SINKING SPRING, Pa. -- Competing on its home turf at Bowlero Berks Lanes, Kutztown University women's bowling wrapped up the top seed at the East Coast Conference Championship, Friday, with a 189.9 average across five Baker qualifying matches.

The Maroon and Gold posted a 4-1 record, topping 1,000 pins in two of the five matches.

Kutztown (59-43), an affiliate member of the ECC since 2015-16, is playing host to the conference championship tournament for the third time in program history but first time at Berks Lanes. The Golden Bears previously hosted at Hiester Lanes in Reading in 2016 and 2019.

Head coach Angela Reynolds, named ECC Coach of the Year Friday afternoon for the first time in her career, went with a stacked lineup of Megan Hanaway (Forked River, N.J./Lacey Township), Sydney Snyder (Morrisville, Pa./Conwell-Egan Catholic), Shelby Wunch (Easton, Md./Easton), Kamryn Brenneman (York, Pa./Central York) and Chloe Sromovski (Wilkes-Barre, Pa./G.A.R. Memorial) as KU opened play against D'Youville. Brenneman and Sromovski were named All-ECC First Team on Friday afternoon and each claimed a major award with Sromovski bringing home Bowler of the Year honors and Brenneman Rookie of the Year. Hanaway and Wunch were All-ECC Second Team selections.

Kutztown dropped its first two games but only by a combined 26 pins before roaring to life in the third. A 193-132 victory put KU ahead for good and it went on to close out the match with 179-158 and 177-146 advantages in games four and five for an 870-783 victory.

That same lineup stayed together the rest of the way and it proved to be fruitful for Reynolds. The Golden Bears rolled back-to-back-to-back 200+ games including their high game of the day, a 246, in defeating Saint Anselm, 1016-894. Games of 204 and 238 highlighted a 989-943 win over Roberts Wesleyan that moved KU to 3-0 in the qualifying rounds.

Kutztown's only slip up came against Bryant, one of the top contenders for the ECC crown. The Bulldogs won four of the five games to claim an 899-866 victory. Kutztown made it interesting with a significant 197-138 win in game four to pull within 22 pins heading into game five but Bryant held on with a 191-180 win in the finale.

The Golden Bears closed strong to solidify the top spot in the bracket, however, easily dispatching of St. Thomas Aquinas 1007-652. KU topped 200 pins in games two (220), three (214) and five (223).

KU's total score of 4,748 was 115 pins better than second-place D'Youville (4,633). The Maroon and Gold averaged 189.9, ahead of D'Youville's 185.3, Bryant's 184.0 (4,599) and Molloy's 183.0 (4,574).

The top-seeded Golden Bears will face Saint Anselm when double elimination best-of-seven Baker play begins Saturday at 9 a.m.