES scorers, crossing in ninth and 13th in 19:09.01 and 19:56.78. The men placed their final three scorers in the top 20. Maritim Shadrack finished eighth in 27:18.38. Solomon Kirongo was 11th, coming in with a time of 27:53.70 and Jerome Pyuzza was 20th in 29:07.03. WOMEN'S VOLLEYBALL For the third time this season, the UMES women's volleyball team swept the MEAC weekly honors for week six. 2007 MEAC Player of the Year Whitney Johnson and standout freshman Christine Edwards were named Player and Rookie of the Week respectively. This is Johnson's second Player of the Week nod. She has been solid for the Lady Hawks all season. Hitting 51-percent from the floor in UMES' first home and conference matches, Johnson is ranked nationally in hitting percentage. She finished the weekend with 18 kills on 29 attempts to help the Lady Hawks stay on top of the MEAC Northern Division 2-0. Edwards currently leads the team in kills with 291. The three-time Rookie of the Week received the honor for the second straight week. Edwards averaged 15.5 kills and 4.5 digs. She is ranked 41 in the nation for aces per set.
UMES dropped a tough match to the University of Delaware 3-1 (25-18, 28-26, 22-25, 28-26). This was their first loss in 10 games. Christina Estebané was one of three Lady Hawks to have double-doubles. She finished with a game-high 48 assists and 17 digs. Edwards led the attack for UMES with a team-high 17 kills and 15 digs, while Caylin Woodward totaled 11 kills and 17 digs. Leah Amundson had a team-high 21 digs. "We made some substitutions behind the line serving because we gave up a lot of points in the first set," said Head Coach Don Metil. "You can't beat a team like Delaware who went to the NCAA tournament, and advanced in the tournament to the second round, if you're going to be careless behind the line." The Lady Hawks defeated Hampton University 3-0 (25-14, 25-16, 25-17) on the heels of an outstanding performance from Johnson, who combined for a match-high 15 kills and .700 hitting percentage.
Estebané led UMES with 27 assists, while Chanita Wesley who saw action at Libero, had eight digs. With the win UMES improved to 3-0 in the MEAC. Continuing to sweep MEAC competition, the women topped northern division rival Coppin State 3-0 (25-8, 25-16, 25-18). UMES has swept the Eagles in three sets in all seven of their wins in the last six seasons. 2005 marked the only time in six years that Coppin came out on top of the Lady Hawks, winning 3-2. That same year, UMES posted a 5-28 record. Woodward had a double-double, posting a game-high 13 digs and 11 assists. Estebané finished with a game-high 24 assists. Johnson and Edwards led the Lady Hawks attack. Edwards had a game-high 12 kills and Johnson finished with 11 respectfully. Johnson continued her impressive accuracy, making just one error in three sets. The pair combined for 52-percent of the teams' kills during the match. With the win, UMES (17-7) is tied with Howard University for first place in the MEAC Northern Division. Both teams boast a 4-0 record in conference play. UPCOMING MEETS AND MATCHES Men's and women's cross country is on the road next Saturday in Newark, Del., at the Delaware Invite. The Lady Hawks head to Washington, D.C. next to face American University on October 15 at 7 p.m. before traveling back home to face off against Howard University on October 17 at 6 p.m. The Howard match will be a part of Hawk Hysteria and followed by men's and women's basketball exhibition games. |
