WILMINGTON, Del. -- Kutztown's return to the lanes this weekend for the first time since mid November had its ups and downs, but the Golden Bears finished on a high with three straight victories, including an 882-880 upset of 23rd-ranked Adelphi at the Chestnut Hill Griffin Baker Classic II.
Ashley Fister (Northumberland, Pa./Shikellamy),
Alexis Schweizer (Plymouth, Pa./Wyoming Valley West),
Megan Hanaway (Forked River, N.J./Lacey Township),
Eleni Feggulis (South River, N.J./South River) and
Madison Lund (Reading, Pa./Muhlenberg) comprised
Angela Reynolds' lineup for KU's opening match against Bloomfield. Kutztown took a 42-pin lead after two games, winning the first 199-174 and the second 151-134, but Bloomfield gained it all back and then some in capturing games three and four. A final push from the Bears in the final game almost paid off as they rolled a match-high 208, but came up two pins short in an 839-837 defeat.
The Golden Bears (27-17) rolled their best game of the day to start their second match against the host Griffins, gapping Chestnut Hill by 61 pins with a 215-154 victory. The Griffins pulled back 48 pins in the second game en route to winning the next four and the match 828-772.
Kutztown got stronger against Molloy as the match went on and picked up its first win of the day 873-712, highlighted by a 214 in game four.
In its matchup with No. 23 Adelphi, Kutztown went with Hanaway,
Jordan Dean (Manorville, N.Y./Eastport South Manor), Feggulis, Fister and Lund. The decision paid off as the Maroon and Gold hung tough with the Panthers to be in striking position heading into the fifth game. Strike they did. KU outscored Adelphi by 31 pins in the finale, winning the game 184-153 and the match by a mere two pins, 882-880.
The Bears concluded the day by avenging their earlier loss to Chestnut Hill with a commanding 871-745 victory over the Griffins. KU really put it on Chestnut Hill early, with a 190 in game one, a 200 in game two and a 191 in game three. They led by 132 pins after winning those three games and never looked back.
Ashley Fister (Northumberland, Pa./Shikellamy) topped Kutztown's scoring Sunday with a 18.06 frame average, while
Madison Lund (Reading, Pa./Muhlenberg) was named to Saturday's tournament team.
Saturday and Sunday's tournaments were broken up into two one-day events. Full standings for Sunday were not available at the time of release, but will be posted once available.
Kutztown will compete again next weekend at the Morgan State-hosted James Brown Invitational.
