Florida team sets bar at 2015 Women's Championships
April 11, 2015
RENO, Nev. - The members of East Coast of Palm Harbor, Florida, may not have had a lot of experience at the United States Bowling Congress Women's Championships prior to taking the lanes at the National Bowling Stadium on Saturday, but they relied on years of high-level competition to help them set the pace early in the 2015 event.
Led by Team USA member Danielle McEwan's 760 series, East Coast rolled games of 891, 907 and 790 and claimed the top spot in Diamond Team with a 2,588 total.
McEwan was joined by 2013 USBC Queens champion Diana Zavjalova (699), former Team USA member Ashly Galante (569) and Alyssa Harper (560).
The group's strategy didn't pan out the way they hoped during practice, but their communication improved throughout the first game and helped them to a strong start.
"They played completely different than what we were expecting," said McEwan, the 2012 and 2013 USBC Team USA Trials champion. "Our game plan in practice fell apart, but we were able to bring it back together in the first game and figure it out. We started to communicate much better."
Although the group has found success at every level throughout their young careers, they shared only four combined years of Women's Championships participation coming into the 2015 event.
However, the fun and excitement of competing at the event, along with the camaraderie, certainly caught their attention.
"This tournament and the Open Championships are two of my favorite tournaments hands down," said McEwan, a 23-year-old right-hander who was a collegiate standout at Fairleigh Dickinson. "Some of the other tournaments have so much pressure, but we had so much fun on and off the lanes this week. To be able to do well and have fun at the same time is something I'm not used to on my own."
McEwan and her teammates will return to the NBS on Sunday at 3 p.m. EDT, looking to keep the momentum going in doubles and singles.
"Even though today was successful, I saw some things I could do differently," McEwan said. "I'll go back and think about that or the different moves I could make, and that hopefully will make tomorrow better."
Diamond Team is made up of four-player teams with combined entering averages of 725 and above.
Visit us on Facebook at the official USBC Open/Women's Championships page.
Led by Team USA member Danielle McEwan's 760 series, East Coast rolled games of 891, 907 and 790 and claimed the top spot in Diamond Team with a 2,588 total.
McEwan was joined by 2013 USBC Queens champion Diana Zavjalova (699), former Team USA member Ashly Galante (569) and Alyssa Harper (560).
The group's strategy didn't pan out the way they hoped during practice, but their communication improved throughout the first game and helped them to a strong start.
"They played completely different than what we were expecting," said McEwan, the 2012 and 2013 USBC Team USA Trials champion. "Our game plan in practice fell apart, but we were able to bring it back together in the first game and figure it out. We started to communicate much better."
Although the group has found success at every level throughout their young careers, they shared only four combined years of Women's Championships participation coming into the 2015 event.
However, the fun and excitement of competing at the event, along with the camaraderie, certainly caught their attention.
"This tournament and the Open Championships are two of my favorite tournaments hands down," said McEwan, a 23-year-old right-hander who was a collegiate standout at Fairleigh Dickinson. "Some of the other tournaments have so much pressure, but we had so much fun on and off the lanes this week. To be able to do well and have fun at the same time is something I'm not used to on my own."
McEwan and her teammates will return to the NBS on Sunday at 3 p.m. EDT, looking to keep the momentum going in doubles and singles.
"Even though today was successful, I saw some things I could do differently," McEwan said. "I'll go back and think about that or the different moves I could make, and that hopefully will make tomorrow better."
Diamond Team is made up of four-player teams with combined entering averages of 725 and above.
Visit us on Facebook at the official USBC Open/Women's Championships page.