YAC Triple Crown Roll-Offs

The roll-offs to decide this year's team for the YAC Triple Crown in Scotland will take place in ALSAA bowling alley on June 11th.

The Under-23 committee, which looks after all issues concerning YAC bowling in Ireland, has announced that there has been a change to the age limit for eligibility for selection.

Following discussions with other participating countries, it has been decided that the Irish committee will use the same age limit as other countries this year. This means that now any bowlers born after January 1st 1987 are eligible to compete in the roll-offs in June.

In previous years competitors had to be under the age of 23 on September 1st the year before the tournament takes place. The new age limit means that players can now compete even if they have turned 24, as long as their birthdate falls after January 1st of this year.

The roll-off will take place at 8 pm on June 11th. Bowlers will play 8 games and the top 6 players after these games will be selected to represent Ireland in the YAC Triple Crown in Scotland in early October.

The fee to compete in the roll-offs is €3 per game. Any bowler who wishes to compete must e-mail the YAC Committee at yaccommittee@gmail.com by June 6th to confirm their interest.

Paul Magee Classic Review-The perfect way to remember a truly inspirational man

Once again the Paul Magee Classic this year showed just how important and how inspiring the man whi the event is named in memory off was and remains for the entire Irish bowling community.

The event took place on Sunday, with almost 150 people taking part in what was a magnificant event. The festivities after the bowling were also testament to the incredible popularity which Paul held in life and continues to hold three years after his tragic death from motor neurone disease.

The majority of those who took part in the bowling celebrated throughout the day and into the night as Ireland's bowling community once again raised a glass in honour of a true hero, not only in bowling terms but in everything he did in life.

Many of Paul's family attended the event, and I'm sure they must have been delighted to see once more just how much he meant to so many people. It goes without saying, I'm sure, that seeing the incredible turnout again this year must have only increased the already immense pride they hold in their hearts for Paul.

A truly inspiring day which embodied the immense inspiration which stems from Paul's life and the affect which he had on so many people. Once again a magnificant day, and such huge thanks have to go out to those who organised the event again this year. It was simply the perfect way to honour the great man once more.

UMES to host Championship Rally for National Champions

Collegiate Women's Bowling

University will celebrate its bowling program Tuesday at 11a.m.

The University of Maryland Eastern Shore (UMES) will take time out to celebrate its most recent athletic success Tuesday at 11 a.m. when it honors the Lady Hawks Bowling Program.

The Hawks made history this season winning not one, but two, national championships. UMES won the NCAA Championship, their second overall on April 16 and one week later the USBC Intercollegiate Team Championships (ITCs).

The Championship Rally will be held in the William P. Hytche Athletic Center and is open to students, faculty, staff and the general public. There will be championship t- shirts thrown out to the crowd and a small reception and autograph session will follow the program.

The event will feature introductions of the team and coaches (pictured with the ITC trophy), a reciting of the team accomplishments, remarks from University President Thelma B. Thompson. Ph.D., and the presentation of several proclamations, ranging from the Town of Princess Anne, Somerset County, the State Senate and from Gov. Martin O'Malley.

The event will also feature remarks from Director of Athletics Keith Davidson and head coach Sharon Brummell. It will conclude with the unveiling of the three championship banners from this season, the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) title, the NCAA championship and the USBC Collegiate title.

No school in college bowling history has won two national titles in the same year and UMES is the first Historically Black College or University (HBCU) to own two DI NCAA titles.

Admission is free and fans are encouraged to wear their maroon and grey to show their support.

FeatureTalk-When will sense prevail on the issue of Tenpin Bowling becoming an Olympic sport?

Tenpin bowling is played by over 100 million people worldwide. Over 10 million people worldwide compete at either amateur or professional level. The number of bowling lanes worldwide is now up to 250,000. Petitions have been posted and signed by huge numbers on the internet, including a petition page on Facebook which currently has over 9,000 members. Yet somehow it continues to be snubbed by the Olympic Games.

Tenpin bowling is now probably the biggest sport in the world which is not yet part of the Olympic Games. The Bowling World Cup, which is held annually in destinations around the world, has proven extremely successful. Amateurs love the opportunity to travel the world, to represent their country, to walk out at the opening ceremony with their nation’s flag, to wear the colours of their nation proudly. To do this at the Olympic Games would be a high-point in any bowler’s career, and a moment which they would never forget.

