South Carolina bowler leads three events at Women's Championships
April 15, 2016
LAS VEGAS - It has been an exciting 24-hour run at the South Point Bowling Plaza for Daphne Smith of Simpsonville, South Carolina, who stepped off the lanes Friday as the leader in three events at the 2016 United States Bowling Congress Women's Championships.
The 35-year-old right-hander kicked off her second USBC Women's Championships appearance Thursday by helping Atlanta's Finest of Lithia Springs, Georgia, into the lead in Diamond Team with 2,534, and she continued strong Friday by setting the bar in Diamond Singles (724) and Diamond All-Events (1,957).
Smith's singles set at the Bowling Plaza started with nine consecutive strikes before ending with 264, and she added 226 and 234 to coast into the top spot. She had 655 in team and 578 in doubles to reach her all-events tally.
After capturing the team lead, Smith felt good about her look on the lanes heading into doubles and singles. A hiccup in doubles actually led her to making the right ball choice prior to her run at perfection to start singles.
"We were pretty pumped after taking the lead yesterday, and it had us feeling really good about today because it's the same pattern," said Smith, who bowls regularly at Simpsonville's Golden Lanes. "From Game 1 to 2 in doubles, I saw the ball start to pick up early, so I tried to make an adjustment with my hand to get the ball to push through and carry, and that created some issues. I tried a different ball, which split a couple of times, before making another ball change to something that cleared a little longer and finished through the pins better."
Smith now gets to wait and see if her scores are enough to add her name to an elite group in the tournament's record books.
A total of six bowlers have captured three titles during the same year at the Women's Championships, with Lindsay Boomershine of Brigham City, Utah, being the most recent to accomplish the feat in 2012.
"This is only my second Women's Championships appearance, so this is something I've never done before," Smith said. "Taking the lead at nationals is pretty exciting."
Diamond Singles and All-Events features bowlers with entering averages of 190 and above.
Visit us on Facebook at the official USBC Open/Women's Championships page.
The 35-year-old right-hander kicked off her second USBC Women's Championships appearance Thursday by helping Atlanta's Finest of Lithia Springs, Georgia, into the lead in Diamond Team with 2,534, and she continued strong Friday by setting the bar in Diamond Singles (724) and Diamond All-Events (1,957).
Smith's singles set at the Bowling Plaza started with nine consecutive strikes before ending with 264, and she added 226 and 234 to coast into the top spot. She had 655 in team and 578 in doubles to reach her all-events tally.
After capturing the team lead, Smith felt good about her look on the lanes heading into doubles and singles. A hiccup in doubles actually led her to making the right ball choice prior to her run at perfection to start singles.
"We were pretty pumped after taking the lead yesterday, and it had us feeling really good about today because it's the same pattern," said Smith, who bowls regularly at Simpsonville's Golden Lanes. "From Game 1 to 2 in doubles, I saw the ball start to pick up early, so I tried to make an adjustment with my hand to get the ball to push through and carry, and that created some issues. I tried a different ball, which split a couple of times, before making another ball change to something that cleared a little longer and finished through the pins better."
Smith now gets to wait and see if her scores are enough to add her name to an elite group in the tournament's record books.
A total of six bowlers have captured three titles during the same year at the Women's Championships, with Lindsay Boomershine of Brigham City, Utah, being the most recent to accomplish the feat in 2012.
"This is only my second Women's Championships appearance, so this is something I've never done before," Smith said. "Taking the lead at nationals is pretty exciting."
Diamond Singles and All-Events features bowlers with entering averages of 190 and above.
Visit us on Facebook at the official USBC Open/Women's Championships page.