UMES,
Southern and WSSU to vie for NCAA Bowling Title
March 25, 2004
Three HBCUs are part of the eight-team field competing
for the inaugural NCAA
National Collegiate Bowling Championship. The field, announced
Wednesday by the
National Collegiate Women's Bowling Committee includes Southern
University, University of Maryland-Eastern Shore and Winston-Salem
State University along with Central
Missouri State University, Fairleigh Dickinson
University, Metropolitan Campus, University
of Nebraska, Lincoln, New Jersey City University
and Sacred Heart University.
All eight teams were selected at-large.
"I am so excited," UMES Head Women's Bowling Coach Sharon Brummell
exclaimed. The selection makes UMES one of eight teams in the country to be
invited. "There are 43 NCAA schools that sponsor bowling,
and to be one of the eight selected is quite an achievement," she added.
And for three HBCUs to make the final field of eight is very significant.
Texas Southern University and the Harris County-Houston Sports Authority
will co-host the championship, which will be held April 8-10 at the Emerald Bowl in Houston, Texas.
Currently the UMES Lady Hawks are ranked eighth in the country by College
Bowling USA. They are ninth in the Bowling Writers Association Poll, and 11th
in the National Collegiate Bowling
Coaches Association Poll.
The announcement from the NCAA comes on the heels of UMES qualifying for the Intercollegiate
Bowling Championships, held in Tulsa, OK. That championship is for the top
16 women's bowling teams, NCAA or club. The Lady Hawks qualified by taking
third in the IBC Sectionals this past weekend in Downingtown, PA. This will
be their second straight invite to the IBCs and first ever in the NCAA Championships.
The Southern Lady Jaguars are three-time defending SWAC Champions.
The Lady Rams of WSSU were chosen based upon their stellar play this
past season which earned them a CIAA Western Division regular-season title,
and
the number
one seed in the 2003 CIAA Women's Bowling Championship Tournament.
The competition begins with each team bowling seven regular
games along with three Baker games for a qualifying total. The Baker
format allows five team members to follow each other in order, each
bowling a complete frame until a complete (10 frame) game is bowled.
Based on the pinfall of the qualifying round, the teams are
placed in a double-elimination bracket. Teams compete against each other
in a best-of-seven Baker-style bowling competition.
The championship will be broadcast on a one-day tape delay on ESPN2. The
program will air on Sunday, April 11, at 2 p.m. Eastern Time and will air in
a 90-minute television format.