And the tournament has become even more appealing since professionals of the game were allowed to take part. For every amateur, and I know this through personal experience, playing alongside the best players in the world is the most exciting experience you can be involved in, not just in bowling, but in any sport. The Olympics is, admittedly, considered an amateur showcase. However, this should not be a sticking point. Even professional footballers can now take part in the Olympics, with teams allowed to field a certain number of professionals in their side. So this is a non-argument before it is even begun.

Bowling has also seen huge growth in Western Europe over the past two decades, especially in Britain and France. It also has a massive base in Asia now, with one of the American Professional Bowlers Tour events now taking place in Japan, and one of the events of this year’s World Bowling Tour to take place in Thailand. It has a growing popularity base in Eastern Europe, and added to its ever-strong popularity in the Americas, the base for the sport to be included is almost unavoidable now. It simply is too big a sport to ignore.

 In 1979, the International Olympic Committee officially recognised the Fédération Internationale des Qulleurs as the governing body of bowling. The FIQ has been tirelessly lobbying for the sport to be included in the Olympics ever since, but illogically the sport has remained on the sidelines. The closest the sport has come to Olympic status was as a demonstration sport at the Seoul Olympics in 1988.

Tenpin bowling appeals greatly to such a large proportion of the population worldwide. It has also become extremely popular as a disability sport. There is one key reason why its popularity is so widespread: despite subtleties of skill in the professional game it is, in essence, a very simple game. It can essentially be played and enjoyed by anyone, anywhere; a point which is proven by the number of people who play it today.

The sport is also officially recognised as a Paralympic discipline, and it features at numerous disability games throughout the world. However, as with the Olympics, ten pin bowling has never featured at Paralympic Games level. This simply does not make sense. The reasoning behind it has been rationalised by Steffi Klein, from the International Paralympic Association: “Sports or disciplines which are not on the Olympic programme, will not be considered for inclusion on the Paralympic programme, unless it is considered to be a special or distinctive sport for athletes with a disability.”

Apparently ten pin bowling does not fall under the category of “a special or distinctive sport for athletes with a disability”. However, I do not agree with this in the slightest. The introduction of physical aids such as ball-ramps, lane barriers and computerised scoring have made the sport much more competitive, enjoyable and easy to play for bowlers with a range of disabilities. There is also, I believe, enough of a distinction between the sport at able-bodied and disable-bodied level to be considered distinctive for athletes with a disability.

In the all-too-ignored third member of the Olympic family, the Special Olympics, tenpin bowling has a long and illustrious history. It has become one of the biggest sports in the Special Olympics today. So just how long must we wait for the able and disable-bodied alike to get the chance to perform on the world stage?

It is quite clear that the case which is being put forward by such a large number of people involved in tenpin bowling for Olympic status cannot be ignored. 100 million people simply cannot be wrong. It is surely time, then, for the International Olympic Committee to sit up and take notice of the sport, and to give it the respect it deserves.

Yachio Kato captures the title in first JPBA Ladies event after the great earthquake

In the first tournament after the great earthquake, Yachio Kato (pictured left) of Tokyo captured her 13th career Japan Professional Bowlers Association women's title in the Miyazaki Pro-Am Open Tournament which was held in the Kyushu Region in South Japan from April 21-24, 2011.

The 59-year-old ended a five-year title draught with a 225-217 victory against Hiromi Matsunaga en route to earn the 1.200.000 Yen winner's check or approximately US$14,627.

Matsunaga (right), who was targeting for back-to-back JPBA titles after winning the season-opening Kansai Open Ladies Bowling Tournament, received 620.000 Yen ($7,557) for second place.

Matsunaga started the game with an open frame after failing to convert the 4-6-7 split followed by a spare before she reeled off a four-bagger to take a 30-pin lead. Kato alternated strikes and spares in the first four frames, spare a 10-pin in the fifth and countered with a four-bagger to regain the lead.

Working on a strike, Matsunaga was unable to connect for a double in the ninth frame, then struck in the tenth but left a 7-pin standing on her next shot failing to force Kato to strike on her first ball in the tenth frame. Needing to mar, Kato spared a 7-pin for the win before the left the 4-6-10 split on her fill ball.

The top 16 players were seeded into two pools (A and B) of eight players each to determine the finalist in single-elimination head-to-head matches. In the final of Pool A, Kato eliminated Tomoe Yoshikawa (left), 235-212, while Matsunaga topped Masami Abe (right) in the B Pool final, 203-195. Yoshikawa and Abe tied for third place worth 370.000 Yen ($4,510) apiece.

