Bidwell, McEwan maintain lead at Team USA Trials
January 05, 2015
LAS VEGAS - Devin Bidwell of Wichita, Kansas, and Danielle McEwan of Stony Point, New York, maintained the lead after three rounds Monday at the 2015 United States Bowling Congress Team USA Trials.
McEwan stayed in the top spot for the third consecutive round and now has 20 points, while Bidwell has totaled 18 points at The Orleans Bowling Center.
The players in the field earn points based on their finishing position in each round. After five rounds, the top three men and top three women with the least amount of points will advance to the stepladder finals Wednesday at 10 p.m. Eastern live on BowlTV.
McEwan, who won the first two rounds, finished 18th in the third round Monday on the 35-foot Beijing pattern but was still able to maintain her lead. McEwan fired 1,265 in the third round, including a critical 237 final game to boost her up the standings.
"That last game really saved it and made it as good as it could be today," said McEwan, who won the Team USA Trials in 2012 and 2013. "It was a rough day, and I played the lanes wrong 85 percent of the day. Moving ahead the next two days I feel like I should be in good shape if I can learn from my mistakes today."
Liz Johnson of Cheektowaga, New York, jumped up to second place with 24 points, while Brittni Hamilton of Wood Ridge, New Jersey, and Ashley Rucker of Bartlesville, Oklahoma, are tied for third with 35 points. Hamilton fired a 299 game en route to winning the third round with a total of 1,444.
On the men's side, Bidwell had his best round of the tournament on Monday, finishing second and maintaining his overall lead in the points race. Bidwell fired 1,486, averaging 247.67, in the third round.
"I feel like I'm throwing it good but knowing that I have such a good look can almost be distracting because I start to think ahead," Bidwell said. "Today was extremely tough and I had to use everything I learned at Wichita State to not get distracted by the future."
Kamron Doyle of Brentwood, Tennessee, fired a 300 game in the third round and sits in second place overall with 25 points. Doyle put up the best score of the day with 1,519 (253.17 average).
Marshall Kent of Yakima, Washington, is third with 40 points, while first-round leader Matthew Farber of Plainview, New York, sits in fourth with 44 points.
The third round also featured perfect games from Dallas Leong of Las Vegas and Chris Loschetter of Avon, Ohio.
Action shifts to the fourth round of the event, which will be contested on the 41-foot Montreal pattern Tuesday. All rounds of the Team USA Trials are being broadcast live on BOWL.com's BowlTV.
The top three men and top three women after five rounds of qualifying will be guaranteed spots on Team USA in 2015 and will bowl in the stepladder finals for the right to be declared champion, a spot in the prestigious QubicaAMF World Cup and prize money.
Two more men and two more women from the event will be selected to join Team USA, while five men and five women will be selected from a pool of eligible bowlers based on their bowling resumes and Trials performance if they competed.
A total of eight Junior Team USA spots - four boys and four girls - also are available. The top two boys and top two girls in the final points standings will earn automatic spots, while two boys and two girls spots will be at-large selections taken from either the Team USA Trials field or the finals field from the Junior Gold Championships held in July 2014. All bowlers 20 and under as of Jan. 1, 2015 are eligible for Junior Team USA.
For more information on the Team USA Trials, including live streaming, live scoring and complete standings, visit BOWL.com/TeamUSATrials.
McEwan stayed in the top spot for the third consecutive round and now has 20 points, while Bidwell has totaled 18 points at The Orleans Bowling Center.
The players in the field earn points based on their finishing position in each round. After five rounds, the top three men and top three women with the least amount of points will advance to the stepladder finals Wednesday at 10 p.m. Eastern live on BowlTV.
McEwan, who won the first two rounds, finished 18th in the third round Monday on the 35-foot Beijing pattern but was still able to maintain her lead. McEwan fired 1,265 in the third round, including a critical 237 final game to boost her up the standings.
"That last game really saved it and made it as good as it could be today," said McEwan, who won the Team USA Trials in 2012 and 2013. "It was a rough day, and I played the lanes wrong 85 percent of the day. Moving ahead the next two days I feel like I should be in good shape if I can learn from my mistakes today."
Liz Johnson of Cheektowaga, New York, jumped up to second place with 24 points, while Brittni Hamilton of Wood Ridge, New Jersey, and Ashley Rucker of Bartlesville, Oklahoma, are tied for third with 35 points. Hamilton fired a 299 game en route to winning the third round with a total of 1,444.
On the men's side, Bidwell had his best round of the tournament on Monday, finishing second and maintaining his overall lead in the points race. Bidwell fired 1,486, averaging 247.67, in the third round.
"I feel like I'm throwing it good but knowing that I have such a good look can almost be distracting because I start to think ahead," Bidwell said. "Today was extremely tough and I had to use everything I learned at Wichita State to not get distracted by the future."
Kamron Doyle of Brentwood, Tennessee, fired a 300 game in the third round and sits in second place overall with 25 points. Doyle put up the best score of the day with 1,519 (253.17 average).
Marshall Kent of Yakima, Washington, is third with 40 points, while first-round leader Matthew Farber of Plainview, New York, sits in fourth with 44 points.
The third round also featured perfect games from Dallas Leong of Las Vegas and Chris Loschetter of Avon, Ohio.
Action shifts to the fourth round of the event, which will be contested on the 41-foot Montreal pattern Tuesday. All rounds of the Team USA Trials are being broadcast live on BOWL.com's BowlTV.
The top three men and top three women after five rounds of qualifying will be guaranteed spots on Team USA in 2015 and will bowl in the stepladder finals for the right to be declared champion, a spot in the prestigious QubicaAMF World Cup and prize money.
Two more men and two more women from the event will be selected to join Team USA, while five men and five women will be selected from a pool of eligible bowlers based on their bowling resumes and Trials performance if they competed.
A total of eight Junior Team USA spots - four boys and four girls - also are available. The top two boys and top two girls in the final points standings will earn automatic spots, while two boys and two girls spots will be at-large selections taken from either the Team USA Trials field or the finals field from the Junior Gold Championships held in July 2014. All bowlers 20 and under as of Jan. 1, 2015 are eligible for Junior Team USA.
For more information on the Team USA Trials, including live streaming, live scoring and complete standings, visit BOWL.com/TeamUSATrials.