Diamond Division sees movement at the top at 2026 Women's Championships
May 13, 2026
LAS VEGAS – The 2026 United States Bowling Congress Women’s Championships had a busy few days as a number of high-profile competitors came through the South Point Bowling Plaza in Las Vegas.
First was Kelly Kulick of Union, New Jersey, who kept up the pace during the USBC Women’s Championships, emerging as the new leader in Diamond All-Events and Diamond Singles on Monday at the South Point Bowling Plaza in Las Vegas.
For the second consecutive year, the USBC Hall of Famer is leaving the USBC Women’s Championships with the lead in Diamond All-Events after knocking down 2,184 pins across her nine games bowled with 700 during team, 694 in doubles and 790 in singles. She also sits in fifth place in Diamond Doubles with Maribeth Baker (1,325).
She’s looking for back-to-back titles at the South Point Bowling Plaza as she took home the Diamond All-Events title in 2025 with a 2,261 total, the fourth-highest nine-game score across 106 years of competition at the Women’s Championships.
If Kulick’s score is able to hold, she’ll become the first competitor since USBC Hall of Famer Emma Jaeger to successfully defend an all-events title in the top division. Jaeger, a four-time all-events winner at the Women’s Championships, won back-to-back titles in 1928 and 1929.
“It’s like I never left from last year,” Kulick said. “We bowled on the same side of the building where I had success. I recently had a session with a friend that built up my confidence, and it shows in my bowling here.”
With the lead in two separate events, Kulick would love to add wins to her lengthy accomplishment list.
“Winning these titles are something I’d love to pad my resume with,” Kulick said. “If the singles lead still holds, that would be great, I’d like to win another bracelet.”
It’s going to be a busy week for Kulick as she will be inducted into the Professional Women’s Bowling Association Hall of Fame on May 13 before starting the USBC Queens the following day.
“I am very excited to speak among my peers, and to deserve this honor to be in the PWBA Hall of Fame,” Kulick said. “I’m very excited to celebrate women’s bowling. I feel like I’ve done a lot for myself. I have also done a lot for our gender, and I just want to see other women carry that torch going forward. It’ll be a night to highlight myself and my achievements, but also to really push the envelope for those continuing on and for them to take the lead as well,” she said.
Kulick continued, “We bring women from all over the country, celebrating, bowling together with friends. It’s exciting to see other women standing up for others, we’re here because we’re uplifting each other.”
Later in the day, Josie Barnes of Hermitage, Tennessee, struck out with a perfect 300 Monday evening during the team event at Women’s Championships.
Barnes connected for the 300 during Game 2 of team with an impressive nail-biting final shot that tripped the 2 pin with a late fall. Barnes ended the team event with games of 225, 300, and 200 with a combined series total of 725.
With her perfect game, Barnes achieved what only two bowlers have done previously: getting a 300 game both at the Women’s Championships and the Open Championships. Barnes is the only woman to do it in the same year.
When asked what it’s like getting the 300s back-to-back tournament, Barnes said, “I don’t remember what it was like feeling this way; you know at the Open Championships I had the front nine, I was like, ‘Oh wow, we can do this here, right?” said Barnes. “That moment was really cool and special.”
In addition to getting the 300 at the Open and Women’s, Barnes had a special support system behind her.
“I was bowling doubles with my sister, my husband was there, my best friend, teammates; so, to me it was in some ways more meaningful than maybe some of the ones I’ve had in the past,” said Barnes. “Then to turn around and to do it here is amazing.”
It was not an easy journey to get to the 300 for Barnes as the ball reaction for her was a little bit difficult for her.
“I would say my ball reaction wasn’t as crystal clear to me as it was at the Open,” said Barnes. “At the Open, I got up, I saw it, and I threw it and it did what I expected, then here after the first six frames, I was like, ‘I don’t know if I am seeing this right.’”
Getting to the 300 was not an easy journey for Barnes, as it was not until the tail end of her game when Barnes was getting into the mindset of potentially making a major decision to make a ball change.
“It actually felt like towards the end of that 300 game, I was getting into that territory where I needed to change balls,” said Barnes. “But once again, when you get on that front seven, you’re not going to; so, I was able to ride that out.”
Once Barnes got to the last frame, it was a very nail-biting experience with the first two throws coming down seamlessly, but it was not until the last throw where the 4 pin came down very slowly at the last minute.
