ELMWOOD PARK, N.J. – The Kutztown University women's bowling team will compete in the Northeast Conference (NEC) Women's Bowling Championships on Saturday and Sunday, March 23-24, 2013, at Parkway Lanes in Elmwood Park, N.J.
 
The top eight qualifying championship participants include: Adelphi, Fairleigh Dickinson, Kutztown, LIU Brooklyn, New Jersey City, Sacred Heart, St. Francis Brooklyn, and Saint Francis University.
 
The Golden Bears (73-39) enter the championships ranked second in the NEC. Fairleigh Dickinson leads the qualifiers in first, while Saint Francis University follows KU in third. LIU Brooklyn is ranked fourth, and New Jersey City rounds out the top five.
 
Kutztown University women's bowling head coach Joseph Ambrose said they are all very excited about the coming weekend.
 
“As far as expectations this weekend, we are going to go try to win the conference,” said Ambrose. “It's probably the best field ever so far in the championships as all eight teams are nationally-ranked, and any one of us can beat the other at any given time.”
 
The NEC Championship will follow an eight-team double elimination format. The Golden Bears will face St. Francis Brooklyn in the first round, and can continue to advance up to six rounds towards the championship match.
 
“This is post-season now and everything is Baker format, which is 100 percent about team play and how you can adjust and communicate as lanes change throughout the competition days,” said Ambrose. “With two events left, our goal is to win an NEC Championship and USBC National Championship; we have the players here to accomplish both.”
 
The Golden Bears will look to the top four core starters in Brooke Bower (Camp Hill, PA/Cedar Cliff), Deanna DiRado (Greensburg, PA/Greensburg Salem), Christine Gordon (Cherry Hill, N.J./Cherry Hill East), and Rebecca Velazquez (Mohegan Lake, NY/Lakeland) to lead the team. The roster for NEC Championships will also include Lauren Stamm (Reading, Pa./Governor Mifflin), Jara Cohen (Marlton, NJ/Cherokee), Kayla Maselkevich (Drums, Pa./Hazleton Area), Rikki Cohen (Marlton, N.J./Cherokee), Allison Seidel (Morgantown, Pa./Cocalico), and Khrystyna Liske (Delta, PA/Kennard Dale).
 
“Our season has been successful, while qualifying for the third straight year to USBC Nationals (April 18-20, 2013), and being in the mix all season long for NCAA Nationals as well,” said Ambrose. “At 73-39 (overall record) we have a bunch of quality wins and have been very successful.”
 
Saturday's competition will begin at 9:40 a.m. and Sunday will begin at 9:35 a.m. The championship match on Sunday will begin no earlier than 12 p.m.
 
Sunday's semifinals and finals will be available live on www.necfrontrow.com
 
Ticket Information
All NEC students with proper institutional I.D. will be admitted free. All other individuals will be charged admission. Ticket prices are $10 per day for adults or $15 for a two-day pass and $5 per day for individuals 65 and older or children 11-18. Children 10 years of age and under will be admitted free.