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Oct. 20, 2008 PRINCESS ANNE, Md. - As the University of Maryland Eastern Shore (UMES) fall seasons are beginning to peak, the men’s and women’s cross country teams finished top ten in the Blue Hen Classic, women’s basketball had three named to pre-season All-Conference team and women’s volleyball claimed the top spot in the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) Northern Division. Whitney Johnson and Peter Sang were named UMES Athletes of the week for the period ending October 12. CROSS COUNTRY Sang was named MEAC men's cross country Athlete of the Week last Thursday by the league. Sang (25:24.77) captured the individual title at the UMES Hawk Classic Saturday, helping the Hawks to a second-place finish in the 8K event. Senior Merrecia James, who finished second overall in the 5K women's race (18:19.99), was also cited by the MEAC for her performance. With James' help, the Lady Hawks won their event. The women's cross-country team finished fourth, while the men's team was ninth Saturday in the Blue Hen Classic at White Clay Creek State Park. James was the Hawks' top finisher, completing the five-kilometer course in 18:59.95. She helped UMES score 134 points on the day which was only topped by Pittsburgh (77), Millersville and Delaware (24). Priscilla Jennings of Millersville took the individual title with a time of 18:03.59. Three of the Hawks' remaining four scorers finished in the top-40 runners in the event. Celia Whyte was 21st in 19:59,69, Eunice Jones came in 28th at 20.16.41 and Cynthia Anais finished 38th in 20.45.20. Solomon Kirongo led the UMES men with a time of 27:47.99 on the eight-kilometer course. The Hawks tallied 243 points and Greg Kareis of Pittsburgh won the individual crown in 25:45.44, while Delaware took the team competition with 28 points. Other scorers for the UMES men were Jerome Pyuzza in 62nd with a time of 31:17.56, Paul Jones-Burden, who was 71st in 33:03.77, Damian Miles in 75th in 40:23.27 and Jermol Dix in 76th in 40:54.44. WOMEN’S BASKETBALL
After a 2007-08 campaign where the UMES women’s basketball team tied a school record for wins with 17 and had three all-conference players, you would think the Lady Hawks were poised for great things in the 2008-09 season. Head Coach Fred Batchelor does too, despite what the others in the league may think. "I am a little surprised," said Batchelor. "Don't get me wrong, there are a lot of very talented programs in our conference, and by no means is it easy to finish in the upper half of the league." The pre-season predicted order of finish was released at the conference's annual media day and UMES was selected to finish sixth in the standings. Oddly enough, UMES finished fifth a year ago and returns its top three scorers. Their fifth place finish could have been second had they won their last two regular season games, but the log jam at the top of the standings meant when they dropped those games, they fell into a three way tie for fourth and got the fifth seed. MEAC first team selection April McBride, second-team nod Tiffany Reid, and the conference Rookie of the Year, Casey Morton all return. In fact, all are thought of so highly that they were on the pre-season All-Conference team. McBride is a first team selection with Reid and Morton being named second-team selections. Of the top half of the teams in the conference last season UMES is just one of two programs to return its top three leading scorers. “This league is very competitive," said Batchelor. "Things happen, but the Lady Hawks will do everything within their power to be better than sixth, I can promise you that."
WOMEN’S VOLLEYBALL The American University (AU) women's volleyball team controlled the second and third sets in their win over UMES 3-0 (26-24, 25-20, 25-16). The Lady Hawks were able to shut down AU's 6-8 middle blockers, the Guinness Book of World Record's tallest female twins, but could not push to win a set for the first time this season.
Christina Estebané had a near double-double for the Lady Hawks, posting team highs of 28 assists and nine digs. Christine Edwards led the attack with a team high 12 kills and Leah Amundson tied Estebané with the team high nine digs. The Lady Hawks coasted to a straight-set victory over Howard University 3-0 (25-19, 25-16, 25-16) Friday at the William P. Hytche Athletic Center for the beginning of Hawk Hysteria. Estebané totaled 27 assists and nine digs and Johnson had 10 kills, helping the Lady Hawks stay perfect in MEAC play. With the win, UMES is in sole possession of the top spot in the conference. "I thought we played well," said Hawks' Head Coach Don Metil. "It's exciting to see that through the first half of MEAC play, we've beaten all our northern opponents, 3-0. It's an invigorating and energizing feeling that if we just keep sticking to our gameplans that we develop for each of our opponents ... we're going to continue to be tough to beat." The Lady Hawks improved to a 19-8 record overall with their win over Morgan State 3-0 (25-15, 25-17, 25-18). They continue to stretch their lead at the top of the MEAC Northern Division, boasting a 6-0 conference record with only four matches left before the tournament. Kills were spread around the Lady Hawks front line as Estebané put up a game-high 29 assists and Edwards led the team with a game-high nine kills. Caylin Woodward finished with a game-high 11 digs. UPCOMING MEETS UPCOMING GAMES UPCOMING MATCHES
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