MILLSBORO, DE - Monmouth University junior Kaitlyn Reth (Baltimore, MD/Overlea) earned All-Tournament honors with her third place finish as an individual, while the women's bowling team finished in fifth place at the UMES Hawk Classic this past weekend. Reth, who claimed her second straight top-10 individual finish, paced Monmouth to a 9-6 record over the three-day event at Millsboro Lanes.
Monmouth opened the competition on Friday winning its first four matches and finishing the day at 4-2 overall. The Hawks bested #15 Sacred Heart (959-906) in match one, and capitalized on strikes in the 9th and 10th frames from senior Valerie Bermudez (Guayanbo, Puerto Rico/Cupey Maria Montessori) and Reth to top #13 Saint Francis University by one pin, 958-957 in the second match. Reth returned to throw 12 consecutive strikes for the Blue & White in match three, which defeated #23 Franklin Pierce 1066-863. The four-match win streak culminated with a 1017-938 triumph over #24 Adelphi.
Despite dropping their final two matches on the day to eventual tournament winner #9 Central Missouri (974-972) by two pins, and to #4 Sam Houston State (1060-923), the Hawks stood in second place after the first round of competition.
The Hawks went 4-2 on Saturday, opening with a 1001-884 victory over #18 St. Francis Brooklyn, before dropping a 1020-931 decision to #2 Fairleigh Dickinson. Monmouth responded with three straight victories, as the Hawks topped #14 LIU Brooklyn (887-869), NJCU (905-672) and #16 Kutztown (968-892), before falling to #4 Sam Houston State (962-886).
Seeded fourth entering the final day of competition, the Hawks went 1-2 on day three, which was a best 4-of-7 Baker Format. Monmouth lost 4-0 to #3 Vanderbilt to start the day, and fell to host #12 UMES 4-3, before rebounding to defeat #13 Saint Francis 4-2 to claim fifth place overall. In the match against the Red Flash, the Hawks dropped game one by three pins and responded with a second game 247, Monmouth's highest game score of the day.
“Our performance this weekend was a reflection of our team's hard work over the past few weeks," stated head coach Karen Grygiel. "Everyone stepped up and did their part. Having a strong first day, put us in a position to stay in the top of the field and be competitive throughout the rest of the tournament. Overall, the team had a good look on the lanes the entire weekend. We learned a lot of positive lessons and will continue to work hard in preparing for next semester's tournaments.”
“Kaitlyn's 12 strikes in a row for baker competition on Friday and all-tournament team performance on Saturday contributed to the team's energy and level of competitiveness.”
Reth, who posted a game average of 210.83, finished in third place overall as an individual (the top-five in earn all-tournament honors), her second top-10 finish of the year.
Monmouth will take part in the Garden State Classic at Howell Lanes on December 5 and 6, which consists of an individual event on Saturday, and round-robin matches with New Jersey schools on Sunday.
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UMES Hawks Classic Final Tournament Standings/Statistics
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