KUTZTOWN, Pa. (January 26, 2011)—The Kutztown University women's bowling team is preparing to host the third annual Kutztown Invitational Friday Jan. 28-Sunday, Jan.30 at Hiester Lanes in Reading. It's the nation's largest bowling NCAA tournament of the 2010-11 season.
Fans can catch all the action live at
BOWL.com, the official website of the United State Bowling Congress, as it will provide a free webcast of the entire event.
In addition to Kutztown, competing teams for 2011 KU Invitational are Adelphi, Bethune-Cookman College, Cheyney University, Coppin State College, Delaware State University, Farleigh-Dickinson University, Florida A&M University, Hampton University, Howard University, Long Island University, Maryland-Eastern Shore, Medaille College, Monmouth University, Morgan State University, New Jersey City, Penn State-Altoona, North Carolina Central University, Norfolk State University, Sacred Heart University, St. Francis (PA) College, St. Francis (NY) University, Stephen F. Austin, St. Peter's College, SUNY-IT, Valparaiso, Vanderbilt University, and the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater.
The Golden Bears (41-13 overall) finished fourth in last year's invitational but has their standards set even higher for this weekend. In the latest National TenPin Coaches Association (NTA) poll, Kutztown is ranked seventh which is the highest ranking achieved since the 2008-09 season.
The competition will be stiff as 28 teams from as far as Texas, Wisconsin, and Florida compete for the KU Invitational title during the three day event. Thirteen of the nation's top-20 ranked teams along with all 10 Northeast Conference (NEC) members will be present. The NEC displayed its bowling dominance in last year's event with four NEC teams finishing in the top eight.
Friday will kick off with six four-game Baker matches beginning at 11 am. Total pins on Friday will determine seeding for Saturday match schedule only. Saturday will resume at 9:30 am with six traditional team matches and Sunday will conclude the tournament with three best four-of-seven Baker matches position round bracket style starting at 8:30 am.
Freshman
Brooke Bower (Camp Hill, PA/Cedar Cliff) has made her short time at KU enjoyable as she leads the Golden Bears with a 202.3 traditional team average. In the Red Flash Invitational, Bower rolled a striking 266 which was a game-high.
Junior
Kayla Jones (Johnstown, PA/Westmont Hilltop ) is right behind Bower with a 201.8 average on the season. Jones hit her highest performance of the season in the NEC Meet #1 rolling a 267 in game three. Her poise, experience, and focus is what makes Jones a valuable asset.
Senior
Kayla Stamm (Reading, PA/Governor Mifflin) has also had some huge contributions for the team. Stamm, a captain of the KU bowling team also had her best game at the NEC Meet #1 as she rolled a 259. Freshman
Deanna DiRado (Greensburg, PA/Greensburg Salem) has got accompanied with her role and is an important part of KU's success. DiRado is averaging a solid 190.4 and rolled her season best at the NEC Meet #1 with a 243.
Kutztown added to its stellar accomplishments this season and while most students were enjoying their winter break,
Samantha Santoro (Reinholds, PA/Cocalico ) made her way to Las Vegas for the Team USA Trials. Santoro finished 17th and after 36 games, Santoro averaged over 200. During the trials, she had a pin fall of 7,242.
The KU Invitational started as a way to save some money from the Golden Bears program's travel budget has quickly evolved into one of the winter's top tournaments.
