KUTZTOWN, Pa. (October 28, 2011)--Six Months after their first NCAA Championship appearance, Kutztown has achieved another first-time feat. The Golden Bears have earned top billing in the Northeast Conference bowling preseason coaches' poll.

Kutztown, which garnered three first-place votes, edged out defending NEC champion Fairleigh Dickinson and its four first-place nods in the overall tally to become the preseason favorite to win the nation's most-competitive collegiate bowling conference.

Coming off its seventh trip to the NCAA Championship in eight years, Fairleigh Dickinson finished one spot ahead of Sacred Heart, which garnered the three remaining first-place votes, in the preseason survey of the league's 10 head coaches.

New Jersey City came in fourth followed by Adelphi in fifth and St. Francis (NY) in sixth. Long Island claimed the seventh spot in the rankings ahead of two second-year programs. Saint Francis (PA) and Monmouth tied for eighth while Saint Peter's rounded out the poll in 10th place.

“It's quite an honor for Kutztown,” said Golden Bears' head coach Joe Ambrose, who won the inaugural NEC Coach of the Year award back in 2009. “I'm serious when I say that any of the 10 teams can win it.”

Ambrose's assertion has historical backing to it. More than half of the programs in the talent-rich Northeast Conference found themselves consistently ranked amongst the top-15 teams in America by the National Tenpins Coaches Association last season. Two years ago, FDU won the NCAA national title after posting a .500 record in regular season NEC play. 

In terms of the preseason predicted order-of-finish giving any hint as to where teams will wind up come season's end, it wasn't until last year that the preseason favorite, which was FDU, went onto win both the conference's regular season.

Sacred Heart was the preseason favorite for the inaugural (2008-09) season of NEC bowling, but Kutztown claimed the regular season title that year and FDU won the tournament. Fairleigh Dickinson was tabbed the “team to beat” for the 2009-10 campaign, but New Jersey City finished atop the regular season standings and Sacred Heart claimed the tournament crown.

Kutztown has gone from non-existence to national power in less than four year's time.  The Golden Bears welcomed Joe Ambrose as the program's first-ever head coach and the growth process began. Kutztown has been a NTCA top-10 team each of the past two years and officially arrived onto the national scene when its name was called at last April's NCAA Selection Show. The Bears have aspirations of a second consecutive NCAA appearance and have enough talent to make a return a more than possible. Ambrose welcomes back a pair of all-NEC bowlers in seniors Kayla Jones (Johnstown, PA/Westmont Hilltop ) (Johnstown, PA/Westmont Hilltop) and Samantha Santoro (Reinholds, PA/Cocalico ) (Reinholds, PA/Cocalico). The former will look for an appropriate way to punctuate an impressive career that began with the 2009 NEC Rookie of the Year award. For Santoro, it will be the Keystone State native's second season at Kutztown after transferring from Arkansas State where she twice won NTCA All-America honors. She performed well under the pressure of the NEC Championship, accounting for a weekend-long 21,88 baker frame average on the way to All-Tournament Team honors. Sophomore Brooke Bower (Camp Hill, PA/Cedar Cliff) (Camp Hill, PA/Cedar Cliff) and Deanna DiRado (Greensburg, PA/Greensburg Salem) (Greensburg, PA/Greensburg Salem), both NEC All-Rookie selections, are two more reasons why the Golden Bears posted a 100-40 overall record (18-9 NEC) last season.

Michael LoPresti has built a national power in North Jersey. NCAA Bowling is only eight years old yet Fairleigh Dickinson (111-22, 22-5) already has two national titles and seven Final Four appearances. The Knights have failed to qualify for the eight-team NCAA Championship meet once in history and a pair of NTCA All-Americans will attempt to lead FDU back again this season. Senior Joely Carrillo (Clifton, NJ/Paramus Catholic) and junior Danielle McEwan (Stony Point, NY/North Rockland) were both all-NEC first team selections last year as well as two of FDU's four All-America honorees. Fairleigh Dickinson did wave goodbye to All-Americans Tracy Ganjoin and Sara Litteral although the former has returned as an assistant coach. Replacing two of the nation's top bowlers is no easy task, but LoPresti has established quite a reputation when it comes to replenishing talent. In an issue of ESPN the Magazine last winter, he was voted one of the top-20 recruiters in all of collegiate athletics. LoPresti has added freshman Erica Schneider (Levittown, NY/Division Avenue) to an arsenal that also includes the battle-tested Meghan Kelly (Howell, NJ/Howell) who will have a chance to expand her role this season. Kelly impressed in the No. 2 hole down the stretch of her junior season, especially at the NEC Championship where she garnered All-Tournament recognition.

Sacred Heart (75-38, 20-7) has qualified for the NCAA Championships on four occasions but none since 2008. Becky Kregling's Pioneers have been one of the last teams out the past few years, and a veteran-laden lineup (75 percent of the roster consists of upperclassmen) will look to have Sacred Heart on the inside when selection time rolls around. SHU will miss lefty Sarah Pelletier, an all-NEC talent who graduated in May, but still has plenty of firepower including the reigning NTCA National Rookie of the Year. Sophomore Nicole Trudell (Coventry, RI/Coventry) was voted one of the top-five bowlers in the NEC as a freshman and is one-half of a dynamic duo few teams have. Senior Savannah Zientara (Lewiston, NY/Lewiston Porter) missed out on all-NEC honors as a junior, but was a first team choice in each of her first two collegiate seasons.

