 
 
|
Dec. 10, 2007
Christopher Delgado
PRINCESS ANNE, Md.-The University of Maryland Eastern Shore (UMES) had three teams in action over the past week with the men and women's basketball teams traveling and the indoor track teams hosting the annual UMES Lid Lifter Collegiate and High School Invitational's. Meanwhile, a bowling team member was presented with an award during the team's off week. BOWLING The bowling team continued their successful season with Jessica Worsley (Brick, N.J./Brick Memorial H.S.) being named the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) Bowling Athlete of the Week for her performance in the Jeanette Lee Invitational. Worsley was named to the tournament All-Star team after leading the Lady Hawks to a third place finish and a 9-2 mark. She averaged a 203.17, including four games over 200 and a game-high 232 pins in a win over #7 New Jersey City University. UMES extended their Bowler of the Week streak to three with Sara DiScioscia (Hampton, Va./Poquoson H.S.) and Kristina Frahm (Oswego, Ill./Oswego H.S.) having earned it previous the two times. INDOOR TRACK Meanwhile, the indoor track teams opened up their season with a dominant performance as they hosted the UMES Lid Lifter Collegiate Invitational. The teams took first place in half of the events and looked poised to improve up their MEAC second place finishes last season. UMES is hoping to rebound from the loss of several key athletes, including Kimani Kirton, Jason Daley, Dionne Wright, Ronnie Beard, Alfred Singoei, and Danieth Pryce. The teams looked strong in the field events with Rashida Beckford (Kingston, Jamaica/Immaculate H.S.) and James Moore (Manassas, Va./Osbourn H.S.) winning their respective events in the high jump. Cori Otey (Clinton, Md./Arundel Senior H.S.) also took first in the women's long jump (5.19 meters). The Hawks looked solid on the track with Danai Lendor (Lawrenceville, N.J./Lawrence H.S.) leading the way with a win in the women's 60 meter hurdles (9.67). After having won the men and women's cross country teams the Hawks should have no problem competing in the long distance running events this season. Merrecia James (Portland, Jamaica/G.C. Foster College) won the women's one mile run with a time of 5:08.51, while teammate Celia Whyte (Manchester, Jamaica/Essex County C.C.) took second with a time of 5:47.09. On the men's side Amon Kiprotich (Kapsabet, Kenya/Tulon H.S.) finished first (4:27.93) and Clayton James (St.Catherine, Jamaica/Kingston College) second (4:28.51) in the mile run. Tamica Thomas (St. Catherine, Jamaica/G.C. Foster College) dominated the women's 800 meter run with a time of 2:26.44, while Tiffany Webb (Upper Marlboro, Md./Frederick Douglass H.S.) took second (2:45.63). UMES took first through third in the women's 200 meter dash with Tanisha Wisdom (St. Catherine, Jamaica/G.C. Foster College) taking first with a time of 24.91. Once again, UMES took the top three spots but this time in the women's 3000 meter dash. Betty Chumbe (Nairobi, Kenya/Egerton University) finished in 10:56.89 taking first, while the men repeated the feat on their side as Peter Sang (Kapsabet, Kenya/Kapsabet Boys H.S.) won the race in 9:06.09. The women capped of their side of the event by winning the 4x400 meter relay (4:00.94) with the team of Lendor, Otey, Sherie Brown (Baltimore, Md./Edmondson H.S.), and James, while the team of Dexter Miller (Harlem, N.Y./Olympia H.S.), Paul Jones-Burden (Rahway, N.J./Rahway H.S.), William McCullough (Columbia, Md./Oakland Mills H.S.), and James followed with a win (3:20.82) of their own for the men. For a complete recap and/or results visit www.umeshawks.com. WOMEN'S BASKETBALL In other news, the women's basketball team won their first road game of the season against the University of Delaware, 65-53 on Thursday night. The Blue Hens had not lost to a school from the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) since 1997. UMES (4-3) handed the Blue Hens, an NCAA at-large selection last season, their seventh straight loss. The Lady Hawk defense proved to be tough once again as they held Delaware to 30.5 percent shooting from the floor and 17.6 percent shooting from beyond the arc. The Lady Hawks were led mostly behind their freshmen who accounted for 29 points. It was freshmen Casey Morton (Mardela Springs, Md./Mardela H.S.) who led the scoring attack with 14 points, while adding a career-high six assists. "Our freshmen have to play well for us to win," said Head Coach Fred Batchelor. "Casey has been doing that. She is a tough kid, she never gets down." Chena Parker (Poughkeepsie, N.Y./Manhattan Center for Science and Math) who had gone scoreless in the previous six games stepped in due to foul trouble and responded with a career-high 13 points and eight rebounds in just 19 minutes of action. "Her