Nov. 26, 2007

Christopher Delgado
UMES Sports Information

PRINCESS ANNE, Md.-Three of the University of Maryland Eastern Shore (UMES) athletic teams kept busy over the holiday break, including bowling and both men and women's basketball, while volleyball had their season end in the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) Tournament championship game.

Bowling traveled to St. Louis, Missouri over Thanksgiving, while men's basketball partook in an 11-day, five-game road trip that span across four different states and included three travel days of over 15 hours.

VOLLEYBALL

The volleyball team seemed poised to take over as MEAC champions after an opening round win over #4 Norfolk State, 3-0, and an exciting semifinal win over #3 Delaware State, 3-2. However, the Lady Hawks ran into #1 Florida A&M and could not overcome the Rattlers who won their seventh consecutive championship and 99th straight conference match with a 3-1 win. The loss ended UMES' 23 game winning streak.

"We were not mentally tough enough to pull through this match," said Head Coach Don Metil. "I am still very proud of our team because they never gave up. I have a positive outlook even though it wasn't the end to the perfect season like we hoped."

Metil can be proud as three of his players took home postseason honors to go along with his MEAC Coach of the Year award. Sophomore Whitney Johnson (Prince Frederick, Md./University of Albany) won MEAC Player of the Year and was named to the All-MEAC First and Tournament Teams. Junior Christina Estebane' (El Paso, Texas/ Midland College) was also named to the All-MEAC First and Tournament Teams, while sophomore Caylin Woodward (Garden Grove, Calif./Pacifica H.S.) received All-MEAC Second Team honors. Junior Holiday Eller (Minnetonka, Minn./St. Benilde-St. Margaret's H.S.) was a MEAC All-Tournament Team selection.

Johnson was named MEAC Player of the Week five times this season and was the first player to win the award for UMES since Jana Milin won it back to back in 2002 and 2003. She finished second in the conference and 22nd in the nation with 4.91 kills per game.

Metil led the Lady Hawks to a 24-4 overall record and a 10-0 conference finish in his debut season. UMES was picked to finish third in the 2007 MEAC preseason poll but won the northern division and ended as runner up in the MEAC Tournament. As a team the Lady Hawks led the nation in aces per game (2.84) and were fifteenth with a .857 winning percentage.

BOWLING

In other news, the bowling team concluded two separate tournaments posting a 16-4 mark and improving their overall record to 31-6. UMES hosted the third annual Eastern Shore Hawk Classic in Millsboro, Del., which featured 20 of the nation's premiere bowling teams. The Lady Hawks finished third (9-2) behind #1 Vanderbilt, the reigning National Champions, and #3 Fairleigh Dickinson, the 2005 NCAA Champions.

Sara DiScioscia (Hampton, Va./Poquoson H.S.) earned the first ever MEAC Bowling Athlete of the Week for her 197.67 average during the Eastern Shore Hawk Classic.

The Lady Hawks placed second (6-2) at this past weekend's National team Match Games. Kristina Frahm (Oswego, Ill./Oswego East H.S.) was named to the All-Star Team after averaging 211.1 for the tournament and finishing as the second highest bowler, including the best high series of the event with a 682.

WOMEN'S BASKETBALL

In other action, the women's basketball team is off to a 2-2 start despite dropping the season opener 77-71 to rival Morgan State University in a non-conference game. The Lady Hawks responded with wins over North Carolina Central, 54-32, and Niagara, 67-60, but dropped their last game to Saint Francis (PA), 58-47.

Tiffany Reid (Philadelphia, Pa./National Christian Academy) leads the Lady Hawks with 15 points, 2.5 assists, and two steals per game. April McBride (New Rochelle, N.Y./New Rochelle H.S.) is the second leading scorer with 13.5 points on 44.7 percent field-goal and 38.5 three-point shooting and leads the team with six rebounds per game.

Freshman Casey Morton (Mardela Springs, Md./Mardela H.S.) is third on the team with 8.5 points per game, while senior Kristi Veltkamp (Hudsonville, Mich./Lansing Home School) is averaging 6.5 points and 5.3 rebounds per game on a team-high 55.6 percent field-goal shooting.

MEN'S BASKETBALL

Meanwhile, the men's basketball team has started the season 1-5, losing a number of close games Interim Head Coach Meredith Smith felt they should have won.

"We have learned how to keep ourselves in the game, now we just have to learn how to win," said Smith.

UMES dropped their regular season opener to Virginia Commonwealth University 70-51, but responded by winning their home opener against Stony Brook, 53-52. The Hawks dropped all four games of the South Padre Island Invitational with loses coming against Bradley University, 98-71, Iowa, 65-48, Valparaiso, 66-55, and Florida Gulf Coast University, 71-58.

Ed Tyson (Baltimore, Md./Walbrook H.S.) was named to the All-Tournament Team after averaging 20.2 points per game during the tournament, including a 32 point outburst against Iowa. Tyson is averaging a team-high 20.2 points for the season as well.

Freshmen Marc Davis (Baltimore, Md./Walbrook H.S.) and Denzel Jackson (Philadelphia, Pa./Lincoln H.S.) are second and third on the team in points with 9.7 and 7.8 respectively. Davis leads the team with 2.83 assists per game, while Jackson is first with 6.5 rebounds and 2.66 steals per game.

UPCOMING TOURNAMENT

The UMES bowling team will look for another solid outing on December 1 and 2 as they compete in the Jeanette Lee Invitational in Midlothian, Va. starting at 12 p.m. on both days.

UPCOMING GAMES

The UMES women's basketball team hosts back to back games against Longwood University on Saturday, December 1, and Western Michigan University on Monday, December 3. Both games are scheduled for 6 p.m. The Lady Hawks then travel to Newark, Del. to face the University of Delaware on Thursday, December 6 at 7 p.m.

The UMES men's basketball team hosts rival Delaware State University on Saturday, December 1 at 4 p.m. The Hawks then travel to Washington D.C. to take on George Washington University on Wednesday, December 5 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.