MILLSBORO, Del. – The No. 15 ranked Norfolk State bowling team finished 10th overall out of 19 teams in a very competitive field at the three-day Hawk Classic hosted by UMES this weekend. The Spartans finished with a 6-7 overall record in a tournament that featured 12 of the top 20 teams in the nation.

NSU opened the event with a 3-2 record in Baker play on Friday, before limping to a 1-4 record in team play on Saturday. Seeded 12th heading into bracket play on Sunday, the Spartans took out Kutztown and Monmouth before falling to New Jersey City to finish 10th. Four of NSU's six wins came against nationally ranked teams.

Sophomore Thea Aspiras led the Spartans in team play on Saturday, finishing 12th overall in the tournament with a 192.4 average in all five games. Junior Jessica Overton and freshman Kelsea Yarbrough also bowled all five games, with Overton averaging 178.2 and Yarbrough carding a 170.2 average.

Freshman Courtney Brown and senior Chelsea Krall each bowled four games and averaged 170.5 and 163.0 pins per game, respectively, while freshmen Delilah Bethel and Ashley Buck bowled one game apiece.

NSU opened the tournament with 717-690 loss in Baker play to Monmouth before defeating No. 9 Sacred Heart 710-697. No. 10 New Jersey City then upended the Spartans 746-723, but NSU finished strong at the end. The Spartans downed St. Peter's, 654-580, and handed No. 11 Adelphi an 816-756 loss to cap the first day of competition.

NSU faced a big challenge in the opening match of Day 2 against No. 3 Fairleigh Dickinson, which handed the Spartans a tough 914-885 loss. The Spartans then picked up the only win on that second day with a 948-762 victory over No. 16 St. Francis (N.Y.). After that, NSU fell to No. 8 Kutztown 935-778, No. 7 Sam Houston State 932-845, and 998-866 to No. 2 Vanderbilt.

The Spartans then got a measure of revenge against Kutztown on Sunday with a 4-3 victory in the first match for NSU in bracket play. The Spartans did the same in the second match, this time against Monmouth, the team NSU lost to in the first match of the tournament. NSU handed Monmouth a 4-2 loss to advance in the bracket, but New Jersey City was too much in a 4-1 victory over the Spartans to cap the weekend.

NSU will head to Orangeburg, S.C., for the second MEAC Southern Divisional of the season Dec. 3-4, the last tournament of the calendar year for the Spartans.