Junia Yoshida of Japan Bowling Promotion reports that the third stop of the 2011 JPBA Ladies Tour, the 2011 Pro Test originally scheduled for March/April, was postponed and is now scheduled for the beginning of May.

European Youth Championships-Larkin Shows Just How Much Talent There Is In Irish Bowling

It seems there may be plenty to look forward to in the future for Irish bowling after all, after Ireland's Amanda Larkin put in an incredible performance in today's EYC Masters in Munich to eventually take a bronze medal.

Sarah Finlay also put in a top performance to make the Masters and finish inside the top 16 as England's Autumn Chamberlain went on to take the crown.

The achievement is put into real prespective when you consider this is the first time Ireland has had two representatives in the Masters at an EYC event since 1983.

Larkin only just managed to qualify for the Masters after finishing in 24th place, the final spot for the Masters. She then knocked out the number one seed before eventually coming up just short at the final stage.

It truly was a terrific performance from Larkin, who at only sixteen years of age showed a mature head on young shoulders to handle all the pressure which comes with playing in the final stages of an international event.

On the boys side of things it was a solid performance from all four, with special mention having to go to Taylor Nally, who started the tournament strongly and unfortunately just ran out of steam in the final stages before the Masters qualification was decided. Nally eventually finished in a very respectable 48th place and there certainly is reason for hope for this young man's future.

To have two players in the Masters section of an EYC event is fantastic news for the prospects of the sport in Ireland, with worries over the last few years that the sport may not even survive on an international level for Irish bowlers due to concerns over the future of the Irish Tenpin Bowling Association.

Hopefully the efforts of Larkin, Finlay and all the members of the girls and boys teams in Munich will show people in this country that there is superb talent coming up in the game, and hopefully re-awaken the appetite of any who have lost their passion and interest for the sport.

Huge congratulations to all involved in the efforts of the Irish teams in the EYC in Munich over the past week and in the preperation over the previous weeks.

For all the results check out www.eyc.bowling-em.de, the official EYC website.

Pepsi Irish Matchplay 2011

This year's Pepsi Irish Matchplay will take place in Superdome, Palmerstown, on April 30th and May 1st.

The event is the only full-knock out tournament in Ireland, and is open to both scratch and handicap players.

Format
The tournament is a double elimination event, with each match consisting of a three-game series. Competitors are given a lane draw and find out who they will face when they arrive at their lane. Each player has two lives to start with, so if you lose your first match you are not immediately knocked out of the tournament.

Their is a top prize of €600 for the winner, as well as cash prizes for places 2-6. Prizes are based on a full field of entries (32 players).

For more information or to book your spot in the tournament call Superdome on 01-6260700.

Rocks Tour-Event 5 Preview

Stop five of this year's inaugural Rocks Tour sees the second event in Leisureplex Stillorgan.

The tour was in Stillorgan for event four, where Dave English claimed his second victory of the tour. English qualified second for the scratch finals last time out, with Jason Byrnes taking the top qualifying spot and his first ever top spot. However, English's experience paid off in the final game, beating Byrnes 213 to 198.

English is currently top of both the scractch and handicap sections of the tour going into Sunday's event. Graham Turner and Alan Bride are close behind in the scratch section, with John Wilson and Jason Byrnes completing the current top five. In the handicap section, Carol Catchpole sits second, with Byrnes close behind in third. The handicap section top five is completed by John Wilson and Elaine Lawlor.

The penultimate event of the tour is a chance for those who missed any of the first four events to add to what will end up being their total points tally for their best four events in the six-stop tour. The final event will take place in Tallaght in April, after which the competitors will be decided for the Finals in May.

The standings after event six will also decide how many ranking points competitors earn for Team Ireland selection, so Sunday's event in Stillorgan will be important to those who do not wish to put pressure on themselves going into the final event.

Check-in for the event opens at 8.30 am Sunday March 20th, with bowling begining at 9. Bowlers play five games, moving lanes after 3 games. Entry on the day is €40 including breakfast after bowling and a €5 raffle ticket.

All current standings can be found on the itba website, http://www.tenpin-ireland.com/.

Russian girls, Dutch boys take the lead in EYC Team events after first 3-game block

The girls from Russia and the boys from the Netherlands are in the driver's seat after the first three-game block of the four-player Team events in the 24th European Youth Championships at Dream-Bowl Palace in Unterföhring, Germany.

Russia's Kristina Kryl, Margarita Verkhova, Polina Kosiakova and Alena Korobkova r(pictured left) olled games of 709, 808 and 837 to lead the girls division with 2354 pinfall total and an average of 196.17.

