Kent, McEwan advance in World Cup
November 30, 2012
ARLINGTON, Texas – Team USA members Marshall Kent of Yakima, Wash., and Danielle McEwan of Stony Point, N.Y., each advanced to the eight-player match-play round after Friday’s qualifying round at the 48th QubicaAMF World Cup in Wroclaw, Poland.
Kent extended his lead in the men’s competition to 138 pins over Hareb Al Mansoori of the United Arab Emirates. McEwan moved into fifth place in Friday’s round that featured the top 24 bowlers in each division bowling eight games.
The competition continues Saturday with round-robin match play to determine the top three men and top three women for the stepladder finals, also on Saturday. In match play, 30 bonus pins will be awarded for a win.
Kent averaged 234 on Friday. He had games of 280, 249, 200, 203, 237, 267, 219 and 219 to push his pinfall total to 6,541 after 28 games.
“I built a little more cushion today,” Kent said. “It was an up-and-down kind of day. I had a good look to start and took advantage of that, then struggled a little bit but still ground through. It was still a good day because I’m still in first and I learned a few things I can use tomorrow.”
Al Mansoori is at 6,403 followed by Colombia’s Andres Gomez (6,381) and Ukraine’s Mykhaylo Kalika (6,244). Kalika had the tournament’s second 300 game, joining McEwan as the only bowlers with perfect games in the event.
The other men advancing to match play were Syafiq Ridhwan Abdul Malek of Malaysia, Japan’s Takashi Taniai, Germany’s Pascal Winternheimer and England’s Matt Chamberlain.
In the women’s division, McEwan moved into fifth place with a 6,239 pinfall total after rolling games of 267, 234, 235, 236, 257, 207, 175, and 174. She was one of five women to surpass the 1,800-mark during Friday’s block.
“It was an aggravating day for me because I felt like I threw it really well and started off well,” McEwan said. “I didn’t gain as much ground as I would have liked to, for how well I feel I bowled, and then the last couple of games weren’t too good. Overall, I have a lot of ground to make up but I’m looking forward to tomorrow. I’ve got to win a lot more matches and hopefully the extra bonus pins will help me chase down one of the top three spots.”
Singapore’s Shayna Ng (6,491) still leads the field ahead of England’s Kirsten Penny (6,463). Two-time defending champion Aumi Guerra of the Dominican Republic is third after averaging 241 on Friday to reach 6,442.
Also advancing to match play in the women’s division were Sweden’s Rebecka Larsen, Krista Pollanen of Finland, Germany’s Janine Gabel and Jane Sin of Malaysia.
McEwan thinks Friday’s match play could be strength for the Team USA duo.
“I definitely think I have an advantage in match play because in college bowling that’s what we do every weekend,” said McEwan, who bowls for Fairleigh Dickinson. “I think Marshall and I will have an up on some people just having that experience and having it fresh since we are in the middle of the college season. I’m just going to need to put it all together tomorrow.”
Kent bowls collegiately for Robert Morris-Illinois.
Kent and McEwan won their respective division at the USBC Team USA Trials last January to earn the opportunity to compete in the World Cup, one of the most prestigious singles titles in the world. The World Cup is the largest international bowling tournament in the world, in terms of the number of countries competing. This year’s event started with 81 men and 68 women from more than 80 countries.
Kent extended his lead in the men’s competition to 138 pins over Hareb Al Mansoori of the United Arab Emirates. McEwan moved into fifth place in Friday’s round that featured the top 24 bowlers in each division bowling eight games.
The competition continues Saturday with round-robin match play to determine the top three men and top three women for the stepladder finals, also on Saturday. In match play, 30 bonus pins will be awarded for a win.
Kent averaged 234 on Friday. He had games of 280, 249, 200, 203, 237, 267, 219 and 219 to push his pinfall total to 6,541 after 28 games.
“I built a little more cushion today,” Kent said. “It was an up-and-down kind of day. I had a good look to start and took advantage of that, then struggled a little bit but still ground through. It was still a good day because I’m still in first and I learned a few things I can use tomorrow.”
Al Mansoori is at 6,403 followed by Colombia’s Andres Gomez (6,381) and Ukraine’s Mykhaylo Kalika (6,244). Kalika had the tournament’s second 300 game, joining McEwan as the only bowlers with perfect games in the event.
The other men advancing to match play were Syafiq Ridhwan Abdul Malek of Malaysia, Japan’s Takashi Taniai, Germany’s Pascal Winternheimer and England’s Matt Chamberlain.
In the women’s division, McEwan moved into fifth place with a 6,239 pinfall total after rolling games of 267, 234, 235, 236, 257, 207, 175, and 174. She was one of five women to surpass the 1,800-mark during Friday’s block.
“It was an aggravating day for me because I felt like I threw it really well and started off well,” McEwan said. “I didn’t gain as much ground as I would have liked to, for how well I feel I bowled, and then the last couple of games weren’t too good. Overall, I have a lot of ground to make up but I’m looking forward to tomorrow. I’ve got to win a lot more matches and hopefully the extra bonus pins will help me chase down one of the top three spots.”
Singapore’s Shayna Ng (6,491) still leads the field ahead of England’s Kirsten Penny (6,463). Two-time defending champion Aumi Guerra of the Dominican Republic is third after averaging 241 on Friday to reach 6,442.
Also advancing to match play in the women’s division were Sweden’s Rebecka Larsen, Krista Pollanen of Finland, Germany’s Janine Gabel and Jane Sin of Malaysia.
McEwan thinks Friday’s match play could be strength for the Team USA duo.
“I definitely think I have an advantage in match play because in college bowling that’s what we do every weekend,” said McEwan, who bowls for Fairleigh Dickinson. “I think Marshall and I will have an up on some people just having that experience and having it fresh since we are in the middle of the college season. I’m just going to need to put it all together tomorrow.”
Kent bowls collegiately for Robert Morris-Illinois.
Kent and McEwan won their respective division at the USBC Team USA Trials last January to earn the opportunity to compete in the World Cup, one of the most prestigious singles titles in the world. The World Cup is the largest international bowling tournament in the world, in terms of the number of countries competing. This year’s event started with 81 men and 68 women from more than 80 countries.