Singles scores on the move at 2018 USBC Women's Championships
May 01, 2018
By Aaron Smith and Tony Contini
USBC Communications
RENO, Nev. - A busy Monday at the 2018 United States Bowling Congress Women's Championships resulted with three lead changes in singles competition.
Toni Townsend of Galveston, Texas, used a steady performance at the National Bowling Stadium to take the lead in the Ruby Division with a 641 set, while USBC Women's Championships titlist Sue Moen of Roscoe, Illinois, put together a strong final game to return to the top of the standings, finishing her 2018 event at the top of the Sapphire Singles standings with with a 580 series.
Robyn Raker of North Pole, Alaska, saw her scores climb each game as she moved into the Amethyst Singles lead with 522.
Previous leaders included Patty Venneman of Auburn, California, in Ruby Singles (639), Gwendolynn Edwards of Bellevue, Nebraska, in Sapphire Singles (568) and Verna Faust of Columbia, South Carolina, in Amethyst Singles (501).
Townsend, making her 30th consecutive Women's Championships appearance, posted games of 215, 213 and 213 to sneak into the lead by two pins. She delivered in the ninth and 10th frames, rolling four consecutive strikes to finish her final game, to solidify her spot at the top of the standings.
"When I found out I was on top, I felt great," Townsend said. "I knew I was close, and all I could hope was that the 10 pin would fall."
Although Townsend wasn't pleased with how her team event went Sunday, she knew she could repeat shots if she found the right look.
"If I can find the shot, I can keep it," said Townsend, who added sets of 512 in doubles and 501 in team for a 1,654 all-events total, which is seventh in Ruby All-Events. "When you find your line, you need to trust your ball."
Townsend was ready to share in the excitement as soon as she found out she posted the score to beat.
"This makes me feel good," Townsend said. "The first thing I did was take a picture of the leaderboard and sent it straight to mom and dad."
Ruby Singles and Ruby All-Events feature bowlers with entering averages of 175-189.
After starting her singles set with games of 175 and 150, Moen saved her best for last and tossed eight strikes for a 255 finish and the Sapphire Singles lead.
Moen has been in this position before at the Women's Championships. She teamed with Denise Jenson of Chaska, Minnesota, to claim the Emerald Doubles title at the 2014 event, held at the nearby Reno-Sparks Convention Center.
Moen, making her 31st tournament appearance, has been fighting some injuries since her win four years ago and has been working to get back to where she wants to be on the lanes.
Although Moen's start to the week left her frustrated, her strong finale helped her outlook.
"It makes me feel pretty good to be able to get back and do what I did today," said Moen, who added sets of 487 in doubles and 400 in team for a 1,467 all-events tally. "To be up as high in the standings as I am makes me proud. It really changed my mindset because it hasn't been great the past couple of years. It gets frustrating when you know what you can do, but there's physical things that make it hard to get it back."
Sapphire Singles includes bowlers with entering averages of 145-159.
In Amethyst Singles, Raker improved each game, posting scores of 157, 182 and 183.
She credited an adjustment in her starting position to helping her throughout singles, but she also took the ups and downs of tournament competition in stride.
"I took a lot of deep breaths before I got set in my stance and slowed my pace down," said Raker, who rolled sets of 439 in team and 406 in doubles for a 1,367 nine-game total. "I didn't get stressed out if I wasn't doing well, either. Before singles, I was struggling."
To say she was surprised to find out her score had put her into the lead would be an understatement.
"Honestly, when I was told about this, I thought it was a joke," said Raker, who made her Women's Championships debut. "I came here just to have fun, and I was not expecting this at all."
Amethyst Singles has bowlers with entering averages of 130-144.
Visit us on Facebook at the official USBC Women's Championships page.
USBC Communications
RENO, Nev. - A busy Monday at the 2018 United States Bowling Congress Women's Championships resulted with three lead changes in singles competition.
Toni Townsend of Galveston, Texas, used a steady performance at the National Bowling Stadium to take the lead in the Ruby Division with a 641 set, while USBC Women's Championships titlist Sue Moen of Roscoe, Illinois, put together a strong final game to return to the top of the standings, finishing her 2018 event at the top of the Sapphire Singles standings with with a 580 series.
Robyn Raker of North Pole, Alaska, saw her scores climb each game as she moved into the Amethyst Singles lead with 522.
Previous leaders included Patty Venneman of Auburn, California, in Ruby Singles (639), Gwendolynn Edwards of Bellevue, Nebraska, in Sapphire Singles (568) and Verna Faust of Columbia, South Carolina, in Amethyst Singles (501).
Townsend, making her 30th consecutive Women's Championships appearance, posted games of 215, 213 and 213 to sneak into the lead by two pins. She delivered in the ninth and 10th frames, rolling four consecutive strikes to finish her final game, to solidify her spot at the top of the standings.
"When I found out I was on top, I felt great," Townsend said. "I knew I was close, and all I could hope was that the 10 pin would fall."
Although Townsend wasn't pleased with how her team event went Sunday, she knew she could repeat shots if she found the right look.
"If I can find the shot, I can keep it," said Townsend, who added sets of 512 in doubles and 501 in team for a 1,654 all-events total, which is seventh in Ruby All-Events. "When you find your line, you need to trust your ball."
Townsend was ready to share in the excitement as soon as she found out she posted the score to beat.
"This makes me feel good," Townsend said. "The first thing I did was take a picture of the leaderboard and sent it straight to mom and dad."
Ruby Singles and Ruby All-Events feature bowlers with entering averages of 175-189.
After starting her singles set with games of 175 and 150, Moen saved her best for last and tossed eight strikes for a 255 finish and the Sapphire Singles lead.Moen has been in this position before at the Women's Championships. She teamed with Denise Jenson of Chaska, Minnesota, to claim the Emerald Doubles title at the 2014 event, held at the nearby Reno-Sparks Convention Center.
Moen, making her 31st tournament appearance, has been fighting some injuries since her win four years ago and has been working to get back to where she wants to be on the lanes.
Although Moen's start to the week left her frustrated, her strong finale helped her outlook.
"It makes me feel pretty good to be able to get back and do what I did today," said Moen, who added sets of 487 in doubles and 400 in team for a 1,467 all-events tally. "To be up as high in the standings as I am makes me proud. It really changed my mindset because it hasn't been great the past couple of years. It gets frustrating when you know what you can do, but there's physical things that make it hard to get it back."
Sapphire Singles includes bowlers with entering averages of 145-159.
In Amethyst Singles, Raker improved each game, posting scores of 157, 182 and 183.She credited an adjustment in her starting position to helping her throughout singles, but she also took the ups and downs of tournament competition in stride.
"I took a lot of deep breaths before I got set in my stance and slowed my pace down," said Raker, who rolled sets of 439 in team and 406 in doubles for a 1,367 nine-game total. "I didn't get stressed out if I wasn't doing well, either. Before singles, I was struggling."
To say she was surprised to find out her score had put her into the lead would be an understatement.
"Honestly, when I was told about this, I thought it was a joke," said Raker, who made her Women's Championships debut. "I came here just to have fun, and I was not expecting this at all."
Amethyst Singles has bowlers with entering averages of 130-144.
Visit us on Facebook at the official USBC Women's Championships page.