Kosiakova (below left) leads the 67 girls from 21 countries in All Events after 9 of 18 games with 2072 and an average of 230.22 including a 689 series in the Team event. The Russian out averaged Boys All Events leader Daniels Vezis (below right), Latvia (2007, 223.00) by more than seven pins.

With the final three-game block to go on Thursday, the top five teams in the girls division are within 35 pins. England with Doubles champions Bethany Hedley and Hannah Frost was 14 pins behind Russia in second place with 2340 and was followed by Finland and Sweden in third and fourth place with 2324 and 2319.

Just outside the box looking in were the girls of the host country Germany, who were tied with Sweden at 2319 but had the lower last game, 761 to 804.

The Dutch boys battled it out for the spot with the German team. Kevin De Haan, Jord Van Weeren, Ramon Hilferink and Joshua Schuurman (pictured left) had games of 882, 891 and 845 to hold a slim one-pin lead with record 2618 and an average of 218.71. Schuurman (right) rolled the first 300 of the EYC in the first game.

Germany's Christian Birlinger, Dominic Buchmann, Steven Wiersema and Robin Menacher (below right) had games of 857, 911 and 849 to land in second place with 2617 (218.08).

Sweden was a distant third with 2503 with Norway further 47 pins behind in fourth place at 2454. Latvia with doubles champions Arturs Levikins and Daniels Vezis sit in fifth place with 2450.

Competition continues on Thursday, April 21, with the second block of the Boys and Girls four-player team event immediately followed by the semifinals and finals.

The EYC 2011 is divided in two divisions - boys and girls. Each team consists of maximum four male and four female players, who must not have reached the age of 19 before August 31st, 2011.

Players compete for gold, silver and bronze medals in Singles, Doubles, Teams, All Events (18 games) and Masters (top 24 in All Events, single-elimination, best-of-three games) on a 40-feet sport compliant oil pattern (pdf file). Competition ends on Sunday, April 24, with the Boys and Girls Masters match play.

USBC Youth jerseys will have a new look

USBC Youth

Youth bowlers soon will sport a cool new look on the lanes with the latest eye-catching United States Bowling Congress Youth jersey.

Jerseys are a member benefit in certified USBC Youth Standard leagues. International Bowling Congress Director of Youth Development Chad Murphy said the new design will appeal to teenagers and be exciting for younger bowlers as well.

"The jerseys have been a tremendous hit with our youth members for the last two seasons and this latest design might prove to be even more popular," Murphy said. "Kids are not only wearing them at their leagues but everywhere they go."

The new jerseys also include logos from two of bowling's top ball brands. Storm is represented on the left sleeve and Ebonite on the right sleeve.

"Storm and Ebonite stepped up with tremendous support of youth bowling through the YES Fund," Murphy said. "Adding them to the jersey was a way of saying thanks and a design element that gives a pro jersey feel kids really like."

The new design features red, blue and black colors on the athletic jersey. USBC Youth Standard memberships purchased after March 15, 2011, will receive the jersey and Adult Leaders soon will be able to go onto BOWL.com to purchase their jerseys for $20.

The jerseys will continue to have an open design on the back so they can be personalized by leagues and individuals.

USBC started the jersey program as part of USBC Youth Standard membership at the start of the 2009-10 season.

Tom Baker leads first round of PBA Senior Don Carter Open

Boosted by opening games of 275 and 278, Hall of Famer Tom Baker (pictured left) of King, N.C., averaged 246.8 to lead after the first six-game round of the Professional Bowlers Association Senior Don Carter Open Monday at Carter Family Bowl.

Baker, a nine-time PBA Senior Tour champion and four-time Senior Player of the Year, had games of 275, 278, 204, 232, 256 and 236 for a 1,481 pinfall. He holds an 11-pin lead over two-time Senior Tour titlist Steve Ferraro (right) of Kingston, N.Y., in second with a 1,470 pinfall which included a 300 game.

"It feels good to get the season started," Baker said of the first tournament of the season. "After being off for several months you always wonder how you're going to do the first time out.

"The key today was to play straight down the lane because if you hooked the ball too much and got the ball too far outside on the lane you were going to be out of bounds and the ball just wouldn't come back."

Six-game qualifying continues Tuesday and Wednesday after which the 120-player field will be cut to the top 32 who will advance to match play on Thursday. Round of 8 and championship rounds will get underway Thursday at 7 p.m.

