TAYLOR, Mich. (April 14, 2011) – The Kutztown University women's bowling team finished the opening round of the NCAA Championships in a tie for seventh place after winning two of its seven matches Thursday at Skore Lanes. (CHAMPIONSHIP CENTRAL) / (BRACKET)
The victories over Central Missouri State and the University of Maryland-Eastern Shore were significant for the Golden Bears, who were ranked sixth in the final National TenPins Coaches' Association top 20 poll, because it helped them establish a program record for wins in a season with 99. The Golden Bears also won 98 matches following the 2008-09 season.
KU defeated Central Missouri State, 1025-993, and UMES, 990-941. KU was tied with Sam Houston State as both teams posted 2-5 overall records. Sam Houston State earned the seventh-seed based on its 1013-971 win over Kutztown.
As the eighth-seed heading into Friday's double elimination round, the Golden Bears will have a familiar face waiting for them in the morning. Kutztown will battle No. 1 seed and reigning NCAA champion Farleigh-Dickinson University.
“We know what we're up against,” Kutztown coach Joe Ambrose said. “We know they're an incredible team and if we're going to beat them; we're going to have to play just as well as they do. Even though we're the eight seed it doesn't matter when we get to tomorrow because it's a completely different day. I am encouraged.”
The other pairings are No. 2 seed Nebraska against No. 7 Sam Houston State, No. 3 UMES against No. 6 Arkansas State, and No. 5 Central Missouri against No. 4 Vanderbilt. Action begins at 9:50 a.m. with best 4-out of -7 Baker matches.
Finishing in the bottom half of the bracket following the opening day really means nothing in the big picture. In 2008, the University of Maryland-Eastern Shore used a seventh place finish on the first day as a springboard to its national title. Last year, New Jersey City was eighth heading into the second day and it finished fourth overall. Kutztown has defeated FDU this season although the Knights have won the last six matchups between the two schools.
“We know what they can do and we have to be on our top performance to start the day,” sophomore Jara Cohen (Marlton, NJ/Cherokee) said of FDU. “We've beaten them before so we know we can do it again.
This is our first time at nationals so the experience was really cool. It's such a long day and tiring. I don't think we bowled poorly today; luck wasn't on our side today but hopefully it will be tomorrow.”
Overall, the opening day of competition featured some solid performances. Freshman Rebecca Velazquez (Mohegan Lake, NY/Lakeland) had the highest individual score for Kutztown as she rolled a 231 in the come-from-behind victory over Central Missouri State. Kayla Jones (Johnstown, PA/Westmont Hilltop )' top effort was a 224 in KU's opening match against Nebraska. Jones and Velazquez were the only two Golden Bears to average 200 or better.
Jones finished 20th overall with an individual average of 203.7. She had four games of 200 or better during the long afternoon. Meanwhile, Velazquez was 25th overall with an average of 200.7. The most surprising effort belonged to freshman Khrystyna Liske (Delta, PA/Kennard Dale), who dazzled and burned the lanes for a 199.5 average.
Liske put on a show to help the Golden Bears defeat UMES. She finished the match by rolling five straight strikes as KU knocked off the 2008 national champion. It was Kutztown's first win of the season against the Hawks. The Golden Bears were at their best in the victory over the Hawks, who rolled an NCAA championship record 1240 in a match earlier in the afternoon.
“This is a great experience not only for my older players, but for all my young players,” Ambrose said. “I thought my freshmen did really well today. Liske hasn't traveled much all season, but she has been bowling well over the last month and she did a great job today.”
The Golden Bears weren't intimidated as three players finished with 200 or higher scores. Junior Chelsea Adam (Reading, PA/Exeter Senior High) led the way with a 220. Jones had a 216 and Liske's awesome ending netted her a pinfall of 204. While the Golden Bears were focused from the start against UMES, they pulled off an impressive rally during the morning session.
Trailing by 95 pins following the fourth frame, the Golden Bears stormed back to defeat Central Missouri State. It was Kutztown's first win in NCAA Championship history.
After dropping matches to Nebraska (987-936), Farleigh-Dickinson (1097-934) and Sam Houston State (1013-971), Kutztown concluded the morning portion of the qualifying round with the memorable win over Central Missouri State. Leading the way in the victory for Kutztown was Velazquez, who rolled a 229 against Central Missouri State. Jones rolled a 201. Liske rolled a career best 218.
“It meant a lot to us to head into the break with a win,” Jones said. “Everybody is still confident that we can do well. We just caught teams at the wrong time so we know we needed to roll a 1,000 or better if we were going to beat any of them. I feel like we're really pumped up now.”
Jones had a 224 against Nebraska, a 212 against FDU and a 208 against Sam Houston State. Against Sam Houston State, Velazquez led the Golden Bears with a 215. Samantha Santoro (Reinholds, PA/Cocalico ) had a team best 221 against FDU. Cohen's top performance was a 199 against Sam Houston State.
“Today was basically seven matches for seeding to see who we play,” Ambrose said. “It was a really long day of team matches. It didn't go the way we wanted, but we got to see a lot of things. We were able to see how the lanes play in the morning and afternoon. The ladies know what they have to do and they're looking forward to the opportunity to compete.”
Fans can watch a live video stream of the double-elimination by
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