ECC Championship Central | Match Schedule | Live VideoKUTZTOWN, Pa. – The 15th-ranked Kutztown University women's bowling team hosts the inaugural East Coast Conference (ECC) Championships beginning this Friday, March 25, looking for a conference title in its final event of the season.
The ECC Championships will take place at Hiester Lanes in Reading and will be over a two-day period. The competition will start on Friday, March 25, at 11 a.m. and conclude on Saturday night, March 26.
The Golden Bears start off the ECC Championships with a matchup against Molly College on Friday at 11 a.m. They will then compete against Daemen College, Felician University, Franklin Pierce University and Adelphi University in round robin format.
After determining seeding for the six teams on Friday night, KU will compete in a double-elimination tournament to determine the inaugural ECC Champion. A majority of the double-elimination format will take place on Saturday.
Kutztown (66-44) is one of the favorites to take home the ECC title this weekend. Its strong senior class includes four of its probable starters in
Lauren Stamm (Reading, Pa./Governor Mifflin),
Amanda Wilson (Leesport, Pa./Schuylkill Valley),
Kayla Maselkevich (Drums, Pa./Hazleton Area) and
Taylor Strothmann (Maywood, N.J./Immaculate Heart Academy). All four of these bowlers have had terrific seasons for the Maroon and Gold and will look to help lead KU to the championship in its first season in the ECC.
Stamm has been a consistent performer for the Golden Bears all season long in her senior campaign. She was a three-time ECC Bowler of the Week honoree this season , second-most behind Adelphi's Rebecca Gotterbarn's four, and was named the MVP of the Red Flash Invitational. Stamm leads the team with 18.9 a frame this season and has filled 78 percent of her frames.
Wilson, Strothmann and Maselkevich are all averaging over 18.0 pins-per-frame this season. Wilson is second on the team at 18.7, while Strothmann and Maselkevich clock in at 18.6 and 18.1, respectively.
Strothmann has a team-best strike percentage of 45 percent and is second on KU in filled frames at nearly 80 percent. Wilson has a strike percentage of 39 percent and has filled 77 percent of her frames. Maselkevich has a strike percentage of 43 percent on the season.
Sophomore
Jenn Fitts (Birdsboro, Pa./Twin Valley) is another probable starter for KU and has been a key contributor for the Golden Bears as one of the best underclassmen on the team. She was named ECC Bowler of the Week once this season and has an 18.3 frame average. Fitts leads KU in filled frame percentage at 82 percent and holds a strike percentage of 73 percent.
Senior
Dakota May (Conklin, N.Y./Susquehanna Valley) and
Jess Garzio (Ewing, N.J./Ewing) have started at times this season and have been reliable bowlers for KU. May has a 17.3 frame average and has filled nearly 75 percent of her frames. Garzio has a frame average of 16.2 and has filled almost 70 percent of her frames.
Kutztown heads into the ECC Championships following a sixth-place finish at the USBC Sectionals. Stamm had a team-best 18.9 frame average, while Wilson and Strothmann performed well with averages of 18.7 and 18.57, respectively.
Although Kutztown will most likely be competing in its final event of the season this weekend, it hopes to perform well and gain valuable experience in the postseason competition, led by its outstanding senior class.
