Whirlwind summer continues for young standout at 2017 U.S. Women's Open
August 02, 2017
PLANO, Texas - For most college students, the weeks leading into the fall semester represent a time to begin thinking about the next challenge ahead of them.
For Caitlyn Johnson, the weeks leading into her sophomore year at Webber International University have included coming back from an ankle injury to outlast the largest field in the history of the Junior Gold Championships to now pushing herself against the best female competitors in the world at the 2017 U.S. Women's Open at Plano Super Bowl.
The 18-year-old right-hander recently advanced to the 20-and-under title match at the 2017 Junior Gold Championships in Wickliffe, Ohio, and will face off against Allie Leiendecker of Wooster, Ohio, on CBS Sports Network on Tuesday, Aug. 8 at 8 p.m. Eastern.
This week, Johnson hopes to use that experience to her advantage in her U.S. Women's Open debut.
Although the number of games and lane conditions at the U.S. Women's Open typically are considered the biggest test in the sport, being able to navigate multiple centers, patterns and the week-long experience that is Junior Gold helped sharpen Johnson's game before her journey to Texas this week.
"I tried to take each day and block individually, instead of looking at it as one big tournament," said Johnson, who earned a spot on Junior Team USA 2018 for her performance at Junior Gold. "I wanted to stick with the process and stay in the moment, and even though I was exhausted by the end of the event, that really helped me get through it. Heading into this week, that experience really helped my confidence and made me feel better about my game and abilities on the lanes."
That experience almost didn't happen for Johnson, however, as she made her way back from an ankle injury that slowed her down during the final months of the collegiate season.
She helped anchor the Warriors to a runner-up finish at the Intercollegiate Team Championships but had to shut down after just missing match play at the United States Bowling Congress Queens in May. Her trip to Junior Gold marked her return to competition.
"A couple of years ago, I broke my left ankle playing softball," Johnson said. "After a couple surgeries and putting metal in and taking metal out, I still had two screws left in. During the second semester, my ankle really started to hurt. When I finally got home to see my doctor, we found that one of the screws was out of the bone and stabbing and tearing into a ligament. They took the metal out, and I was on crutches for about a week. I worked really hard at the beginning of the summer to get back to Junior Gold."
After Tuesday's opening round of qualifying at Plano Super Bowl, Johnson finds herself just outside of the first cut, which trims the 114-player field down to 38 players after 24 games of qualifying.
She posted a 1,710 eight-game total, a 213.75 average, and sits in a tie for 47th place with 16 games left to reach her initial goal.
"I want to see where I stand," Johnson said. "I hope to keep the same kind of rhythm from last week and see what happens if I'm able to keep making good shots and continue with my process. I feel like this will be a really good test. Hopefully, I'll be able to make the first cut. That's the main goal."
The top 38 players after 24 games will advance to an additional eight-game qualifying round. After 32 games, total pinfall will determine the 24 bowlers who advance to round-robin match play, and 56-game totals, including 30 bonus pins for each win, will decide the five players for Sunday's live television finals, which will air on CBS Sports Network at noon Eastern.
For Caitlyn Johnson, the weeks leading into her sophomore year at Webber International University have included coming back from an ankle injury to outlast the largest field in the history of the Junior Gold Championships to now pushing herself against the best female competitors in the world at the 2017 U.S. Women's Open at Plano Super Bowl.
The 18-year-old right-hander recently advanced to the 20-and-under title match at the 2017 Junior Gold Championships in Wickliffe, Ohio, and will face off against Allie Leiendecker of Wooster, Ohio, on CBS Sports Network on Tuesday, Aug. 8 at 8 p.m. Eastern.
This week, Johnson hopes to use that experience to her advantage in her U.S. Women's Open debut.
Although the number of games and lane conditions at the U.S. Women's Open typically are considered the biggest test in the sport, being able to navigate multiple centers, patterns and the week-long experience that is Junior Gold helped sharpen Johnson's game before her journey to Texas this week.
"I tried to take each day and block individually, instead of looking at it as one big tournament," said Johnson, who earned a spot on Junior Team USA 2018 for her performance at Junior Gold. "I wanted to stick with the process and stay in the moment, and even though I was exhausted by the end of the event, that really helped me get through it. Heading into this week, that experience really helped my confidence and made me feel better about my game and abilities on the lanes."
That experience almost didn't happen for Johnson, however, as she made her way back from an ankle injury that slowed her down during the final months of the collegiate season.
She helped anchor the Warriors to a runner-up finish at the Intercollegiate Team Championships but had to shut down after just missing match play at the United States Bowling Congress Queens in May. Her trip to Junior Gold marked her return to competition.
"A couple of years ago, I broke my left ankle playing softball," Johnson said. "After a couple surgeries and putting metal in and taking metal out, I still had two screws left in. During the second semester, my ankle really started to hurt. When I finally got home to see my doctor, we found that one of the screws was out of the bone and stabbing and tearing into a ligament. They took the metal out, and I was on crutches for about a week. I worked really hard at the beginning of the summer to get back to Junior Gold."
After Tuesday's opening round of qualifying at Plano Super Bowl, Johnson finds herself just outside of the first cut, which trims the 114-player field down to 38 players after 24 games of qualifying.
She posted a 1,710 eight-game total, a 213.75 average, and sits in a tie for 47th place with 16 games left to reach her initial goal.
"I want to see where I stand," Johnson said. "I hope to keep the same kind of rhythm from last week and see what happens if I'm able to keep making good shots and continue with my process. I feel like this will be a really good test. Hopefully, I'll be able to make the first cut. That's the main goal."
The top 38 players after 24 games will advance to an additional eight-game qualifying round. After 32 games, total pinfall will determine the 24 bowlers who advance to round-robin match play, and 56-game totals, including 30 bonus pins for each win, will decide the five players for Sunday's live television finals, which will air on CBS Sports Network at noon Eastern.