Williams, Milligan fall short at World Cup
November 19, 2009
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MELAKA, Malaysia - For the first time since 2003, the United States left the QubicaAMF World Cup without a title in either the men's or women's divisions.
Team USA's Walter Ray Williams Jr. finished fifth among the men, while Tennelle Milligan took seventh place at Melaka International Bowling Center.
Korea's Choi Yong-Kyu earned the gold medal for the men, while Canada's Caroline Lagrange won the women's title. The United States won the men's title in 2007 and 2008 and the women's event in 2004, 2005 and 2006.
Williams made up some ground in Thursday morning's Round of 8 but couldn't overcome the deficit he faced heading into the day. He finished 69 pins behind third place, which was the last spot in the finals.
He ended the tournament with a 40-game total of 8,916, including 180 bonus pins for six match-play victories.
"I was doing OK, but I hit a couple of pairs and didn't' have the reaction I wanted," Williams said. "My carry percentage today was the lowest it has been all week, but I bowled decent overall."
Williams got off to a slow start in the event, finishing 36th after the first day of qualifying and 34th after the second day but rebounded to give himself a shot to make the finals.
"The first two days just killed me, and I had a little too much ground to make up," Williams said. "But this is a nice tournament, and there are a lot of great bowling fans in Malaysia. It was fun to represent the United States again, but I'm disappointed I wasn't able to bring home the gold medal."
Milligan, meanwhile, struggled in the Round of 8 and dropped from fifth to seventh place with a 40-game total of 8,449, including 90 bonus pins for match-play victories.
She never gained any momentum and fell behind the leaders down the stretch, finishing 284 pins behind third place.
In the men's championship match, Choi defeated 2005 World Cup champion Michael Schmidt of Canada, 2-0. Choi swept the title with wins of 236-173 and 227-208 in the best two-of-three games format.
On the women's side, Lagrange lost the opening game but came back to defeat England's Zara Giles, 2-1. Giles took Game 1, 194-189, but Lagrange rallied to win 210-181 and 218-211.
In the semifinals, Schmidt defeated Ryan Lalisang of Indonesia, 2-0, and Giles took out Malaysia's Siti Safiyah Amirah, 2-0.
2009 QUBICAAMF WORLD CUP
At Melaka International Bowling Center, Melaka, Malaysia
Thursday's Results
MEN
CHAMPIONSHIP
(1) Choi Yong-Kyu, Korea def. (2) Michael Schmidt, Canada, 2-0 (236-173, 227-208)
SEMIFINAL
Schmidt def. (3) Ryan Lalisang, Indonesia, 2-0 (202-180, 247-217)
WOMEN
CHAMPIONSHIP
(1) Caroline Lagrange, Canada def. (3) Zara Giles, England 2-1 (194-189, 210-181, 211-218)
SEMIFINAL
Giles def. (2) Siti Safiyah Amirah, Malaysia, 2-0 (202-180, 226-218)
MELAKA, Malaysia - For the first time since 2003, the United States left the QubicaAMF World Cup without a title in either the men's or women's divisions.
Team USA's Walter Ray Williams Jr. finished fifth among the men, while Tennelle Milligan took seventh place at Melaka International Bowling Center.
Korea's Choi Yong-Kyu earned the gold medal for the men, while Canada's Caroline Lagrange won the women's title. The United States won the men's title in 2007 and 2008 and the women's event in 2004, 2005 and 2006.
Williams made up some ground in Thursday morning's Round of 8 but couldn't overcome the deficit he faced heading into the day. He finished 69 pins behind third place, which was the last spot in the finals.
He ended the tournament with a 40-game total of 8,916, including 180 bonus pins for six match-play victories.
"I was doing OK, but I hit a couple of pairs and didn't' have the reaction I wanted," Williams said. "My carry percentage today was the lowest it has been all week, but I bowled decent overall."
Williams got off to a slow start in the event, finishing 36th after the first day of qualifying and 34th after the second day but rebounded to give himself a shot to make the finals.
"The first two days just killed me, and I had a little too much ground to make up," Williams said. "But this is a nice tournament, and there are a lot of great bowling fans in Malaysia. It was fun to represent the United States again, but I'm disappointed I wasn't able to bring home the gold medal."
Milligan, meanwhile, struggled in the Round of 8 and dropped from fifth to seventh place with a 40-game total of 8,449, including 90 bonus pins for match-play victories.
She never gained any momentum and fell behind the leaders down the stretch, finishing 284 pins behind third place.
In the men's championship match, Choi defeated 2005 World Cup champion Michael Schmidt of Canada, 2-0. Choi swept the title with wins of 236-173 and 227-208 in the best two-of-three games format.
On the women's side, Lagrange lost the opening game but came back to defeat England's Zara Giles, 2-1. Giles took Game 1, 194-189, but Lagrange rallied to win 210-181 and 218-211.
In the semifinals, Schmidt defeated Ryan Lalisang of Indonesia, 2-0, and Giles took out Malaysia's Siti Safiyah Amirah, 2-0.
2009 QUBICAAMF WORLD CUP
At Melaka International Bowling Center, Melaka, Malaysia
Thursday's Results
MEN
CHAMPIONSHIP
(1) Choi Yong-Kyu, Korea def. (2) Michael Schmidt, Canada, 2-0 (236-173, 227-208)
SEMIFINAL
Schmidt def. (3) Ryan Lalisang, Indonesia, 2-0 (202-180, 247-217)
WOMEN
CHAMPIONSHIP
(1) Caroline Lagrange, Canada def. (3) Zara Giles, England 2-1 (194-189, 210-181, 211-218)
SEMIFINAL
Giles def. (2) Siti Safiyah Amirah, Malaysia, 2-0 (202-180, 226-218)