Liz Johnson leads singles at 2016 USBC Women's Championships
May 28, 2016
LAS VEGAS - United States Bowling Congress Hall of Famer Liz Johnson of Cheektowaga, New York, delivered two strikes in her final frame to secure the lead in Diamond Singles and highlight an exciting day of competition at the 2016 USBC Women's Championships.
The five-time Women's Championships titlist started singles Saturday with games of 212 and 278 before finding herself in must-strike territory after a spare conversion in the fourth frame. Team USA's Danielle McEwan of Stony Point, New York, had taken the lead earlier in the day with 749.
Johnson recorded seven consecutive strikes starting in the fifth frame to finish with 267 and a 757 series at the South Point Bowling Plaza.
"I guess I had to be patient," said Johnson, who added 703 in team and 619 in doubles for an all-events total of 2,079, placing her fourth overall. "In doubles, I really didn't miss the pocket, but the carry wasn't great. I had the right ball in my hand, and once I got to move into a more comfortable spot, the strikes seemed to come. It was just a matter of making good shots and staying down, and everything fell into place the last couple of games."
Johnson's reign at the top of the standings nearly was short-lived, however, as competitors on the pair of lanes to her left and right also had their sights on the singles lead.
With Johnson's score in the books, she had to sit and watch as three-time champion Brenda Mack of Indianapolis and USBC Hall of Famer Carol Norman of Houston continued to strike.
Mack was the first to bow out after a nine count in the seventh frame of her final game, but she was able to regroup and finished with five strikes to get to 257 and a 751 series. Mack kicked off her singles set with games of 279 and 215.
Norman, the owner of two Women's Championships titles, had struck on eight of her first nine deliveries in the final game but still needed the first strike in the 10th to pass Johnson. She left the 4-7 combination on her first shot and ended with 256 for a 750 total. She opened with a pair of 247 games.
Mack settled into second place in Diamond Singles, while Norman is third, McEwan is fourth and Team USA's Shannon O'Keefe of O'Fallon, Illinois, who started the day with the lead, is fifth with 746.
As the singles leader, Johnson is one step closer to adding another impressive note to a resume that includes two USBC Queens titles, four U.S. Women's Open wins and countless medals in international competition as an 11-time member of Team USA.
A singles title at the Women's Championships would make her the sixth player in the tournament's 97-year history to capture wins in team, doubles, singles and all-events.
The other five competitors to win each event are USBC Hall of Famers Marie Warmbier, Dorothy Fothergill, Leanne Hulsenberg and Aleta Sill, along with former Professional Women's Bowling Association standout Michelle Feldman.
"A singles title is the one that I'm missing, so if it stands, that would be great," said Johnson, who has two team (2010 Diamond and Scratch Team), two Classic All-Events (1998 and 2008) and one Classic Doubles (2007) title to her credit. "If it doesn't, I know I did my best out there and had a great time with the girls."
The excitement in Diamond Singles started earlier in the day as defending champion Brooke Bower of Camp Hill, Pennsylvania, put her title on the line at the Bowling Plaza live on BowlTV.
After receiving her championship trophy during her team event and being recognized as a tournament champion for the first time Friday, Bower settled in and put herself in position to make a run at a repeat performance Saturday morning and finished with games of 203, 256 and 231 for a 690 series.
"This definitely was an amazing experience," said Bower, who rolled games of 257, 257 and 267 for a 781 series last year at the National Bowling Stadium in Reno, Nevada, to capture the title. "I moved left after the first game of singles, and that was the key to getting a little bit more room. If I had a better first game, I probably would have had a better shot, but I'm happy with how I bowled."
Diamond Singles and Diamond All-Events include bowlers with entering averages of 190 and above.
Visit us on Facebook at the official USBC Open/Women's Championships page.
The five-time Women's Championships titlist started singles Saturday with games of 212 and 278 before finding herself in must-strike territory after a spare conversion in the fourth frame. Team USA's Danielle McEwan of Stony Point, New York, had taken the lead earlier in the day with 749.
Johnson recorded seven consecutive strikes starting in the fifth frame to finish with 267 and a 757 series at the South Point Bowling Plaza.
"I guess I had to be patient," said Johnson, who added 703 in team and 619 in doubles for an all-events total of 2,079, placing her fourth overall. "In doubles, I really didn't miss the pocket, but the carry wasn't great. I had the right ball in my hand, and once I got to move into a more comfortable spot, the strikes seemed to come. It was just a matter of making good shots and staying down, and everything fell into place the last couple of games."
Johnson's reign at the top of the standings nearly was short-lived, however, as competitors on the pair of lanes to her left and right also had their sights on the singles lead.
With Johnson's score in the books, she had to sit and watch as three-time champion Brenda Mack of Indianapolis and USBC Hall of Famer Carol Norman of Houston continued to strike.
Mack was the first to bow out after a nine count in the seventh frame of her final game, but she was able to regroup and finished with five strikes to get to 257 and a 751 series. Mack kicked off her singles set with games of 279 and 215.
Norman, the owner of two Women's Championships titles, had struck on eight of her first nine deliveries in the final game but still needed the first strike in the 10th to pass Johnson. She left the 4-7 combination on her first shot and ended with 256 for a 750 total. She opened with a pair of 247 games.
Mack settled into second place in Diamond Singles, while Norman is third, McEwan is fourth and Team USA's Shannon O'Keefe of O'Fallon, Illinois, who started the day with the lead, is fifth with 746.
As the singles leader, Johnson is one step closer to adding another impressive note to a resume that includes two USBC Queens titles, four U.S. Women's Open wins and countless medals in international competition as an 11-time member of Team USA.
A singles title at the Women's Championships would make her the sixth player in the tournament's 97-year history to capture wins in team, doubles, singles and all-events.
The other five competitors to win each event are USBC Hall of Famers Marie Warmbier, Dorothy Fothergill, Leanne Hulsenberg and Aleta Sill, along with former Professional Women's Bowling Association standout Michelle Feldman.
"A singles title is the one that I'm missing, so if it stands, that would be great," said Johnson, who has two team (2010 Diamond and Scratch Team), two Classic All-Events (1998 and 2008) and one Classic Doubles (2007) title to her credit. "If it doesn't, I know I did my best out there and had a great time with the girls."
The excitement in Diamond Singles started earlier in the day as defending champion Brooke Bower of Camp Hill, Pennsylvania, put her title on the line at the Bowling Plaza live on BowlTV.After receiving her championship trophy during her team event and being recognized as a tournament champion for the first time Friday, Bower settled in and put herself in position to make a run at a repeat performance Saturday morning and finished with games of 203, 256 and 231 for a 690 series.
"This definitely was an amazing experience," said Bower, who rolled games of 257, 257 and 267 for a 781 series last year at the National Bowling Stadium in Reno, Nevada, to capture the title. "I moved left after the first game of singles, and that was the key to getting a little bit more room. If I had a better first game, I probably would have had a better shot, but I'm happy with how I bowled."
Diamond Singles and Diamond All-Events include bowlers with entering averages of 190 and above.
Visit us on Facebook at the official USBC Open/Women's Championships page.