Johnson leads after first day at 2023 USBC Senior Queens
April 24, 2023
2023 RESULTS
LAS VEGAS – Oftentimes, when an athlete makes a reference to not wanting to stub their toe, they are being figurative and implying that they don’t want to make any silly mistakes.
Tish Johnson of Colorado Springs, Colorado, didn’t make many mistakes on Sunday, and that allowed her to secure the lead after two rounds of qualifying at the 2023 United States Bowling Congress Senior Queens.
The 60-year-old left-hander averaged more than 222 for her 10 games Sunday at the Gold Coast Hotel and Casino, finishing with a 2,224 total to lead the 92-player field made up of the top female USBC members age 50 and older.
Sharon Powers of Lakewood, Colorado, was second with 2,147, and Lucy Sandelin of Tampa, Florida, was third with 2,109. Sandelin is a three-time Senior Queens champion (2007, 2013 and 2017).
Leanne Hulsenberg of Pleasant View, Utah (2,102), and Beth Owen-Cipielewski of Bradenton, Florida (2,098), round out the top five.
All competitors will return to Gold Coast on Monday at 11 a.m. Eastern for the final five-game qualifying block. After 15 games, the top 32 players will advance to the double-elimination match-play bracket.
After 10 games, Karen Morris of Nelsonville, Ohio, is 32nd with a 1,927 total, a 192.7 average.
Defending champion Jodi Woessner of Oregon, Ohio, is guaranteed no worse than 32nd position in the bracket as the defending champion, but she can improve her seed by qualifying higher.
Woessner currently sits in eighth place after putting up a score of 2,059 on Sunday (a 205.9 average).
Although Johnson hopes to continue avoiding silly mistakes during Monday’s final five games of qualifying, the USBC and Professional Women’s Bowling Association Hall of Famer also needs to worry about not literally stubbing her toe; it’s banged up enough as it is.
“Last week, I was bowling match play, and a lady actually dropped a bowling ball on my big toe,” Johnson said. “I don’t know if it’s broken, but I had to cut a hole out of my new shoes because the seam kept hitting it.
“I’ve been icing it multiple times each day, soaking it in Epsom salt and wrapping it up. I hope that it holds up until the end of this week because it’s done okay so far. As long as I can slide, I have a chance.”
Johnson was able to lead the field by more than 75 pins on Sunday despite being nowhere near full strength. If her foot starts feeling better over the next two days, the 2018 champion should have more than just a chance.
She was the block leader during Round 1, authoring a five-game total of 1,114 thanks to four games of 226 or better (237, 226, 255 and 239).
Owen-Cipielewski shot the top score of Round 2 with 1,149, but Johnson wasn’t far behind, finishing that set with a second-place total of 1,110 (206, 227, 240, 213 and 224) to easily maintain the overall lead.
Johnson certainly threw plenty of strikes on Sunday, but she identified a couple other factors as being bigger contributors to her Day 1 success.
“I was picking up my spares today compared to last week,” Johnson said. “Also, I had a better sense of what the ball was going to do, when it was going to hook and when it wasn’t, and that allowed me to get into a good rhythm.”
That rhythm will need to continue for Johnson to make a push for another tiara because as the veteran knows as well as anybody, there is still a lot of bowling left to be done.
“This is a long format. Plus, when you get to match play, you can bowl the 32nd bowler on a good pair, and she can kick your butt,” Johnson said. “My experience helps because I’ve been a pro bowler for so many years, but I just need to stay tough, execute and keep doing what I’m doing.”
Bracket matches will get underway Monday at 4 p.m. Eastern and continue through Tuesday afternoon until the top five are determined for the stepladder finals. The Senior Queens features a true double-elimination format, so the No. 1 seed for the stepladder would have to lose twice in the championship match.
All bracket matches leading up to the stepladder will be three games with total pinfall determining who advances.
BowlTV.com is providing livestream coverage of each round of competition. The stepladder finals will take place Tuesday at 9 p.m. Eastern with the champion taking home the tiara presented to winner and an $8,000 top prize.
