Team USA to end 2016 at World Bowling Singles Championships
December 01, 2016
ARLINGTON, Texas - While many people around the United States are decorating their homes for the holidays, four members of Team USA are headed to Doha, Qatar, this week hoping to be decorated with 2016 World Bowling Singles Championships medals.
Team USA veterans Shannon Pluhowsky (16 years), Kelly Kulick (12), John Janawicz (eight) and rookie Chris Via will be among the nearly 140 competitors from 50 countries on the lanes at the Qatar Bowling Center. A formal opening ceremony will kick off the event on Saturday.
This year's World Singles Championships is the second edition of the event, scheduled to be held every four years. It debuted in Cyprus in 2012 and featured 57 women and 71 men from 44 countries. Team USA's Kulick and Chris Barnes earned the gold medals.
"I'm ecstatic that I have the chance to go back and defend my title, and I'd love to put a stamp on this season to end 2016 on a high note," Kulick said. "This really has been a good year for me, despite an ankle injury that also created some new mental hurdles. I've had a bit of a dry spell as far as winning, but I know if I keep putting myself in a position to win, good things are going to happen. I'm excited and mentally geared up for this tournament."
Competitors at the 2016 World Singles Championships will bowl three qualifying blocks over three days, before the field is cut to the top 32 men and top 32 women for an additional qualifying round, which will narrow the field to the top eight men and top eight women.
A final qualifying block will determine the semifinalists in each category, and the winners will be crowned Dec. 9.
Janawicz, 44, whose world-championship debut came at the 2013 Combined World Championships in Las Vegas and accounted for two of more than two dozen international medals on his resume, will serve a dual role in Doha.
He'll hit the lanes in search of his first gold medal in world-championship competition, but he'll also serve a big brother role to the 24-year-old Via, a team gold-medalist at the 2012 World Bowling Youth Championships, who made his adult Team USA debut at the Pan American Bowling Confederation Champion of Champions event in April.
"This is only my second world championships, and it's Chris' maiden voyage, so we're both pretty new to the world stage," Janawicz said. "We roomed together at Team USA camp, and now we get to go to this event together, and I'm really looking forward to it. Of course, I'd like to win the gold medal, but if either of us gets it, we'll be happy for the other. Though it's a singles event, it's still going to be a big team effort that includes all four players and Bryan (O'Keefe)."
O'Keefe, a USBC Gold coach and the director of bowling at McKendree University, also is gaining international experience and will lead the team in Doha.
Earlier this year, he helped Team USA to 17 medals at the 2016 Pan American Bowling Confederation Adult Championships in Cali, Colombia. During that event, Pluhowsky got progressively better throughout the week and capped the week with a Masters gold medal, a rewarding conclusion for player and coach.
O'Keefe served a coaching role with Junior Team USA during Via's two-medal run at the 2012 World Youth Championships, and while he hasn't had much coach-player time yet with Kulick and Janawicz, he has known and competed against them for two decades.
"I've gotten to know all four players in some capacity over the years, so there's some familiarity there, and that will help us all be much more comfortable this week," O'Keefe said. "I think PABCON went well, we earned a nice number of medals and everyone got along and had a good time. We just want to build on that, finish the year strong and head into 2017 with some momentum."
Team USA's schedule in 2016 included the PABCON Champion of Champions, in which Via and Pluhowsky competed, the Tournament of the Americas (Via), PABCON Adult Championships (Pluhowsky) and the QubicaAMF World Cup.
Kulick's last event with Team USA was the 2015 World Bowling Women's Championships in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, while Janawicz's last appearance came at the 2015 PABCON Men's Championships.
For more information on the World Singles Championships, visit WorldBowling.org.
Team USA veterans Shannon Pluhowsky (16 years), Kelly Kulick (12), John Janawicz (eight) and rookie Chris Via will be among the nearly 140 competitors from 50 countries on the lanes at the Qatar Bowling Center. A formal opening ceremony will kick off the event on Saturday.
This year's World Singles Championships is the second edition of the event, scheduled to be held every four years. It debuted in Cyprus in 2012 and featured 57 women and 71 men from 44 countries. Team USA's Kulick and Chris Barnes earned the gold medals.
"I'm ecstatic that I have the chance to go back and defend my title, and I'd love to put a stamp on this season to end 2016 on a high note," Kulick said. "This really has been a good year for me, despite an ankle injury that also created some new mental hurdles. I've had a bit of a dry spell as far as winning, but I know if I keep putting myself in a position to win, good things are going to happen. I'm excited and mentally geared up for this tournament."
Competitors at the 2016 World Singles Championships will bowl three qualifying blocks over three days, before the field is cut to the top 32 men and top 32 women for an additional qualifying round, which will narrow the field to the top eight men and top eight women.
A final qualifying block will determine the semifinalists in each category, and the winners will be crowned Dec. 9.
Janawicz, 44, whose world-championship debut came at the 2013 Combined World Championships in Las Vegas and accounted for two of more than two dozen international medals on his resume, will serve a dual role in Doha.
He'll hit the lanes in search of his first gold medal in world-championship competition, but he'll also serve a big brother role to the 24-year-old Via, a team gold-medalist at the 2012 World Bowling Youth Championships, who made his adult Team USA debut at the Pan American Bowling Confederation Champion of Champions event in April.
"This is only my second world championships, and it's Chris' maiden voyage, so we're both pretty new to the world stage," Janawicz said. "We roomed together at Team USA camp, and now we get to go to this event together, and I'm really looking forward to it. Of course, I'd like to win the gold medal, but if either of us gets it, we'll be happy for the other. Though it's a singles event, it's still going to be a big team effort that includes all four players and Bryan (O'Keefe)."O'Keefe, a USBC Gold coach and the director of bowling at McKendree University, also is gaining international experience and will lead the team in Doha.
Earlier this year, he helped Team USA to 17 medals at the 2016 Pan American Bowling Confederation Adult Championships in Cali, Colombia. During that event, Pluhowsky got progressively better throughout the week and capped the week with a Masters gold medal, a rewarding conclusion for player and coach.
O'Keefe served a coaching role with Junior Team USA during Via's two-medal run at the 2012 World Youth Championships, and while he hasn't had much coach-player time yet with Kulick and Janawicz, he has known and competed against them for two decades.
"I've gotten to know all four players in some capacity over the years, so there's some familiarity there, and that will help us all be much more comfortable this week," O'Keefe said. "I think PABCON went well, we earned a nice number of medals and everyone got along and had a good time. We just want to build on that, finish the year strong and head into 2017 with some momentum."
Team USA's schedule in 2016 included the PABCON Champion of Champions, in which Via and Pluhowsky competed, the Tournament of the Americas (Via), PABCON Adult Championships (Pluhowsky) and the QubicaAMF World Cup.
Kulick's last event with Team USA was the 2015 World Bowling Women's Championships in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, while Janawicz's last appearance came at the 2015 PABCON Men's Championships.
For more information on the World Singles Championships, visit WorldBowling.org.