PHOTO GALLERY

DAY ONE BLOG

READING, Pa. (January 28, 2011)—Cheers and chants from the country's elite ripped through Hiester Lanes as the Kutztown Invitational kicked off day one of what will be an action-filled weekend. The Kutztown University women's bowling team finished in sixth place out of 28 teams, with a pin fall of 4,811 after six quad baker matches. (CLICK HERE FOR TEAM STANDINGS) / (DAY ONE MATCH-BY-MATCH RESULTS)

The Golden Bears (45-13 overall) enjoyed remixing their own version of the famous movie “Cool Runnings” when they debuted its new cheer before competition began. The atmosphere was exhilarating as teams danced to the music busting through the speakers during the practice session, applauded and picked each other up. Although the environment was fun and seemed like a girl's night out, teams knew that they had to compete.

The greatest moment was when KU defeated the reigning 2010 NCAA national champs, Farleigh-Dickinson 972-803. KU fans were excited as they exchanged hugs and high fives nearly filling a three-row bleacher. Kutztown went 4-2 on the day. Although it got off to a slow start, they couldn't be happier with the results.

“Everybody knows that FDU is the team to beat,” freshman Rebecca Velaquez said. “We went out there and bowled amazing against them. It feels good at the end of the day to walk away knowing that whether you bowled or not, you're a part of a team that beat them.”

The Golden Bears dropped their first match to New Jersey City College, 765-726 but used that game as motivation to get their energy flowing. In its second game, KU defeated Florida A&M 756-738. Kutztown continued its streak, defeating Sacred Heart 812-750 and Adelphi, 768-669. The Golden Bears played a tough match against University of Maryland-Eastern Shore, ranked no.1 in the National TenPin Coaches Association (NTCA) but fell to the Hawks 878-822.

“We bowled great all day except for the first match,” Kutztown University head coach Joseph Ambrose said. “Tomorrow we will focus on making our adjustments quicker and being right into matches from the get go.”

Tomorrow will feature six traditional team matches. KU will face Vanderbilt which is currently leading the tournament with 5,232 pins, St. Francis-NY, North Carolina Central University, Penn State-Altoona, Florida A&M, and Adelphi. Kutztown senior Kayla Stamm (Reading, PA/Governor Mifflin) will be honored before the day's festivities begin.

Fans can catch all the action live on bowl.com beginning at 9:30 am.