UMES Lady Hawks Fall; Finish 5th in NCAA Bowling Championship

NORTH BRUNSWICK, N.J.—Some things just aren't meant to be. With a team that has no seniors, the University of Maryland Eastern Shore (UMES) will try again next year to claim their second NCAA Championship. They bowed out early, falling to New Jersey City University 4-1, and finishing tied for fifth in the nation. "We always come in with the expectation of winning," said Sharon Brummell, UMES head coach. "I think we got a fresh start this morning after a rough day yesterday. We played well under pressure in our win over Vanderbilt but we made a lot of mistakes and I think the team that makes the least mistakes on this shot will be the winner."

Mistakes may be an understatement, the Lady Hawks (103-37) left 15 open frames in their five games against NJCU (78-45), 10 of which were splits. "We couldn't get Paula going," said Brummell of sophomore All-American Paula Vilas. "She is the key to our engine, she starts us up. She wanted it so bad but as the lead-off we need her to strike and we just couldn't get her, or anyone for that matter, adjusted to the pattern." The pattern, Brummell speaks of, is how the oil is laid on the lanes.

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University of Maryland-Eastern Shore 2008 NCAA National Championship bowlers Kristina Frahm and Jessica Worsley.

(Washington Post) -- Earlier this year, the University of Maryland-Eastern Shore's athletic department posted this poll on its Web site: "Which winter team is most likely to win the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference in their respective sport?" Sandwiched between women's basketball and men's track was women's bowling, which led all other choices with just less than 44 percent of the vote.

Conference rival Delaware State's Web site had a similar question. Of the 11 sports on the ballot, bowling had a commanding lead of close to 40 percent.

These two schools are the pace-setters among the women's bowling teams in the nationally dominant MEAC, which comprises 11 historically black colleges and universities. UMES, the 2008 national champion, is the MEAC's flagship bowling program, sitting second in the National Tenpins Coaches Association top 20 alongside national powers Vanderbilt and Nebraska. Delaware State, the conference's defending champion, is ranked third and made the NCAA semifinals last spring. In total, five conference teams, including Florida A&M, Norfolk State and Morgan State, are in the top 20 out of a pool of more than 50 in the NCAA.

But women's bowling is not just the new standard-bearer for MEAC athletics; these days, the sport is also helping to change what a historically black college looks like. As the conference's best teams have cemented themselves in the national rankings, they've attracted many non-black bowlers, which has furthered diversity on campus. UMES currently has no black bowlers and Delaware State has two on its 10-person roster.

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UMES Brummell named NTCA Coach of the Year/Three Lady Hawks named All-Americans

The National Tenpins Coaches Association (NTCA) has named the University of Maryland Eastern Shore Head Women’s Bowling coach Sharon Brummell their 2008 Division 1 National Coach of the Year. “Wow,” said Brummell, a four-time Mid-Eastern Athletic (MEAC) Coach of the Year. “What a compliment, to be voted the Division 1 National Coach of the Year by your colleagues is truly an honor and a humbling experience.”

Brummell led the University of Maryland Eastern Shore (UMES) to their fourth MEAC Championship and the first ever NCAA National Championship in Women’s Bowling this past season and was rewarded for her efforts by being selected for the honor. The National Championship is just the second in school history and the first NCAA title. Brummell also became the first woman and African-American to lead her team to an NCAA Bowling National Championship.

The Lady Hawks Bowling Team have earned three All-Americans for the second straight year and with it move their total up to seven in the last three seasons. The awards, named from the National Tenpins Coaches Association selected Kristina Frahm (Oswego, Ill./Oswego East H.S.), Maria Rodriguez (Ibague Tolima, Columbia/La Presentacion) and NCAA Tournament Most Valuable Bowler Jessica Worsley (Brick, N.J./Brick Memorial H.S.) as the latest three Lady Hawks to earn All-American status.

Frahm, the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) Tournament Most Outstanding Performer, earned First-Team All-American status and with it was voted the Division 1Rookie of the Year. The freshman “sensation “ knocked down over 15,000 pins individually during the season and averaged an impressive 201.83 over the course of the year.

Rodriguez, a Second-Team All-American selection was equally impressive. Also a freshman, Rodriguez only bowled the second half of the season and still managed to take out over 8,000 pins and post an average of 204.7. Rodriguez earned All-Tournament Team honors at two of the biggest events of the year for UMES, the MEAC Championships and the NCAA Championships.

Worsley, one of just two seniors on the team was named a Third-Team All-American. The NCAA Tournament MVP, Worsley was as clutch as they come in big spots. She hit the “big four,” 4-6-7-10 split against Arkansas State to seal a win early in the NCAA Championship and then a critical 2-10 split against Vanderbilt. A former MEAC MVP, Worsley was also named the UMES Female Athlete of the Year the past two seasons.

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