Defending champions back in lead at Women's Championships
May 07, 2015
RENO, Nev. - Defending Diamond Team champion Bowlieve In A Cure of Arlington, Texas, highlighted an exciting day on the lanes at the 2015 United States Bowling Congress Women's Championships as the lead changed hands in three team divisions at the National Bowling Stadium.
Led by 2005 USBC Queens winner Tennelle Milligan's 740 series, Bowlieve In A Cure returned to the top spot in the Diamond standings Thursday after posting games of 864, 939 and 831 for a 2,634 total. East Coast of Palm Harbor, Florida, previously held the lead with 2,588.
Milligan was joined by the star-studded crew of USBC Hall of Famer Lynda Barnes (677), three-time USBC Women's Championships titlist Kendra Gaines (625) and Team USA's Shannon O'Keefe (592).
Milligan also led the way in last year's run to the title at the Reno-Sparks Convention Center, tossing a 752 series to help Bowlieve In A Cure to a 2,819 winning tally.
They celebrated their 2014 win on the lanes at the NBS on Thursday as they were presented with their championship trophies, but they knew they'd need to quickly turn their focus back to the task as hand - successfully defending that title.
"We were really excited, and the award presentation was really cool," said Milligan, who also is a 2000 and 2003 Classic Team champion. "We were excited, but a little shaky, too. We said 'let's just bowl, have a good time and stick to the same game plan as last year, which was to have fun.'"
The teammates saw transition early in the third game this year but relied on each other to get back on track.
"Toward the end of the second game, we started to see the transition," Milligan said. "In the third game, it happened really, really quickly, so we tried to stay on top of it. We might have second-guessed ourselves a little bit, but we made some ball changes and talked each other through it. We really kept each other's confidence up, and it worked out."
Now, the members of Bowlieve In A Cure will begin the wait to see if they get to add another Diamond Team trophy to their mantles. The 2015 Women's Championships, which started April 10, will conclude June 30.
"It's always fun to win," Milligan said. "Repeating in team event would be extremely cool because it's all of us together. It would mean a lot."
The group will return to the NBS for doubles and singles on Friday at 3 p.m. EDT, and they again will be featured live on BOWL.com's BowlTV as Barnes looks capture a second consecutive Diamond All-Events title. She won last year with a 2,140 total.
The Ruby and Sapphire Divisions also got new team leaders Thursday as Altitude With Attitude of Buena Vista, Colorado, and Turkey Club of Lennon, Michigan, moved in the lead in each, respectively.
Altitude With Attitude improved each game, finishing with scores of 662, 727 and 787 for a 2,176 total. ABT of Taylorsville, Utah, previously held the top spot in Ruby Team with 2,152.
Penny Matthies set the pace for Altitude With Attitude with a 584 series and was joined by Tamara Smith (563), Sue Rann (533) and Kelly Phillips (496).
The group noticed the leading score on the on-site leaderboard and saw they were in striking distance going into the final game. A strong finish in the last half of the game sealed the deal.
"We were bowling in front the leaderboards and noticed the leading score was close enough to hit," said Smith, who made her sixth Women's Championships appearance. "We kept pushing in that third game, and we did it. It would mean a lot if it held up. Being able to have that accomplishment would be a big success for us. It's still a long way to go, but our fingers are crossed."
The members of Turkey Club kicked off their team event by being selected as the squad's honorary grand marshals, and they finished the squad at the top of the standings. Grand marshals are picked for every team squad at the 2015 Women's Championships and don special vests as they lead the bowlers to the lanes.
Turkey Club had games of 635, 573 and 594 for a 1,802 total Thursday. The Leftovers of Loveland, Colorado, previously held the Sapphire Team lead with 1,767.
Melanie Wrenn led the way with a 547 series and bowled alongside Susan Tarrant (483), Renee Dugas (396) and Charlene Hebekeuser (376).
"It was very exciting, especially since it was my first year bowling," Hebekeuser said. "I have wonderful teammates, and, as a team, we just wanted to have fun. That was our main objective today. We were surprised to find out we took the lead because we were too busy having fun to really notice the score. It would be a great accomplishment for all of us from a little town in Michigan to come to Reno and be on top."
