Kulick, Kramer take Diamond leads at 2025 Women’s Championships
May 11, 2025
Kelly Kulick
LAS VEGAS – The strikes were adding up Sunday at the 2025 United States Bowling Congress Women’s Championships, with new leaders emerging in Diamond All-Events and Diamond Singles at the South Point Bowling Plaza.
USBC Hall of Famer Kelly Kulick of Union, New Jersey, took over the top spot in Diamond All-Events with a 2,261 total – the fourth-highest nine-game score in 105 years of competition at the Women’s Championships.
Candy Kramer of Menifee, California, followed Kulick’s performance in the next squad with plenty of excitement of her own, securing the lead in Diamond Singles by a pin with a 773 series.
Las Vegas’ Jessica Torrez previously held the lead in Diamond All-Events with 2,169, while Taylor Ellison of Lafayette, Indiana, had led Diamond Singles with 772.
Kulick has been in this position before at the Women’s Championships. She won Diamond All-Events back in 2019 during the tournament’s trip to Wichita, Kansas, with an overall score of 2,211.
In addition to taking the lead Sunday, Kulick also bowled the first 300 game of the 2025 Women’s Championships during her final game of doubles.
Kulick was very consistent throughout her three sets. Her best overall set was in doubles, where the 300 game helped her finish with a 792 series. She then added 765 in singles and had 704 in team. She averaged more than 251 across her nine games and had eight games of 242 or higher.
She was phenomenal to watch during her time on the lanes. Throughout each of her events, she seemed cool, calm and collected. She was especially poised during her 300. Kulick was very social during her perfect game, just casually chatting with the bowlers next to her, along with her teammates.
“I was joking with my teammates, because my hand was literally shaking at the end,” said Kulick, a seven-time titlist on the Professional Women’s Bowling Association Tour. “I was very calm throughout Game 3, though. I wanted it so badly, but enough to know that I needed to make a good shot.
“I don’t care how many 300s you have – every single one is nerve-wracking. I loved harnessing that pressure, because I teach the kids to embrace it. It was very rewarding to get this 300 at the Women’s Championships.”
Kulick recorded 22 strikes in a row around her perfect game. She ended Game 2 of doubles with the final three strikes and started singles with seven strikes.
She has been practicing as a precursor to her visit to the Women’s Championships and has been getting ready for the upcoming USBC Queens, which runs from May 14-20 across town at the Suncoast Hotel and Casino.
“I have worked on some physical things, and right now, my zen is really good,” said Kulick, a two-time Queens champion (2007 and 2010). “My flow is really on point, and I just used that to carry through the last shot.”
Kulick is the head coach for Junior Team USA, and in the coming months, she will be very busy traveling around the world with the talented young stars.
In June, she’ll be traveling to Helsingborg, Sweden, to help the team at the International Bowling Federation Youth World Cup. She’ll be heading to Guatemala City, Guatemala, in August for the PANAM Youth Championships, too.
Kulick knows how to manage her busy schedule and balance her time.
“I’m really balancing out my coaching responsibility and trying to be a helpful advisor to folks that ask for advice,” Kulick said. “Along with fulfilling, in my eyes, my enjoyment of bowling, I wouldn’t have it any differently. I really enjoy what I do for a living.”
She says that the more she coaches and observes, while seeing styles from every age level, makes her game better as well. It’s something she feels will help her down the road in other tournaments.
“Our junior team is overwhelmed with talent,” Kulick said. “Their physical games are very solid, and I try and incorporate and help them focus on the mental side of it. The more time you have on this planet, the more you can absorb, and you’ll be better for it.”
Kulick’s goal is to make sure the next generation is not surprised by anything and prepared for any challenge. She wants them to carry the torch for the generation after them.
Candy Kramer
Kramer rolled impressive games of 260, 247 and 266 to secure the lead in a nail-biting finish.
She started her final game with a spare, followed by five strikes. After an eight count and spare in the seventh frame, her margin for error was minimal to get to the outright lead – she needed the next four strikes, with eight on her fill shot.
Kramer did exactly that, delivering the next four strikes before leaving a 2-10 combination on her fill ball.
Reaching the staggering 773 series was a frame-by-frame process for Kramer, since she isn’t a bowler who watches her scores. This helped put her full attention on the lanes and nothing else.
When receiving the news, Kramer said, “I had no idea what series I even had, or what my game was. I take it one frame at a time; I’ve always been taught that.”
After taking a lengthy break from bowling for a few years after a knee surgery, Kramer was full of emotions being able to score that well on Sunday.
“I had knee surgery, was out for quite a few years and didn’t think I would be back to bowling very well, because that’s what my knee doctor told me,” Kramer said. “Then, coming back in the last two years, it’s been a bit of a struggle.”
Sunday was the day where Kramer’s struggles started to turn into her highlights, starting from when she was called into the tournament as a substitute from a friend.
When talking about that conversation, Kramer said, “My friend (Monica) told me to ride with her and sub. The lady that they put me with just happens to be named Diana, which was my mother’s name. She passed away and was my best friend, and today is Mother’s Day.”
The journey gets more exciting for Kramer as everything started to come together, from being given the bowling ball she used to bowling with Diana. It all was on Kramer’s side and paying off for her in the end.
“She (Monica) is the one that gave me that ball, redrilled the ball and threw it on the lanes,” Kramer said. “Things just fell in the right way. Sometimes, people get that, and today was my day.”
Sunday was Kramer’s day, finishing off the tournament on a high note after everything she had to overcome to get to this moment.
She concluded her appearance at the Women’s Championships with an all-events score of 1,956. Kramer added sets of 626 in team and 557 in doubles.
