On the Lanes with Brenda Edwards
June 26, 2010
In the coming months, we'll talk with some of the best-known bowlers at the USBC Open Championships and get their thoughts on their time at the tournament and what it takes to succeed on the championship lanes.
This week, we heard from three-time Team USA member Brenda Edwards, who etched her name in the Open Championships record books with a memorable performance at the 2009 event in Las Vegas. This year, she will take to the lanes at the National Bowling Stadium on June 26 and 27.
After a slow start in team last year (571), the 35-year-old right-hander average 260.1 during doubles and singles. The performance lifted her and Stephen Padilla to the Regular Doubles title with a record score of 1,566. Padilla led the way with 790, while Edwards added 776.
With the win, Edwards joined USBC Hall of Famer Wendy Macpherson, the 2006 Regular Singles champion, as the only two women in tournament history to claim Regular Division titles. Three other women have earned victories in the Classified Division: Rayetta Dominguez (1994 Booster Team), Christina Singh (2001 Classified Doubles) and Karen West (2005 Classified Team). Women first were allowed to compete in the Open Championships in 1994.
Edwards' success at Cashman Center last year didn't end in doubles. She added games of 227, 258 and 300 for a 785 singles total. She finished ninth in Regular Singles and 13th in Regular All-Events with a 2,132 total, the highest by a woman in Open Championships history. Her perfect game was only the sixth by a woman on the championship lanes.
Earlier this year, Edwards picked up a win at the 2010 USBC Team USA Trials, also in Las Vegas.
HOMETOWN: Mansfield, Texas
OPEN CHAMPIONSHIPS APPEARANCES: This will be seven.
OPEN CHAMPIONSHIPS TITLES: 1. Eagle caught by the tail feathers! (2009 Regular Doubles with Stephen Padilla)
BOWLING BALL WEIGHT: 15
FAVORITE BRAND OF BOWLING BALLS: If you're gonna bowl, bowl BRUNSWICK!
ONE all-time favorite host city: Las Vegas, OF COURSE!!
TWO best Open Championships memories: 1. winning 2009 Regular Doubles with Stephen and setting a new scoring record for doubles (1,566) in the process; 2. shooting 300 to follow it up in the last game of singles
THREE keys to success at the Open Championships: 1. communicate with your teammates; 2. make every spare; 3. absolutely enjoy yourself in the venue, soaking up the atmosphere. There is nothing else in bowling quite like the Open Championships!
FOURgettable Open Championships moment: Niagara Falls, 1983, yes 1983.
My FOURgettable moment came long before I was eligible to bowl the Open Championships. This was back when it was the ABC Tournament and the Edwards family vacation for the year.
My dad made 33 showings in this tournament, and typically, the families of both teams traveled along. We always went at Easter, when my Mom, as a teacher, was off, and I was on break from school as well.
In 1983, I was in third grade and very excited for the Easter Bunny to bring my basket to the hotel room. I spent most of Easter Sunday enjoying, really enjoying, the candy from my basket. The jelly beans, the chocolate, and of course, my solid chocolate bunny were consumed with no thought to moderation. Of course, by afternoon, it was time to go watch the men bowl in the convention center, which was attached to our hotel by an underground tunnel.
About halfway through, I started to feel, let's just say, not so well. My mom started walking me back to the hotel room. We didn't quite make it...the sugary bliss of my day ended up on the floor in the underground tunnel. I thought I would die of embarrassment, if not the sugar high of earlier. Here's to a FOURgettable moment!
FIVE bowlers in history on your Open Championships fantasy all-star team: John Edwards (my dad), Dick Weber, Don Johnson, Earl Anthony and Marion Ladewig.
SIX bowling balls currently in your Open Championships arsenal: Brunswick T-Zone, Brunswick Wild Card (2), Brunswick C-System 2.5, Brunswick C-System 3.5, Brunswick Python ($$$ ball from 2009).
SEVEN cities you'd like to see the Open Championships go to/return to: LAS VEGAS, San Diego, Orlando, Fla., Seattle, Chicago, Honolulu, San Francisco
EIGHT favorite bowling balls ever: Brunswick Forest Green Quantum, Brunswick Wild Card, Columbia Wine U-Dot, Columbia Red Pulse, Brunswick Red Fuze, Brunswick Sage Quantum, Brunswick Purple Rhino Pro, Hammer Black Widow
NINE other current/eligible bowlers you would choose to join you on your ideal pair of companion teams at the Open Championships: Man, this one is hard with all of the great players I have had the honor of sharing the lanes with. Here goes...Stephen Padilla, Vernon Peterson, Kendra Gaines, Carolyn Dorin-Ballard, Lynda Barnes, Tammy Boomershine, Kathy Zielke, Jeri Edwards and Ray Edwards.
TEN seconds or less, who is your favorite bowler of all-time?: The man who started it all for me when I was 5, John Edwards. I hope you have an eternal front row seat for all of the Open Championships! I know you did last year...I miss you, Dad!
ELEVEN strikes in a row to start a game at the Open Championships, what's going through your head?: I try to keep my mind as quiet as possible, focus on my target and start my feet. I've trained my body to do the right things to get me to the foul line, so this is the perfect time to trust my training.
TWELVE years from now, where do you hope to be in your bowling career?: I would love to have a gold medal from a team event in the World Women's Championships, but ultimately, I will be proudest if I can say that I have competed at the top of my ability and been an ambassador to the youth growing up pursuing the sport, while inspiring them to continue on at high levels.