“The 10th frame wasn’t the prettiest one I’ve ever had for a 300; you know the first one I felt like I threw it good, the second one was really good after I moved, and the third one, I actually hit what I was looking at, but I must have missed it at the bottom then it fell through,” said Barnes.
Overall, Barnes had a very solid start at Women’s after shooting a 300 at the national level. She leaves the tournament feeling incredibly grateful about how she did.
“I’m just feeling very grateful that we have a space that we can come and compete on teams; it’s the thing I miss the most about college bowling,” said Barnes. “I think it’s part of why I still stay coaching because I love it and the atmosphere, I’m just overall grateful!”
Barnes ended off the tournament achieving a 725 in teams, 659 in doubles, 601 in singles for an all-events score of 1,985.
Just one squad after Barnes’ perfect game, Ten Den Bowling Supply of Adrian, Michigan, took the lead in Diamond Team with games of 851, 838 and 907 for a 2,596 total at the 2026 Women’s Championships. The team moved ahead of Kara’s MVP Team, which posted a 2,563 total earlier in the day.
Leading the way for Ten Den Bowling Supply was Jenna Pollak with a 726 series. She was joined by Brandie Reamy-Johnson (670), Jordan Snodgrass (625) and Ashley Ciraulo (575).
For Snodgrass, a six-time titlist on the PWBA Tour, the performance was more about the experience of competing alongside close friends than chasing the lead.
“Honestly, all I wanted to do was be able to have fun with them,” Snodgrass said. “We just wanted to bowl good and have fun.”
The group quickly formed the team after discussing the possibility of bowling together at the Women’s Championships.
“We literally took like 24 hours from talking about it until the time that we signed up,” Snodgrass said. “We didn’t put a lot of added pressure on ourselves to be like, ‘We are going to walk out of this in the lead.’ If we come in here and have fun and do well, we’ll see what kind of number we can post.”
The accomplishment carried additional meaning because of the friendships within the group.
“The main point of us coming out here was just for us to get to bowl together,” Snodgrass said. “It means so much more that it’s your friends.”
Although the team now sits atop the Diamond Team standings, Snodgrass said the group remains appreciative regardless of what happens the rest of the tournament.
“We came out here to have fun and we’re walking away in the lead,” Snodgrass said. “If it holds up, it holds up. And if it doesn’t, we will be just as happy.”
The strikes kept coming the following day as Brittany Smith and Sarah Smith of Adel, Iowa, took the Diamond Doubles lead Tuesday with a combined total of 1,435. Sarah led the way with 722 while Brittany added 713.
For the married duo, the performance carried extra meaning because of the opportunity to compete together on one of bowling’s biggest stages.
“Being married and being able to bowl together is a pretty special feeling,” Sarah said. “Being able to do that and then snag a trophy and a title with it, that’s pretty awesome.”
The pair made adjustments early after struggling on the lanes the previous day.
“For both of us, we just started further right,” Brittany said. “Yesterday was kind of a struggle, and we started too far left, so it was just kind of staying further right and staying on top of our moves, and it worked.”
Sarah credited trust and confidence as another key factor in the performance, “Just trusting yourself and making the moves instead of overthinking it.”
The Women’s Championships also serves as preparation for the upcoming USBC Queens event at Gold Coast Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas.
“Every year, that’s kind of why we choose to do nationals,” Sarah said. “It’s great to bowl well, but then part of it is just getting to warm up and feel ready and get some good spare practice before Queens.”
In addition to leading Diamond Doubles, the pair also helped their team – Bowler’s Connection – take the lead in Team All-Events with 8,015. The team also included Olivia Clark and Crystal Bitrick.
Brittany Smith led the way for Bowler’s Connection with a 2,116 all-events total while Bitrick had 2,052, Sarah Smith had 1,977 and Clark added 1,870.
“Nationals is always a last-minute decision for us, and then we try to throw a team together,” Brittany Smith said. “We meshed really well.”
The chemistry throughout the group helped fuel the strong scoring pace.
“We all get along really well, and the energy was great,” Sarah said. “We rooted each other on the entire time.”
Brittany added, “I think we feed off each other really well since it was a group effort.”
The Women’s Championships is celebrating its 106th edition in 2026 and making its sixth trip to Las Vegas. The 2026 event is scheduled to feature more than 16,000 bowlers and 4,200 four-player teams competing across 65 consecutive days at the South Point Bowling Plaza.