For more information on the USBC Senior Queens, click here.
LAS VEGAS – Oftentimes, when an athlete makes a reference to not wanting to stub their toe, they are being figurative and implying that they don’t want to make any silly mistakes.
Tish Johnson of Colorado Springs, Colorado, didn’t make many mistakes on Sunday, and that allowed her to secure the lead after two rounds of qualifying at the 2023 United States Bowling Congress Senior Queens.
The 60-year-old left-hander averaged more than 222 for her 10 games Sunday at the Gold Coast Hotel and Casino, finishing with a 2,224 total to lead the 92-player field made up of the top female USBC members age 50 and older.
Sharon Powers of Lakewood, Colorado, was second with 2,147, and Lucy Sandelin of Tampa, Florida, was third with 2,109. Sandelin is a three-time Senior Queens champion (2007, 2013 and 2017).
Leanne Hulsenberg of Pleasant View, Utah (2,102), and Beth Owen-Cipielewski of Bradenton, Florida (2,098), round out the top five.
All competitors will return to Gold Coast on Monday at 11 a.m. Eastern for the final five-game qualifying block. After 15 games, the top 32 players will advance to the double-elimination match-play bracket.
After 10 games, Karen Morris of Nelsonville, Ohio, is 32nd with a 1,927 total, a 192.7 average.
Defending champion Jodi Woessner of Oregon, Ohio, is guaranteed no worse than 32nd position in the bracket as the defending champion, but she can improve her seed by qualifying higher.
Woessner currently sits in eighth place after putting up a score of 2,059 on Sunday (a 205.9 average).
Although Johnson hopes to continue avoiding silly mistakes during Monday’s final five games of qualifying, the USBC and Professional Women’s Bowling Association Hall of Famer also needs to worry about not literally stubbing her toe; it’s banged up enough as it is.
“Last week, I was bowling match play, and a lady actually dropped a bowling ball on my big toe,” Johnson said. “I don’t know if it’s broken, but I had to cut a hole out of my new shoes because the seam kept hitting it.
“I’ve been icing it multiple times each day, soaking it in Epsom salt and wrapping it up. I hope that it holds up until the end of this week because it’s done okay so far. As long as I can slide, I have a chance.”
Johnson was able to lead the field by more than 75 pins on Sunday despite being nowhere near full strength. If her foot starts feeling better over the next two days, the 2018 champion should have more than just a chance.
She was the block leader during Round 1, authoring a five-game total of 1,114 thanks to four games of 226 or better (237, 226, 255 and 239).
Owen-Cipielewski shot the top score of Round 2 with 1,149, but Johnson wasn’t far behind, finishing that set with a second-place total of 1,110 (206, 227, 240, 213 and 224) to easily maintain the overall lead.
Johnson certainly threw plenty of strikes on Sunday, but she identified a couple other factors as being bigger contributors to her Day 1 success.
“I was picking up my spares today compared to last week,” Johnson said. “Also, I had a better sense of what the ball was going to do, when it was going to hook and when it wasn’t, and that allowed me to get into a good rhythm.”
That rhythm will need to continue for Johnson to make a push for another tiara because as the veteran knows as well as anybody, there is still a lot of bowling left to be done.
“This is a long format. Plus, when you get to match play, you can bowl the 32nd bowler on a good pair, and she can kick your butt,” Johnson said. “My experience helps because I’ve been a pro bowler for so many years, but I just need to stay tough, execute and keep doing what I’m doing.”
Bracket matches will get underway Monday at 4 p.m. Eastern and continue through Tuesday afternoon until the top five are determined for the stepladder finals. The Senior Queens features a true double-elimination format, so the No. 1 seed for the stepladder would have to lose twice in the championship match.
All bracket matches leading up to the stepladder will be three games with total pinfall determining who advances.
BowlTV.com is providing livestream coverage of each round of competition. The stepladder finals will take place Tuesday at 9 p.m. Eastern with the champion taking home the tiara presented to winner and an $8,000 top prize.
For more information on the USBC Senior Queens, click here.