Visit us on Facebook at the official USBC Women’s Championships page.
LAS VEGAS – The strikes were adding up Sunday at the 2025 United States Bowling Congress Women’s Championships, with new leaders emerging in Diamond All-Events and Diamond Singles at the South Point Bowling Plaza.
USBC Hall of Famer Kelly Kulick of Union, New Jersey, took over the top spot in Diamond All-Events with a 2,261 total – the fourth-highest nine-game score in 105 years of competition at the Women’s Championships.
Candy Kramer of Menifee, California, followed Kulick’s performance in the next squad with plenty of excitement of her own, securing the lead in Diamond Singles by a pin with a 773 series.
Las Vegas’ Jessica Torrez previously held the lead in Diamond All-Events with 2,169, while Taylor Ellison of Lafayette, Indiana, had led Diamond Singles with 772.
Kulick has been in this position before at the Women’s Championships. She won Diamond All-Events back in 2019 during the tournament’s trip to Wichita, Kansas, with an overall score of 2,211.
In addition to taking the lead Sunday, Kulick also bowled the first 300 game of the 2025 Women’s Championships during her final game of doubles.
Kulick was very consistent throughout her three sets. Her best overall set was in doubles, where the 300 game helped her finish with a 792 series. She then added 765 in singles and had 704 in team. She averaged more than 251 across her nine games and had eight games of 242 or higher.
She was phenomenal to watch during her time on the lanes. Throughout each of her events, she seemed cool, calm and collected. She was especially poised during her 300. Kulick was very social during her perfect game, just casually chatting with the bowlers next to her, along with her teammates.
“I was joking with my teammates, because my hand was literally shaking at the end,” said Kulick, a seven-time titlist on the Professional Women’s Bowling Association Tour. “I was very calm throughout Game 3, though. I wanted it so badly, but enough to know that I needed to make a good shot.
“I don’t care how many 300s you have – every single one is nerve-wracking. I loved harnessing that pressure, because I teach the kids to embrace it. It was very rewarding to get this 300 at the Women’s Championships.”
Kulick recorded 22 strikes in a row around her perfect game. She ended Game 2 of doubles with the final three strikes and started singles with seven strikes.
She has been practicing as a precursor to her visit to the Women’s Championships and has been getting ready for the upcoming USBC Queens, which runs from May 14-20 across town at the Suncoast Hotel and Casino.
“I have worked on some physical things, and right now, my zen is really good,” said Kulick, a two-time Queens champion (2007 and 2010). “My flow is really on point, and I just used that to carry through the last shot.”
Kulick is the head coach for Junior Team USA, and in the coming months, she will be very busy traveling around the world with the talented young stars.
In June, she’ll be traveling to Helsingborg, Sweden, to help the team at the International Bowling Federation Youth World Cup. She’ll be heading to Guatemala City, Guatemala, in August for the PANAM Youth Championships, too.
Kulick knows how to manage her busy schedule and balance her time.
“I’m really balancing out my coaching responsibility and trying to be a helpful advisor to folks that ask for advice,” Kulick said. “Along with fulfilling, in my eyes, my enjoyment of bowling, I wouldn’t have it any differently. I really enjoy what I do for a living.”
She says that the more she coaches and observes, while seeing styles from every age level, makes her game better as well. It’s something she feels will help her down the road in other tournaments.
“Our junior team is overwhelmed with talent,” Kulick said. “Their physical games are very solid, and I try and incorporate and help them focus on the mental side of it. The more time you have on this planet, the more you can absorb, and you’ll be better for it.”
Kulick’s goal is to make sure the next generation is not surprised by anything and prepared for any challenge. She wants them to carry the torch for the generation after them.
Candy KramerKramer rolled impressive games of 260, 247 and 266 to secure the lead in a nail-biting finish.
She started her final game with a spare, followed by five strikes. After an eight count and spare in the seventh frame, her margin for error was minimal to get to the outright lead – she needed the next four strikes, with eight on her fill shot.
Kramer did exactly that, delivering the next four strikes before leaving a 2-10 combination on her fill ball.
Reaching the staggering 773 series was a frame-by-frame process for Kramer, since she isn’t a bowler who watches her scores. This helped put her full attention on the lanes and nothing else.
When receiving the news, Kramer said, “I had no idea what series I even had, or what my game was. I take it one frame at a time; I’ve always been taught that.”
After taking a lengthy break from bowling for a few years after a knee surgery, Kramer was full of emotions being able to score that well on Sunday.
“I had knee surgery, was out for quite a few years and didn’t think I would be back to bowling very well, because that’s what my knee doctor told me,” Kramer said. “Then, coming back in the last two years, it’s been a bit of a struggle.”
Sunday was the day where Kramer’s struggles started to turn into her highlights, starting from when she was called into the tournament as a substitute from a friend.
When talking about that conversation, Kramer said, “My friend (Monica) told me to ride with her and sub. The lady that they put me with just happens to be named Diana, which was my mother’s name. She passed away and was my best friend, and today is Mother’s Day.”
The journey gets more exciting for Kramer as everything started to come together, from being given the bowling ball she used to bowling with Diana. It all was on Kramer’s side and paying off for her in the end.
“She (Monica) is the one that gave me that ball, redrilled the ball and threw it on the lanes,” Kramer said. “Things just fell in the right way. Sometimes, people get that, and today was my day.”
Sunday was Kramer’s day, finishing off the tournament on a high note after everything she had to overcome to get to this moment.
She concluded her appearance at the Women’s Championships with an all-events score of 1,956. Kramer added sets of 626 in team and 557 in doubles.
Visit us on Facebook at the official USBC Women’s Championships page.