UMES takes historic bowling crown
LUT WILLIAMS
BCSP Editor
Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) have won national championships in men's and women's basketball, football, track and field and soccer. Thanks to the University of Maryland Eastern Shore (UMES), bowling can now be added to that list.
The Lady Hawks of UMES staged an improbable comeback to win the 2008 NCAA
Women's Bowling Championship last Saturday evening
at Thunder Alley in Omaha, Nebraska. They beat Arkansas State 4-2 in the finals match that
was televised live on ESPNU.
But the Hawks almost didn't get there. After finishing just seventh in first-day qualifying, they had to fight their way back from a 3-0 deficit against Vanderbilt in the semifinals the team they met in last year's championship match and a team they had defeated 4-0 in early round competition. The Hawks won four straight games to advance to the final round. Jessica Worsley, who went on to capture the 2008 Most Valuable Bowler award, keyed the comeback and subsequent run to the title with clutch performances.
Worsley, who had previously hit a 'big four' split in an early round match, was faced with a 2-10 split in the fifth frame of the fourth game of the Vanderbilt rematch. But just like her earlier pick-up, Worsley nailed it and shifted the momentum for the Hawks.
Those two shots, as well as Worsley rounding out the Game 6 win in the finals, getting a clutch strike to start the tenth, earned her All-Tournament Team and the MVB award. Freshmen sensation Maria Rodriguez was also named to the All-Tournament Team.
The title is the first NCAA National Championship in school history and the second national crown overall since the men's outdoor track & field team won an NAIA title in 1963. It is the first women's title ever at the NCAA Div. I level by a historically black college or university (HBCU) and the first time a woman coach (Sharon Brummel) has won a bowling championship.
In the title match, the Hawks were unable to overcome a deficit and fell 179-223 to ASU in the first game. The UMES comeback was quick in the second game as they out shot the Indians, 200-181. Arkansas State defeated UMES, 182-180 in game three.
The Lady Hawks answered back with a 217-164 win over Arkansas State in the fourth game. UMES was on fire with six strikes and five spares in the game, which brought them to a 2-2 draw with ASU. Two strikes in both the eighth and ninth frames gave the Hawks a strong 175-152 win over the Indians to go up 3-2.
With momentum on its side, UMES capped the night with a 174-170 victory over Arkansas State to capture the championship.
© 2008 Azeez Communications, Inc.