For more information on the USBC Women’s Championships, visit BOWL.com/WomensChamp. Follow the action from the tournament’s official Facebook and Instagram accounts.
First was Kelly Kulick of Union, New Jersey, who kept up the pace during the USBC Women’s Championships, emerging as the new leader in Diamond All-Events and Diamond Singles on Monday at the South Point Bowling Plaza in Las Vegas.
For the second consecutive year, the USBC Hall of Famer is leaving the USBC Women’s Championships with the lead in Diamond All-Events after knocking down 2,184 pins across her nine games bowled with 700 during team, 694 in doubles and 790 in singles. She also sits in fifth place in Diamond Doubles with Maribeth Baker (1,325).
She’s looking for back-to-back titles at the South Point Bowling Plaza as she took home the Diamond All-Events title in 2025 with a 2,261 total, the fourth-highest nine-game score across 106 years of competition at the Women’s Championships.
If Kulick’s score is able to hold, she’ll become the first competitor since USBC Hall of Famer Emma Jaeger to successfully defend an all-events title in the top division. Jaeger, a four-time all-events winner at the Women’s Championships, won back-to-back titles in 1928 and 1929.
“It’s like I never left from last year,” Kulick said. “We bowled on the same side of the building where I had success. I recently had a session with a friend that built up my confidence, and it shows in my bowling here.”
With the lead in two separate events, Kulick would love to add wins to her lengthy accomplishment list.
“Winning these titles are something I’d love to pad my resume with,” Kulick said. “If the singles lead still holds, that would be great, I’d like to win another bracelet.”
It’s going to be a busy week for Kulick as she will be inducted into the Professional Women’s Bowling Association Hall of Fame on May 13 before starting the USBC Queens the following day.
“I am very excited to speak among my peers, and to deserve this honor to be in the PWBA Hall of Fame,” Kulick said. “I’m very excited to celebrate women’s bowling. I feel like I’ve done a lot for myself. I have also done a lot for our gender, and I just want to see other women carry that torch going forward. It’ll be a night to highlight myself and my achievements, but also to really push the envelope for those continuing on and for them to take the lead as well,” she said.
Kulick continued, “We bring women from all over the country, celebrating, bowling together with friends. It’s exciting to see other women standing up for others, we’re here because we’re uplifting each other.”
Later in the day, Josie Barnes of Hermitage, Tennessee, struck out with a perfect 300 Monday evening during the team event at Women’s Championships.
Barnes connected for the 300 during Game 2 of team with an impressive nail-biting final shot that tripped the 2 pin with a late fall. Barnes ended the team event with games of 225, 300, and 200 with a combined series total of 725.
With her perfect game, Barnes achieved what only two bowlers have done previously: getting a 300 game both at the Women’s Championships and the Open Championships. Barnes is the only woman to do it in the same year.
When asked what it’s like getting the 300s back-to-back tournament, Barnes said, “I don’t remember what it was like feeling this way; you know at the Open Championships I had the front nine, I was like, ‘Oh wow, we can do this here, right?” said Barnes. “That moment was really cool and special.”
In addition to getting the 300 at the Open and Women’s, Barnes had a special support system behind her.
“I was bowling doubles with my sister, my husband was there, my best friend, teammates; so, to me it was in some ways more meaningful than maybe some of the ones I’ve had in the past,” said Barnes. “Then to turn around and to do it here is amazing.”
It was not an easy journey to get to the 300 for Barnes as the ball reaction for her was a little bit difficult for her.
“I would say my ball reaction wasn’t as crystal clear to me as it was at the Open,” said Barnes. “At the Open, I got up, I saw it, and I threw it and it did what I expected, then here after the first six frames, I was like, ‘I don’t know if I am seeing this right.’”
Getting to the 300 was not an easy journey for Barnes, as it was not until the tail end of her game when Barnes was getting into the mindset of potentially making a major decision to make a ball change.
“It actually felt like towards the end of that 300 game, I was getting into that territory where I needed to change balls,” said Barnes. “But once again, when you get on that front seven, you’re not going to; so, I was able to ride that out.”
Once Barnes got to the last frame, it was a very nail-biting experience with the first two throws coming down seamlessly, but it was not until the last throw where the 4 pin came down very slowly at the last minute.
“The 10th frame wasn’t the prettiest one I’ve ever had for a 300; you know the first one I felt like I threw it good, the second one was really good after I moved, and the third one, I actually hit what I was looking at, but I must have missed it at the bottom then it fell through,” said Barnes.
