Kutztown to host annual Golden Bear Invitational

KUTZTOWN, PA. (November 18, 2009) – The Kutztown University women’s swimming team will host the annual Golden Bear Invitational at Keystone Pool on Friday November 20 and Saturday November 21.

Men’s and women’s teams from Montclair State, Stevens Institute of Technology, Salisbury, Ocean County, and Post University will join the Kutztown and East Stroudsburg women in the two-day event. The meet will feature a session of trials and finals on each day. Friday’s action begins at 11 a.m. with the preliminaries and at 7 p.m. with the finals. Saturday’s events start at 10 a.m. and 4 p.m. with the finals.

Stevens Tech is the defending men’s and women’s champion of the event. After a second-place finish at last year’s meet, the Golden Bear women are looking to claim the title of their invitational. Kutztown (11-1 overall) has won 10 consecutive swim meets including a road sweep of Alaska-Fairbanks last month.

“I'm excited from the standpoint of seeing how our team reacts to the trial and final format over the course of two days,” Kutztown head coach Tim Flannery said. “It's a tiring format but a good test to see where we are. I think the fans will see Stevens run away with the men's side of the meet and a very back and forth battle between Stevens and Kutztown on the women's side.  Like last year it should be very close all the way through.”

During last year’s event, several meet records were established. Senior Steph Jeppesen (Bethlehem/Liberty) set two Keystone Pool and meet records in the 100 breaststroke (1:06.91) and 200 breaststroke (2:23.64). Sophomore Jordan Shapiro (Trenton N.J./Princeton) won the 200 backstroke with a time of 2:08.13 — a meet and pool record. Junior Alex Crigler (Sinking Spring/Wilson-West Lawn) is Kutztown’s other defending event champion. She finished first in the 1,650 free relay in a time of 18:17.21.

“My expectations for the team are to race strongly this weekend to put ourselves in a position to win the Golden Bear and then do the same at the F & M Invitational,” Flannery said.  “We've won the last two F & M Invites but this year's Invitees to the meet are much stronger than the past.  New to the meet this year are The College of New Jersey (traditionally, one of the strongest teams in the Metropolitan Conference), Gettysburg (defending Centennial conference champion) and of course host F & M is much stronger as well.  We'll be very hard pressed to duplicate the past two years but this group has exceeded my expectations so far and we'll see if they're up for the challenge.”

The Golden Bear Invitational started in December 1995 first as the Another Level Invitational sponsored by Another Level Sportswear until 1999.  It became the Golden Bear Invitational in 2000.  The Invitational was run in a timed final format 1995 until 2005 when it took on its present format as a two day trials and final.