READING, PA. -- The 2018-19 LIU Brooklyn women's bowling season began with a strike from sophomore Kellie Frain, leading to a strong first day at the Kutztown Bud Whitman Invitational in Reading, Pa. on Saturday. The No. 19 Blackbirds went 4-1, which included a win over No. 8 Delaware State, to finish in third place with a 176.4 average. The event will conclude with Sunday's traditional format at 9 a.m. at Berks Lanes.

Day one of the baker format event started off with a match against Wilmington, with a lineup of three sophomores, Frain, Jennifer Roback and Stephanie Judkins, with junior Tyler Karpinecz in the fourth slot and senior Kayla Johnson in the anchor position. Following Frain's leadoff strike was the successful debut of Roback, a transfer to LIU this season, and the team followed with an 861-766 victory in the opening match. Later in the first match, freshman Jacqualyn Ciprello also made her debut, throwing a strike on her first competitive throw.

Next against No. 8 Delaware State, the Blackbirds led off with Ciprello, who hit a spare to lead off match number two in a match between two of the youngest squads in the NTCA top 20. LIU came away with a 862-831, victory, claiming the team's first top ten opponent of the season.

The middle match of the day against Penn State-Behrend was the Blackbirds' highest scoring effort of the day and their first 400-point victory since the 2015-16 season. The LIU lineup finished the match with three 200+ games (223, 209, 214) to win 961-541.

In match four, the Blackbirds faced the host squad, No. 24 Kutztown, squeaking out a 907-900 victory in the final game of the match. LIU actually won the first three games against KU, culminating with a 217-192 win in game three. But a rough game four found the visitors down by 15 pins and the Blackbirds pushed back, winning the final game 189-167 to win by seven pins.

The fifth and final match of the day pitted LIU against NEC foe Duquesne. But the Dukes, ranked No. 20 in the nation and fifth in the NEC, which is right behind the Blackbirds in both polls, persevered with an 866-819 win, as both teams wound down the first day of competition in the long season to come.

Johnson, who was the anchor bowler in every match was named to the All-Tournament team with a 19.3 fill frame average, fifth highest among all bowlers in the 20-team invitational.