NORFOLK, Va., (September 26, 2019)-The Morgan State women's bowling team was picked to finish eighth in the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) Preseason Poll, the conference announced today.
 
The Hawks of Maryland Eastern Shore (MDES), the defending MEAC champions, were picked to claim the MEAC regular-season crown, while Cayla Hicks of MDES was selected as MEAC Preseason Bowler of the Year.
 
The Hawks, who last season defeated North Carolina A&T State to win their second MEAC bowling title in three years, picked up 17 first-place votes and notched 228 points. N.C. A&T State, with two first-place votes, was picked to finish second, while second-year associate member UAB was picked to finish third.
 
Delaware State (two first-place votes) and Monmouth were picked to finish fourth and fifth, respectively.
 
Florida A&M (one first-place vote), Howard, Morgan State, Coppin State, Norfolk State and Bethune-Cookman rounded out the predicted order of finish poll.
 
Joining Hicks on the Preseason All-MEAC team are teammate Brigitte Jacobs, Alexis Neuer  (Delaware State) and Ana Olaya and Ericka Quesada (North Carolina A&T).
 
The 2019-20 bowling season kicks off the weekend of Oct. 11-13, and will again see the league's 11 bowling institutions competing together without being broken into divisions. There will be two conference round-ups during the season: Nov. 8-10 hosted by Coppin State and Feb. 21-23 hosted by Florida A&M.
 
The 2020 MEAC Bowling Championship will be held March 20-22 at the AMF Lanes in Chesapeake, Va. This year, the top eight teams in the regular-season standings will qualify for the tournament.
 
The MEAC Media Relations Office contributed to this release.
 
2019-20 MEAC Bowling Predicted Order of Finish
As voted on by the conference Head Bowling Coaches and Sports Information Directors
(First place votes in parenthesis)
                                                           
1. Maryland Eastern Shore (17)    228 points
2. North Carolina A&T State (2)     216
3. UAB                                               185
4. Delaware State                            179
5. Monmouth (1)                               160
T-6. Florida A&M (1)                        111
T-6. Howard                                      111
8. Morgan State                                81
9. Coppin State                                75
10. Norfolk State                              65
11. Bethune-Cookman                   41
 
2019-20 Bowling Preseason All-MEAC Team
Preseason Bowler of the Year: Cayla Hicks, Maryland Eastern Shore
 
Name                                 School                                       Cl.         Hometown
Alexis Neuer                    Delaware State                         Sr.         Lewisburg, Pa.
Cayla Hicks                      Maryland Eastern Shore         Sr.         Salem, Va.
Brigitte Jacobs                 Maryland Eastern Shore         Sr.         Freeport, Ill.
Ana Olaya                         North Carolina A&T State       Jr.         Bogota, Columbia
Ericka Quesada               North Carolina A&T State       So.        Heredia, Costa Rica