play was huge," said Batchelor. "If she didn't do what she did we wouldn't have won this game. She is a player; our staff knows that, we weren't surprised." UMES out rebounded the Blue Hens, 46-32, and outscored them in the paint, 28-16, while converting 41.5 percent from the field and 16-of-19 (84.2 percent) from the free-throw line. April McBride (New Rochelle, N.Y./New Rochelle H.S.) recorded her first double-double of the season with 11 points and 11 rebounds. Jessica Ayilola (Brooklyn, N.Y./Robert Morris University) also added 11 points in limited minutes, while Tiffany Reid (Philadelphia, Pa./National Christian Academy) finished with eight points, nine rebounds, five assists, and three steals. Delaware was paced by Corinthia Benison who finished with a game-high 15 points. Courtney Irving added 14 points and a team-high eight rebounds. Kyle DeHaven also added 11 points and six assists, while Jamie Mundy chipped in with 10 points and seven rebounds. "This is a huge win," said Batchelor. "They are a well established program." MEN'S BASKETBALL In other action, the men's basketball team dropped a pair of road games, starting with a 78-39 loss to George Washington University on Wednesday night. UMES never got on track as they converted 13-of-63 (20.6 percent) from the field and 3-of-17 from three-point range (10.7 percent). In addition, the Hawks were dominated on the boards, 55-35, and outscored in the paint 36-12. Marc Davis (Baltimore, Md./Walbrook H.S.) was the only Hawk to finish in double figures with 10 points off the bench. Josh Bright (Salisbury, Md./Morgan State University) added nine points, while Denzel Jackson (Philadelphia, Pa./Lincoln H.S.) finished with five points and a game-high 11 rebounds. Ed Tyson (Baltimore, Md./Walbrook H.S.) could not get it going as he finished with just three points, a season-low, on 1-of-16 shooting. The Colonials (3-3) were led by Maureece Rice with a game-high 18 points on 6-of-11 shooting. Wynton Witherspoon added 11 points and seven rebounds. Rob Diggs finished with a team-high 10 rebounds. UMES looking to bounce back from the loss gave Old Dominion University (ODU) a scare before falling, 74-49 on Saturday night. "Overall, I think we played better and were able to do some things differently," said Interim Head coach Meredith Smith. "We were able to run a little more, which opened up the floor for us." After trailing by only 10 at the break, the Hawks would cut the lead to seven just two minutes into the second half but the Monarchs responded with a 17-3 run to take a 50-29 lead with 11:33 left in the game. In the end, the Monarchs shooting proved to be too much as they made 56.7 percent in the second half and 50 percent overall, while the Hawks converted on only 9-of-31 in the second half (29 percent). UMES was out rebounded for the 17th consecutive game, 39-30, and had no answer for the Monarchs inside as they were outscored 47-16. The Hawks also had 18 costly turnovers, which led to 25 points and did not play well in transition giving up 19 points while scoring only two of their own. "I think our guys did a better job on the glass in the second half," said Smith. "I was pleased with the way we spread the ball around and I think it helped us be a little more effective." Tyson led all scorers with 19 points on 8-of-19 shooting. Davis was the only other Hawk to score in double figures with 10 points. Jackson added eight points and a team-high nine rebounds, while Aleksandar Popovic (Novi Sad, Serbia/Weatherford College) finished with six points, eight rebounds, and a team-high two blocks. ODU (5-4) was led by Jonathan Adams with 13 points on six-of-nine shooting in only 21 minutes of action. Abdi Lidonde added 11 points off the bench. Ben Finney finished just shy of a double-double with nine points and a game-high ten rebounds, while also dishing out a game-high five assists. UPCOMING MEET The indoor track teams will compete in their second meet of the year as they host the UMES Coach O Collegiate Invitational on Friday, January 4. UPCOMING TOURNAMENT The UMES bowling team will take several weeks off before they head to Elmwood Park, N.J. to compete in the NCAA Holiday Jamboree on December 27-29. The tournament is scheduled to begin at 12 p.m. during all three days. UPCOMING GAMES The UMES women's basketball team will have a couple of weeks to prepare before traveling to play Syracuse University on Wednesday, December 19 at 7 p.m. The UMES men's basketball team returns will return home to the William P. Hytche Athletic Center on Tuesday, December 11 to take on Kennesaw State at 7 p.m. The team then travels to Staten Island, N.Y. to take on Wagner College on Saturday, December 15 at 7 p.m. All basketball games can be heard live on www.umeshawks.com and live on the radio at WTGM-AM 960 The Team. |