This week, we heard from three-time Team USA member Brenda Edwards, who etched her name in the Open Championships record books with a memorable performance at the 2009 event in Las Vegas. This year, she will take to the lanes at the National Bowling Stadium on June 26 and 27.
After a slow start in team last year (571), the 35-year-old right-hander average 260.1 during doubles and singles. The performance lifted her and Stephen Padilla to the Regular Doubles title with a record score of 1,566. Padilla led the way with 790, while Edwards added 776.
With the win, Edwards joined USBC Hall of Famer Wendy Macpherson, the 2006 Regular Singles champion, as the only two women in tournament history to claim Regular Division titles. Three other women have earned victories in the Classified Division: Rayetta Dominguez (1994 Booster Team), Christina Singh (2001 Classified Doubles) and Karen West (2005 Classified Team). Women first were allowed to compete in the Open Championships in 1994.
Edwards' success at Cashman Center last year didn't end in doubles. She added games of 227, 258 and 300 for a 785 singles total. She finished ninth in Regular Singles and 13th in Regular All-Events with a 2,132 total, the highest by a woman in Open Championships history. Her perfect game was only the sixth by a woman on the championship lanes.
Earlier this year, Edwards picked up a win at the 2010 USBC Team USA Trials, also in Las Vegas.
HOMETOWN: Mansfield, Texas
OPEN CHAMPIONSHIPS APPEARANCES: This will be seven.
OPEN CHAMPIONSHIPS TITLES: 1. Eagle caught by the tail feathers! (2009 Regular Doubles with Stephen Padilla)
BOWLING BALL WEIGHT: 15
FAVORITE BRAND OF BOWLING BALLS: If you're gonna bowl, bowl BRUNSWICK!
ONE all-time favorite host city: Las Vegas, OF COURSE!!
TWO best Open Championships memories: 1. winning 2009 Regular Doubles with Stephen and setting a new scoring record for doubles (1,566) in the process; 2. shooting 300 to follow it up in the last game of singles
THREE keys to success at the Open Championships: 1. communicate with your teammates; 2. make every spare; 3. absolutely enjoy yourself in the venue, soaking up the atmosphere. There is nothing else in bowling quite like the Open Championships!
FOURgettable Open Championships moment: Niagara Falls, 1983, yes 1983.
My FOURgettable moment came long before I was eligible to bowl the Open Championships. This was back when it was the ABC Tournament and the Edwards family vacation for the year.
My dad made 33 showings in this tournament, and typically, the families of both teams traveled along. We always went at Easter, when my Mom, as a teacher, was off, and I was on break from school as well.
In 1983, I was in third grade and very excited for the Easter Bunny to bring my basket to the hotel room. I spent most of Easter Sunday enjoying, really enjoying, the candy from my basket. The jelly beans, the chocolate, and of course, my solid chocolate bunny were consumed with no thought to moderation. Of course, by afternoon, it was time to go watch the men bowl in the convention center, which was attached to our hotel by an underground tunnel.
About halfway through, I started to feel, let's just say, not so well. My mom started walking me back to the hotel room. We didn't quite make it...the sugary bliss of my day ended up on the floor in the underground tunnel. I thought I would die of embarrassment, if not the sugar high of earlier. Here's to a FOURgettable moment!
FIVE bowlers in history on your Open Championships fantasy all-star team: John Edwards (my dad), Dick Weber, Don Johnson, Earl Anthony and Marion Ladewig.
SIX bowling balls currently in your Open Championships arsenal: Brunswick T-Zone, Brunswick Wild Card (2), Brunswick C-System 2.5, Brunswick C-System 3.5, Brunswick Python ($$$ ball from 2009).
SEVEN cities you'd like to see the Open Championships go to/return to: LAS VEGAS, San Diego, Orlando, Fla., Seattle, Chicago, Honolulu, San Francisco
EIGHT favorite bowling balls ever: Brunswick Forest Green Quantum, Brunswick Wild Card, Columbia Wine U-Dot, Columbia Red Pulse, Brunswick Red Fuze, Brunswick Sage Quantum, Brunswick Purple Rhino Pro, Hammer Black Widow
NINE other current/eligible bowlers you would choose to join you on your ideal pair of companion teams at the Open Championships: Man, this one is hard with all of the great players I have had the honor of sharing the lanes with. Here goes...Stephen Padilla, Vernon Peterson, Kendra Gaines, Carolyn Dorin-Ballard, Lynda Barnes, Tammy Boomershine, Kathy Zielke, Jeri Edwards and Ray Edwards.
TEN seconds or less, who is your favorite bowler of all-time?: The man who started it all for me when I was 5, John Edwards. I hope you have an eternal front row seat for all of the Open Championships! I know you did last year...I miss you, Dad!
ELEVEN strikes in a row to start a game at the Open Championships, what's going through your head?: I try to keep my mind as quiet as possible, focus on my target and start my feet. I've trained my body to do the right things to get me to the foul line, so this is the perfect time to trust my training.
TWELVE years from now, where do you hope to be in your bowling career?: I would love to have a gold medal from a team event in the World Women's Championships, but ultimately, I will be proudest if I can say that I have competed at the top of my ability and been an ambassador to the youth growing up pursuing the sport, while inspiring them to continue on at high levels.