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KUTZTOWN, Pa. (February 21, 2012)—The Kutztown University women's bowling team is gearing up for the second annual Pennsylvania NCAA State Championships, hosted by Penn State-Altoona, beginning on Saturday, Feb. 25.

The Golden Bears (48-32 overall) are coming off an 8-4 weekend as they finished 13th in the James Brown Invitational held by Morgan State University. Their efforts over the weekend pushed the Golden Bears up one spot in the National TenPin Coaches Association (NTCA) Media Poll to 13th, announced on Monday. In the last poll, KU was ranked 14th.

Kutztown, who is the reigning Pa. NCAA State Champions, will face universities in the state of Pennsylvania who sponsor NCAA bowling programs. The opponents are PSU-Altoona, No. 18 St. Francis (Pa.), Cheyney University, Lincoln University, and Pitt-Greensburg.

The Golden Bears have faced all its upcoming opponents this season except for Lincoln and Pitt-Greensburg. Kutztown is 2-2 against Northeast Conference (NEC) mate St. Francis (Pa.) this season. KU is 2-0 over PSU-Altoona and 1-0 against Cheyney.

Kayla Jones (Johnstown, PA/Westmont Hilltop ) (Johnstown, Pa./ Westmont Hilltop) led the Golden Bears at the James Brown Invitational, finishing fourth out of a field of 137 with an average of 217.4. Jones also recorded a pinfall of 1087. Sophomore Deanna DiRado (Greensburg, PA/Greensburg Salem) (Greensburg, Pa./ Greensburg Salem) finished 22nd with a 199.2 average.

The Pa. NCAA State Championships will conclude on Sunday, Feb. 26.