View the 2023 USBC Women's Championships oil pattern

LAS VEGAS – The final ball was rolled at the 2023 United States Bowling Congress Women’s Championships on July 2, bringing the 103rd edition of the event to a close at the South Point Bowling Plaza.

The 2023 event ran for 71 consecutive days after kicking off April 23. It marked the tournament’s fourth visit to Las Vegas (1973, 1983 and 2016) and second trip to the Bowling Plaza (2016), with 4,148 four-player teams taking part in the fun and excitement.

Participants competed in team, doubles, singles and all-events in average-based divisions. There were four divisions for team competition (Diamond, Ruby, Emerald and Sapphire) and six for doubles, singles and all-events (Diamond, Ruby, Emerald, Sapphire, Amethyst and Topaz).

All standings are unofficial and pending final verification.

Melissa Kammerer of Staten Island, New York, set the record for the highest three-game series at the USBC Women’s Championships on May 11, rolling games of 280, 238 and 300 for an 818 set to take the lead in Diamond Singles.

The previous record of 816 was shared by Michelle Feldman of Auburn, New York (2009 – singles), and Jodi Woessner of Oregon, Ohio (2010 – doubles).

Kammerer, who is looking to secure her first win at the event, posted one of seven 300s at the 2023 Women’s Championships, which also stands as a record at the tournament. She had one of the two 800s this year at the Bowling Plaza.

The second 800 belonged to three-time Professional Women’s Bowling Association Tour champion Liz Kuhlkin of Schenectady, New York. Kuhlkin had games of 247, 278 and 280 for an 805 series to move into second place in Diamond Singles, and the performance helped her post the second highest all-events score in tournament history.

Kuhlkin had started her 2023 appearance with sets of 742 in doubles and 741 in team to take the lead in Diamond All-Events with a 2,288 total May 15. She also took the lead in Diamond Doubles on the same day with Jessica Aiezza of Mechanicville, New York, with 1,439. Aiezza added 697.

Kuhlkin now is in position to own three titles at the Women’s Championships, while Aiezza will look to collect her second victory. They were part of the 2021 Diamond Team champion with Suzanne Morine and Robin Orlikowski. Morine and Orlikowski won Diamond Doubles at the 2022 tournament in Addison, Illinois.

Along with Kuhlkin, Tammy Ator of New Canton, Illinois, also finished the 2023 event with the lead in multiple events.

Ator took the lead in Topaz Singles on May 4 with games of 221, 163 and 182 for a 566 series, which also helped her to the top spot in Topaz All-Events with 1,453. She added 517 in doubles and 370 in team.

Woessner holds the all-events record at the Women’s Championships with a 2,330 performance at the 2010 event in El Paso, Texas, and she also added to her legacy at the tournament with a 300 game to help Sterner Strong 2 of Oregon, Ohio, take the lead in Diamond Team with a 2,705 total May 16.

Woessner rolled her 300 in Game 1, and teammate Courtney Wooldridge followed with 12 strikes of her own in Game 2. They also were joined by Tracey Distel and Rachel Perez to post scores of 952, 913 and 840 to claim the top spot.

Wooldridge led the way with a 751 series and was followed by Woessner (679), Perez (669) and Distel (606).

Both Woessner (2010 Diamond and Scratch All-Events) and Perez (1994 Classic Doubles and 1999 Classic Team) are looking to claim their third wins at the Women’s Championships. Wooldridge and Distel are in search for their first victories at the event.

The top team performance in the Ruby Division came from Them Three and Me (Chelsie Fox, Jessica Jones, Britney Harding and Chelsea Rowley) of Enoch, Utah. The team took the lead May 27 with games of 720, 753 and 740 for a 2,213 total.

In Sapphire Team, the members of One Foot In The Grave of Mesa, Arizona, moved to the top of the leaderboard during the final week of the 2023 event, posting games of 639, 575 and 670 on June 28 for 1,884. The team includes Ethel “Skeeter” Maxwell, Jennifer Hall, Veronica Graves and Peg Kelly.

The longest tenure at the top of the standings in 2023 belonged to the members of Iowa 7 of Waterloo, Iowa, in Emerald Team. The group of Teri Jennings, Shirley Bloodsworth, Kristi Reidy and Teresa Carriere rolled games of 738, 714 and 604 during the opening squad April 23 to finish with 2,056, and they maintained their spot for all 71 days of the tournament.

The shortest wait until the end of the tournament was one day, as the top score in Amethyst All-Events was tossed July 1.


Linda Long

Linda Long of Astoria, Oregon, took over the lead in Amethyst All-Events with a 1,579 total. Long started her 2023 appearance with a 613 series in team at the Bowling Plaza, and she followed with 535 in singles and 431 in doubles to get to the leading total. Annie Walls of Ponchatoula, Louisiana, previously held the top spot with 1,531.

A couple weeks prior to her appearance in Las Vegas, Long was not sure whether she would be able to compete after an accident injured her left elbow.

She was determined to make the trip, though, and was able to turn in a special performance.

“Two weeks ago, I was in a bicycle accident,” Long said. “I fell and fractured my left elbow, and I was uncertain if I was going to bowl. I rested for the last two weeks, and I decided that even if I had to go up there and just throw the ball at the line, I was going to be here. Then, I bowled the best I ever bowled.”

Long was making her first visit to South Point, and she already was looking forward to next year’s event in Reno, Nevada.

She was excited to take the lead, and even happier just to wait one day to see if her name was still at the top of the standings.

“I love this alley – for me, they were great,” Long said. “I had never bowled here before, and I really enjoyed it. It’s a very nice facility.

“I’m excited and flabbergasted. This is the best I’ve ever done at a tournament, and with one day left – holy cow. I’m feeling great.”

In addition to the strikes at the Bowling Plaza, participation also was celebrated during the 2023 tournament as five bowlers reached 50 years on the championship lanes.

The bowlers joining the 50-Year Club at the Women’s Championships this year included Lucy Ash of Glendale, Kentucky; Sandra Graves of Linden, Virginia; Janice Hebberd of Walsh, Colorado; Cathy Simmank of Edgecliff Village, Texas; and Edith Winge of Clifton, Illinois.

The 2024 Women’s Championships will be heading to the National Bowling Stadium in Reno, Nevada, from April 27-June 30. Registration for the 2024 event already is open.

Follow updates and more from the official USBC Women’s Championships Facebook page.