By Steve Jones

How many Division I colleges in the state of Maryland have won national championships during this academic year? The answer is two.

The University of Maryland brought home its second consecutive NCAA field hockey title during the fall. In April, its sister campus in Princess Anne reigned supreme in bowling. The University of Maryland Eastern Shore defended its national title with a four-match sweep of Sacred Heart, Vanderbilt, Nebraska and tournament runner-up Fairleigh Dickinson for the NCAA bowling crown.

It wasn't a typical season for an NCAA champion. Sharon Brummell, who had guided the Hawks to national titles in 2008 and 2011, started the season as coach, but left in January to become an athletic administrator at Georgetown University. Kristina Frahm, a graduate student at Salisbury University who bowled for UMES from 2008 to 2011, took over and coached the Hawks to their third NCAA championship in five years.

"The girls knew they needed to work even harder this year," Frahm said. "They not only bowled more, but did a lot of cardio workouts. Our matches can take a long time, and their added endurance helped them a lot."

Even as defending champion, the Hawks were seeded eighth in the NCAA field. Frahm, who said she hoped to return as coach next season, thought the underdog role actually helped the team.

"They used that seeding as motivation," said Frahm, who expects to return seven of eight bowlers for another title run in 2013. "We didn't have any real scouting reports, so we focused on ourselves. You can't worry about what the other team does."

Issue 173: May 2012