KUTZTOWN, Pa. -- The Kutztown University women's bowling team is preparing to host the fifth annual Kutztown Invitational Friday Jan. 25-Sunday, Jan.27 at Hiester Lanes in Reading. It's the nation's largest bowling NCAA tournament of the 2012-13 season.
       
Fans can catch all the action live by tuning into BowlTV at BOWL.com, the official website of the United State Bowling Congress, or YouTube.com/BowlTV  as they will provide free webcasts of the entire event.

In addition to Kutztown, competing teams for 2013 KU Invitational are Adelphi, Bethune-Cookman College, Cheyney University, Coppin State College, Delaware State University, Farleigh-Dickinson University, Florida A&M University, Howard University, Long Island University, Maryland-Eastern Shore, Medaille College, Monmouth University, Morgan State University, New Jersey City, Penn State-Altoona,  North Carolina Central University, Norfolk State University, Sacred Heart University, Salem International, St. Francis (PA) College, St. Francis Brooklyn University, Stephen F. Austin, St. Peter's College, Southern University, Valparaiso, Vanderbilt University, and the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater.

The Golden Bears (40-18 overall) finished tenth in last year's invitational but has their standards set even higher for this weekend. In the latest National TenPin Coaches Association (NTA) poll, Kutztown is ranked  tenth which is the highest ranking achieved since the 2010-11 season.

The competition will be stiff as 28 teams from as far as Texas, Wisconsin, and Florida compete for the KU Invitational title during the three day event. Fifteen of the nation's top-20 ranked teams along with all 10 Northeast Conference (NEC) members will be present.

Friday will kick off with six four-game Baker matches beginning at 11 am. Total pins on Friday will determine seeding for Saturday match schedule only. Saturday will resume at 9:30 am with six traditional team matches and Sunday will conclude the tournament with three best four-of-seven Baker matches position round bracket style starting at 8:30 am.

Junior Brooke Bower leads the Golden Bears with a season average of 206.182. In the Red Flash Invitational, Bower was named to the All Tournament Team for her exceptional efforts. Her 243 to open the Terrier New Year's Knockdown was the second-best for a KU bowler at the tournament.

Junior Deanna DiRado (Greensburg, PA/Greensburg Salem) is right behind Bower, rolling an average of 201.33 to round out the top 10 at the Terrier New Year's Knockdown. 

Sophomore Christine Gordon (Cherry Hill, N.J./Cherry Hill East) is another top competitor for the Golden Bears, hovering just under the 200 mark with a 2012-13 average of 196.192. 

Freshman Lauren Stamm has also made an immediate impact and is an important part of KU's success. In the Red Flash Invitational, Stamm rolled a 289 to tie for the highest individual game record in Kutztown history.

The KU Invitational started as a way to save some money from the Golden Bears program's travel budget has quickly evolved into one of the winter's top tournaments.