Diamond Team includes four-player teams with combined entering averages of 725 or more. Ruby Team has bowlers with combined averages of 650-724, and Sapphire Team features teams with combined averages of 574 and below.
Visit us on Facebook at the official USBC Open/Women's Championships page.
Led by 2005 USBC Queens winner Tennelle Milligan's 740 series, Bowlieve In A Cure returned to the top spot in the Diamond standings Thursday after posting games of 864, 939 and 831 for a 2,634 total. East Coast of Palm Harbor, Florida, previously held the lead with 2,588.Milligan was joined by the star-studded crew of USBC Hall of Famer Lynda Barnes (677), three-time USBC Women's Championships titlist Kendra Gaines (625) and Team USA's Shannon O'Keefe (592).
Milligan also led the way in last year's run to the title at the Reno-Sparks Convention Center, tossing a 752 series to help Bowlieve In A Cure to a 2,819 winning tally.
They celebrated their 2014 win on the lanes at the NBS on Thursday as they were presented with their championship trophies, but they knew they'd need to quickly turn their focus back to the task as hand - successfully defending that title.
"We were really excited, and the award presentation was really cool," said Milligan, who also is a 2000 and 2003 Classic Team champion. "We were excited, but a little shaky, too. We said 'let's just bowl, have a good time and stick to the same game plan as last year, which was to have fun.'"
The teammates saw transition early in the third game this year but relied on each other to get back on track.
"Toward the end of the second game, we started to see the transition," Milligan said. "In the third game, it happened really, really quickly, so we tried to stay on top of it. We might have second-guessed ourselves a little bit, but we made some ball changes and talked each other through it. We really kept each other's confidence up, and it worked out."
Now, the members of Bowlieve In A Cure will begin the wait to see if they get to add another Diamond Team trophy to their mantles. The 2015 Women's Championships, which started April 10, will conclude June 30.
"It's always fun to win," Milligan said. "Repeating in team event would be extremely cool because it's all of us together. It would mean a lot."
The group will return to the NBS for doubles and singles on Friday at 3 p.m. EDT, and they again will be featured live on BOWL.com's BowlTV as Barnes looks capture a second consecutive Diamond All-Events title. She won last year with a 2,140 total.
The Ruby and Sapphire Divisions also got new team leaders Thursday as Altitude With Attitude of Buena Vista, Colorado, and Turkey Club of Lennon, Michigan, moved in the lead in each, respectively.
Altitude With Attitude improved each game, finishing with scores of 662, 727 and 787 for a 2,176 total. ABT of Taylorsville, Utah, previously held the top spot in Ruby Team with 2,152.Penny Matthies set the pace for Altitude With Attitude with a 584 series and was joined by Tamara Smith (563), Sue Rann (533) and Kelly Phillips (496).
The group noticed the leading score on the on-site leaderboard and saw they were in striking distance going into the final game. A strong finish in the last half of the game sealed the deal.
"We were bowling in front the leaderboards and noticed the leading score was close enough to hit," said Smith, who made her sixth Women's Championships appearance. "We kept pushing in that third game, and we did it. It would mean a lot if it held up. Being able to have that accomplishment would be a big success for us. It's still a long way to go, but our fingers are crossed."
The members of Turkey Club kicked off their team event by being selected as the squad's honorary grand marshals, and they finished the squad at the top of the standings. Grand marshals are picked for every team squad at the 2015 Women's Championships and don special vests as they lead the bowlers to the lanes.Turkey Club had games of 635, 573 and 594 for a 1,802 total Thursday. The Leftovers of Loveland, Colorado, previously held the Sapphire Team lead with 1,767.
Melanie Wrenn led the way with a 547 series and bowled alongside Susan Tarrant (483), Renee Dugas (396) and Charlene Hebekeuser (376).
"It was very exciting, especially since it was my first year bowling," Hebekeuser said. "I have wonderful teammates, and, as a team, we just wanted to have fun. That was our main objective today. We were surprised to find out we took the lead because we were too busy having fun to really notice the score. It would be a great accomplishment for all of us from a little town in Michigan to come to Reno and be on top."
Diamond Team includes four-player teams with combined entering averages of 725 or more. Ruby Team has bowlers with combined averages of 650-724, and Sapphire Team features teams with combined averages of 574 and below.
Visit us on Facebook at the official USBC Open/Women's Championships page.