The Kutztown bowling team just defeated reigning national champion Farleigh-Dickinson, 927-803. The 927 points earned by Kutztown in its victory was the highest team total through the 41 matches contested…To clinch the win over FDU, Kutztown's anchor Samantha Santoro (Reinholds, PA/Cocalico ) drilled nine pins on her first roll and easily picked up the spare. Jara Cohen (Marlton, NJ/Cherokee) finished the frame by knocking down eight pins…This was the highlight of KU's day so far…Other highlights through three games include St. Peter's beating Valparasio, 726-725 in a real nail-biter..The teams are well into their fourth matches..The snow is still falling in Berks County..More importantly, teams are munching on fruit, pepperoni slices, cheese, Rice-Krispey treats, crackers granola bars, and fruit gushers between matches and drinking plenty of Gatorade and water..The top five teams through three matches are Vanderbilt (2,572), Maryland-Eastern Shore (2,498), Stephen F. Austin (2,442), Delaware State (2,414), and Kutztown (2,409).

The third annual Kutztown University Invitational bowling spectacular is underway. The participants are pumped and the parents are excited. This tournament brings together 28 NCAA institutions to Berks County, which makes this the largest NCAA event in the tournament in the nation.

 

Before the first match, student-athletes mingled with one another, worked on their lap-tops, and mentally prepared for a fun-filled weekend of strikes, spares, and sensational moments. While the snowflakes fell outside, action inside of Heister Lanes was scalding hot. The maroon-and-gold of Kutztown blended with the green-and-gold of Norfolk State and New Jersey City and combined with the orange-and-green of Florida A&M to form a beautiful kaleidoscope of colors.

 

Heister Lanes had a big-game feel to it as large white Northeast Conference and NCAA banners hung on the wall. There were two cameras set up for the live web stream of the event. As teams warmed up, they all got hyped and started dancing when the hot song “All I Do Is Win” by D.J. Khaled blared over the public address system. By the middle of the first match, there were so many people crammed into Heister Lanes that it was hard to walk without bumping into somebody.

 

Beginning with the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater, teams sprinted onto the lanes as they were introduced to the capacity crowd. Fans, parents, alumni and students were gathered behind the lanes with decorative step-ladders and seated in metal bleachers. Kutztown head bowling coach Joe Ambrose ran around like a track star making sure all of the last minute details were in place. He introduced the teams with the zest of a basketball public address announcer.

 

Members of the Golden Bears posed for photos, exchanged hugs with supporters, cleaned off their shoes, and smiled as they warmed up for their first bowling competition as a team since Dec. 4.