PBA.com's Xtra Frame Video service will provide comprehensive final-day coverage of the Senior Don Carter Open on April 21 with coverage beginning 10 minutes prior to the start of each round at 10 a.m., 1 p.m., 4 p.m., and the finals at 7 pm.

 

Walter Ray Williams Jr. looking for fresh start in 2011 PBA Senior Tour season

 

Players with position, hometown and 6-game total

1, Tom Baker, King, N.C., 1,481
2, Steve Ferraro, Kingston, N.Y., 1,470
3, Steve Neff, Homosassa Springs, Fla., 1,461
4, Dave Patchen, Oregon, Ohio, 1,414
5, Don Blatchford, Santa Monica, Calif., 1,411
6, Brian Brazeau, Ocala, Fla., 1,398
7, Dave Flemming, Fairborn, Ohio, 1,395
8, Tom Howison, Chillicothe, Ohio, 1,392
9, Russ Freeman, Antioch, Ill., 1,382
10, Dave Soutar, Bradenton, Fla., 1,378
11, Walter Ray Williams Jr., Ocala, Fla., 1,376
12, Christopher Keane, New City, N.Y., 1,373
13, John Petraglia, Jackson, N.J., 1,368
14, Garry Blanton, Owensboro, Ky., 1,363
15, Ron Mohr, Eagle River, Alaska, 1,352
16, (tie) Bob Handley, Winter Park, Fla.,
Kenny Parks, Hammond, Ind., 1,346
18, Dave Bernhardt, Shelby Twp., Mich., 1,338
19, Michael Henry, Brunswick, Ohio, 1,337
20, Henry Gonzalez, Colorado Springs, Colo., 1,334
21, Terry Metzner, Kentwood, Mich., 1,333
22, Billy Block, Pembroke Pines, Fla., 1,329
23, Keith Glasgow, St. Petersburg, Fla., 1,317
24, Gary Morgan, Marietta, Ga., 1,313
25, Ernie Schlegel, Vancouver, Wash., 1,307
26, Ron Garr, Ridgedale, Mo., 1,306
27, (tie) Keith Sharp, Orlando, Fla., George Gomez, Orlando, Fla., 1,305
29, Mark Scime, Winter Garden, Fla, 1,303
30, (tie) Tommy Brodowski, New Hyde Park, N.Y., Don Sylvia, Reno, Nev., 1,300
32, Bob Brady, Santa Monica, Calif., 1,292
33, Jim Price, Harrrisburg, N.C., 1,291
34, Pete Couture, Titusville, Fla., 1,289
35, Dale Eagle, Frisco, Texas, 1,285
36, Dennis Psaropoulos, Lake Worth, Fla., 1,282
37, (tie) David Goldenberg, Selden, N.Y., Ken Gibson, Greenville, S.C., Sammy Ventura, Syracuse, N.Y., 1,281
40, Randy Niehaus, Rockford, Ill., 1,280
41, Emilio Mora Sr., Defiance, Ohio, 1,270
42, Harry Sullins, Chesterfield Township, Mich., 1,266
43, Mitchell Jabczenski, Novi, Mich., 1,264
44, Steve Bova, Massapequa, N.Y., 1,254
45, (tie) Kerry Painter, Henderson, Nev., Kevin Schofield, Canada, 1,251
47, (tie) Phil Gessner, Spring, Texas, Lee Rucker, Fort Myers, Fla., 1,247
49, Mark Williams, Beaumont, Texas, 1,245
50, Bruce Himschoot, Sanford, Fla., 1,243
51, (tie) Larry Popp, Marion, Ohio, Walter Sova Sr., South Daytona, Fla., 1,238
53, Ed Marzka, Orlando, Fla., 1,237
54, John Shreve Sr., Elyria, Ohio, 1,235
55, Roger Kossert, Lithia, Fla., 1,234
56, Gregory Waldon, Manhattan, Mont., 1,225
57, Steven Boxerman, University City, Mo., 1,222
58, Kevin Croucher, Grants Pass, Ore., 1,221
59, Ron Profitt, Brookville, Ohio, 1,220
60, Tom Carter, Rockford, Ill., 1,219
61, Gary Lambert, Orlando, Fla., 1,216
62, Bill Argenbright, Fisherville, Va., 1,215
63, Dale Traber, Cedarburg, Wis., 1,214
64, Dave Sill, Rockledge, Fla., 1,207
65, Patrick King, Yankton, S.D., 1,206
66, Peter Knopp, Germany, 1,204
67, Michael Tryniski, Fulton, N.Y., 1,203
68, Mike Dias, Lafayette, Colo., 1,201
69, Warren Blankenship, Ardmore, Okla., 1,200
70, Don Hicks, West Babylon, N.Y., 1,197
71, (tie) Robert Callari, Bloomfield, N.Y., Bob Kelly, Dayton, Ohio, 1,191
73, Bob Pazur, Venice, Fla, 1,190
