04

Megan Buja

Class: Junior Hometown: Rockford, Ill. High School: Thomas Jefferson H.S.

Height: 5-4 Handed: Right

Brummell on Buja: "Megan is in a great place," said Head Coach Sharon Brummell. "Whether she knows it or not, she will be afforded the chance to compete as a freshman, but learn behind some of the best bowlers in the world, right here at UMES. Our young ladies bowl internationally and at national tournaments all year round. This is a full-time commitment to bowl for us, we expect our bowlers to stay at the top of their game. We know in Megan we are getting just that, a fully committed and talented bowler."

Personal: Born Nov. 27, 1991 in Rockford, Ill....Daughter of Ann and Tm Buja...Enrolled in the Physician's Assistant Program at UMES...Best advice received: "You have to play to win, rather than play to not lose"...Goals for career: Be an All-American....Best Sports Moment: Winning the state championship her sophomore year and runner-up honors...Attended Thomas Jefferson High School...Was editor of the school yearbook and worked on the school's newspaper...Coaches middle school bowlers in her hometown...Was named a NIC-10 Scholar-Athlete all four years of high school and named valedictorian of her class of 380 students.

High School: Led team to an Illinois State Championship in 2008, was runner-up in individual standings that same year...Earned the NIC-1 Conference High Average Award in 2007 and 2009, was the State Runner-Up in 2008, a member of the All-State Team 2008-09, the NIC-10 MVP in 2009, a conference First-Team selection 2007-2010 and named the Bowler's Journal Top High School Prospect in 2008... Named Jefferson Female Athlete of the Year in 2007, 2009 and 2010...Was Team MVP each year from 2007 through 2010... Holds the High Average Record all four years...Averaged a 218 for her prep days...Posted a 300 at the Illinois High School Association (IHSA) State Finals, just the fourth ever recorded in the history of the event...Her teams made a finals appearance each year, was the runner-up in 2010 and conference champions in 2008 and 2010...Her junior and senior years also saw her earn an award as one of five female bowlers in the nation to be named a Dexter/USBC High School All-America Team member, was just the third female to ever earn a two-time selection. (Selection to the team is based on the student-athlete's bowling accomplishments from the current school year, academic achievement (minimum 3.0 grade-point average on a 4.0 scale), letters of recommendation, extracurricular activities, community involvement, and submitted essays and resumes. Five boys and five girls have been selected for the honor since the 2005-06 school year)...In league play averaged a 221...Rolled two 800 series and three perfect games. In 2010 she finished 33rd out of 521 bowlers at the Junior Gold Championships.

2010-2011: Bowled in 12 games and knocked down 2,157 total pins...Averaged a 179.75 for the season...Tallied a career high of a 238 in the second MEAC North Meet...Saw action in both the NCAA and USBC Collegiate finals where UMES became the first college bowling team to win both championships in the same season

2011-2012: Recorded a Top 50 (42nd/600) finish at the 2011 United States Bowling Congress (USBC) Junior Gold Championships...Was named to the FDU N.J. Jamboree All-Star Team...Named to All-Tournament Team at the Prairie View A&M Invitational...Earned the USBC's 2012 Alberta E. Crowe Star of Tomorrow Award...All-MEAC Second-Team Selection...Named the NCAA's Elite 89 Award recipient for the highest GPA of any student-athlete at their sport's respective championship... Named to the Capital One Academic All-District II Team. She was a First-Team selection in the University Division for women's at large teams...Named to the MEAC Commissioner's All-Academic Team...Bowled in 55 team games averaging a 195.25...High game of a 264 in the Prairie View Invitational...Bowled in 68 Baker Games.