New Jersey City (84-35, 19-8) has become synonymous with the NCAA Bowling Championship. The Gothic Knights, who served as the site host for the 2010 national title meet, had qualified for the eight-team NCAA bracket in each of the first seven years since the national governing body elevated the sport to championship status back in 2004. Despite an 84-win campaign and .706 season win percentage, that streak came to an end last season. After having its postseason bubble burst, NJCU will look for a return to national prominence under veteran head coach Frank Parisi who has put a deep roster in place for the 2011-12 campaign. Jennifer Daunno (Carteret, NJ/Carteret) and Amy Brehm (East Brunswick, NJ/East Brunswick) are the seniors of the group. The former was a regular in the starting lineup last year, accounting for a memorable weekend at the Eastern Shore Hawk Classic and subsequently winning the NEC Bowler of the Week award. Brehm's best showing of the season came at the NEC Spring Meet where she posted the sixth-best average of all competitors. NEC All-Rookie choice Nicole Baginsky (South River, NJ/Cardinal McCarrick) returns for her sophomore season while freshman Sonja Shirak (Clifton, NJ/Clifton) brings a great deal of potential to the program.

Adelphi (81-58, 14-13) was one of the last three teams left standing at the 2011 NEC Championship and Bob Cincotta's Panthers should once again be in the mix for a conference crown. Seniors Danielle Merino (College Point, NY/St. Francis Prep) and Elizabeth Herbert (Manchester, NJ/Manchester) lead the team in terms of experience and accomplishments. Merino was sensational in championship play last March. On her way to NEC All-Tournament Team honors, she posted a 22.44 frame average and cashed in on 62 of 120 strike attempts over AU's six matches at the conference title meet. Cincotta added seven freshmen to the program this past offseason, but his biggest find may wind up being his new assistant coach. Four-time NTCA All-American, and 2010 NCAA national champion, Erica Perez (Fairleigh Dickinson) has joined the coaching staff.

St. Francis (NY) (72-56, 12-15) was one of the nation's hottest teams early on last season before fading. The Terriers won seven of their first nine NEC matches, including a victory over then-National No. 1 FDU, before going 5-13 the rest of the way in league play. Despite the slump, SFNY held a spot in the NTCA Top 20 the entire season. Injuries certainly didn't help Dawn Gugliaro's team last year. Rising star Kristina Terpo (Brooklyn, NY/Sheepshead Bay) was slowed by an ailment, but the Brooklyn native will have the chance for a new beginning when her teams opens its season at the Jersey Jamboree (Nov. 4-6). Terpo is part of Gugliaro's loaded 2009 recruiting class that also features New York City products Marissa Gargiulo (Brooklyn, NY/Lincoln) and Alyson Piergiovanni (Staten Island, NY/New Dorp).

It took two years to lay a foundation, but Long Island (47-53, 9-18) has arrived. The Blackbirds proved they belonged last year when they more than doubled their win total from the previous campaign. Jocelyn Davis, who reached the pinnacle of NCAA Bowling as a member of FDU's 2006 national championship team, is a rising star in the coaching ranks. Having guided the program through its infancy, the former NTCA All-Region bowler has overseen continued progress in Downtown Brooklyn. The Blackbirds won 47 matches last year, a 26-win increase over the previous year and 38 more victories than they had in their inaugural season. Amongst the 47 were victories over No. 4 Vanderbilt and No. 7 Delaware State, Davis added only one newcomer to the roster this season, but freshman Brittany Hart (Troy, NY/Columbia) has the potential to be as impactful as sophomore Brianna Nowels (Red Oak, IA/Red Oak) was as a rookie. Nowels carried the team to five wins during the NEC Spring meet last March, a showing that assured LIU a spot in the eight-team NEC Tournament.

Saint Francis (PA) (37-53, 5-22) is set for its second season as a program under Tom Falbo. The Flash won only 37 times during their inaugural campaign, but managed a winning record against non-NEC teams. Falbo has brought in seven freshmen to a roster that includes only one senior -  Emily Knott (Altoona, PA/Altoona) – and four sophomores. Marissa Matassa (Plum, PA/Plum) is the top returnee having accounted for a 186.7 traditional game average as a rookie. Two-time All-State selection Lauren Johnson (Lincoln, NE/Lincoln Southeast) has made the trip east to join Falbo's Flash and brings tremendous potential with her as does southpaw Annie Beliles (Verona, PA/Penn Hills).

Monmouth (46-68, 8-19) made a great deal of progress in what was the program's first season of existence. Karen Grygiel, a New Jersey native and former standout at Vanderbilt, guided the Hawks to 46 wins last season, including eight in the ultra-competitive NEC. The second-year head coach has signed four freshmen to join what will be one of the youngest lineups in the league. Lefty Lauren Lella (Marlboro, NJ/Marlboro) and fellow southpaw Rikki Del Donno (Fairless Hills, PA/Pennsbury), who enters her second season at the Jersey Shore after transferring from FDU, are the Hawks' lone upperclassmen.

Saint Peter's (51-53, 8-19) finished tied for eighth place in the NEC standings last season, but cracked the NTCA Top 20 last February. The Peahens return their captain from 2010-11 as Jersey Shore product Amanda Borger (Brock, NJ/Brick Twp.) enters her final season of eligibility. Meanwhile, junior Michele DeVries (Port Murray, NJ/Warren Hills) will look to reclaim the all-NEC honors she earned as a freshman. Head coach Dave Freeman added two true freshmen to the mix and will also have the services of redshirt freshman Megan Turczynski (Elizabeth, NJ/Elizabeth) who already has a NEC Rookie of the Week award under her belt 10 matches into the season.