Overall, Barnes had a very solid start at Women’s after shooting a 300 at the national level. She leaves the tournament feeling incredibly grateful about how she did.
“I’m just feeling very grateful that we have a space that we can come and compete on teams; it’s the thing I miss the most about college bowling,” said Barnes. “I think it’s part of why I still stay coaching because I love it and the atmosphere, I’m just overall grateful!”
Barnes ended off the tournament achieving a 725 in teams, 659 in doubles, 601 in singles for an all-events score of 1,985.
Just one squad after Barnes’ perfect game, Ten Den Bowling Supply of Adrian, Michigan, took the lead in Diamond Team with games of 851, 838 and 907 for a 2,596 total at the 2026 Women’s Championships. The team moved ahead of Kara’s MVP Team, which posted a 2,563 total earlier in the day.
Leading the way for Ten Den Bowling Supply was Jenna Pollak with a 726 series. She was joined by Brandie Reamy-Johnson (670), Jordan Snodgrass (625) and Ashley Ciraulo (575).
For Snodgrass, a six-time titlist on the PWBA Tour, the performance was more about the experience of competing alongside close friends than chasing the lead.
“Honestly, all I wanted to do was be able to have fun with them,” Snodgrass said. “We just wanted to bowl good and have fun.”
The group quickly formed the team after discussing the possibility of bowling together at the Women’s Championships.
“We literally took like 24 hours from talking about it until the time that we signed up,” Snodgrass said. “We didn’t put a lot of added pressure on ourselves to be like, ‘We are going to walk out of this in the lead.’ If we come in here and have fun and do well, we’ll see what kind of number we can post.”
The accomplishment carried additional meaning because of the friendships within the group.
“The main point of us coming out here was just for us to get to bowl together,” Snodgrass said. “It means so much more that it’s your friends.”
Although the team now sits atop the Diamond Team standings, Snodgrass said the group remains appreciative regardless of what happens the rest of the tournament.
“We came out here to have fun and we’re walking away in the lead,” Snodgrass said. “If it holds up, it holds up. And if it doesn’t, we will be just as happy.”
The strikes kept coming the following day as Brittany Smith and Sarah Smith of Adel, Iowa, took the Diamond Doubles lead Tuesday with a combined total of 1,435. Sarah led the way with 722 while Brittany added 713.
For the married duo, the performance carried extra meaning because of the opportunity to compete together on one of bowling’s biggest stages.
“Being married and being able to bowl together is a pretty special feeling,” Sarah said. “Being able to do that and then snag a trophy and a title with it, that’s pretty awesome.”
The pair made adjustments early after struggling on the lanes the previous day.
“For both of us, we just started further right,” Brittany said. “Yesterday was kind of a struggle, and we started too far left, so it was just kind of staying further right and staying on top of our moves, and it worked.”
Sarah credited trust and confidence as another key factor in the performance, “Just trusting yourself and making the moves instead of overthinking it.”
The Women’s Championships also serves as preparation for the upcoming USBC Queens event at Gold Coast Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas.
“Every year, that’s kind of why we choose to do nationals,” Sarah said. “It’s great to bowl well, but then part of it is just getting to warm up and feel ready and get some good spare practice before Queens.”
In addition to leading Diamond Doubles, the pair also helped their team – Bowler’s Connection – take the lead in Team All-Events with 8,015. The team also included Olivia Clark and Crystal Bitrick.
Brittany Smith led the way for Bowler’s Connection with a 2,116 all-events total while Bitrick had 2,052, Sarah Smith had 1,977 and Clark added 1,870.
“Nationals is always a last-minute decision for us, and then we try to throw a team together,” Brittany Smith said. “We meshed really well.”
The chemistry throughout the group helped fuel the strong scoring pace.
“We all get along really well, and the energy was great,” Sarah said. “We rooted each other on the entire time.”
Brittany added, “I think we feed off each other really well since it was a group effort.”
The Women’s Championships is celebrating its 106th edition in 2026 and making its sixth trip to Las Vegas. The 2026 event is scheduled to feature more than 16,000 bowlers and 4,200 four-player teams competing across 65 consecutive days at the South Point Bowling Plaza.
For more information on the USBC Women’s Championships, visit BOWL.com/WomensChamp. Follow the action from the tournament’s official Facebook and Instagram accounts.