74, Danny Gould, Palm Bay, Fla, 1,189
75, Harley Trumbull, New Boston, Mich., 1,187
76, (tie) Daniel Miner, East Moline, Ill., Chuck Gardner, Charlotte, N.C., Guppy Troup, Taylorsville, N.C., 1,186
79, Dan Clausse, Reno, Nev., 1,183
80, Richard Felten, Rockville, Md., 1,180
81, Sam Perrotta, Lincoln Park, N.J., 1,179
82, Frank Tuccitto Jr., Southington, Conn., 1,177
83, (tie) Robert Teeters, Lapel, Ind., Robert Harvey, Boise, Idaho, 1,172
85, Sal Bongiorno, Hollywood, Fla., 1,168
86, Larry Williams, St. Augustine, Fla., 1,162
87, Steve Stein, Staten Island, N.Y., 1,158
88, (tie) Ronald Brick, Ormond Beach, Fla., George Lord, Lakeland, Fla., 1,155
90, Timothy Banks, Hanscom AFB, Bedford, Mass., 1,154
91, Andy Ippolito, Forest Hills, N.Y., 1,145
92, (tie) Ray Randall, Dearborn, Mich., Gary Hiday, Indianapolis, 1,144
94, (tie) Thomas Ream, Tampa, Fla., Leo Plaia, New Orleans, 1,143
96, (tie) Timothy Regan, East Northport, N.Y., Paul Franzetti, N Venice, Fla., 1,140
98, Dennis Amato, Pine Brook, N.J., 1,125
99, David Martin, Chesapeake, Va., 1,124
100, Timothy Kauble, Marion, Ohio, 1,122
101, Mike Hastings, Millsboro, Del., 1,119
102, Ken Waters, Kingsport, Tenn., 1,117
103, Bob Chamberlain, The Villages, Fla., 1,109
104, Douglas Weese, Carson City, Mich., 1,107
105, Marty Berke, Allentown, Pa., 1,106
106, Glen Nakagawa, Highland Village, Texas, 1,105
107, Bobby Dunn, Augusta, Ga., 1,101
108, Donald Breihan, Columbia, S.C., 1,097
109, Fred Baldwin, Sturgis, Mich., 1,087
110, Andy Anderson, Falls Church, Va., 1,084
111, Donna Tuttle, King, N.C., 1,080
112, Mike Broussard, Houma, La., 1,079
113, Fred Kouri, Castle Rock, Colo., 1,071
114, Joseph Venezio, Linden, N.J., 1,067
115, Frank Gallo Jr., Newport News, Va., 1,036
116, Rick Bucceri, Deltona, Fla., 1,010
117, Rod Michael, Florissant, Mo., 1,003
118, Lindell Woolard, Tallahassee, Fla., 999
119, Peter Brainard, Tampa, Fla., 971
120, J. Wayne Shank, Winter Park, Fla., 941

With target on her back, Kelly Kulick looks to defend Queens title

When Kelly Kulick of Union, N.J., arrives at the Oncenter Convention Center to defend her United States Bowling Congress Queens title, she knows every bowler in the field will have their sights set on sending her home empty handed.

Last year, Kulick won not only the Queens (pictured left), but the U.S. Women's Open and beat the men in the PBA Tournament of Champions, so she knows each event she competes in there's a target on her back.

Kulick's Queens title defense begins Saturday with the first round of qualifying. As the defending champion, she's guaranteed a spot in the double-elimination match-play bracket.

"I think my recent success and past performances will always make me a target," said Kulick, who defeated Tennelle Milligan (right) of Arlington, Texas, 232-188, to win the 2010 Queens. "I still look at Carolyn (Dorin-Ballard), Liz (Johnson), Shannon (Pluhowsky) and other top-notch bowlers as fierce competitors. I see them as a threat as much as they see me as a threat."

Kulick's victory at the PBA Tournament of Champions gave her an exemption on the Lumber Liquidators PBA Tour for the second time in her career. The last time Kulick was exempt on the PBA Tour in 2005-06, she put that experience to use and won the 2006 Queens.

"People will assume my season on tour will give me an advantage," said Kulick (left), who will look to join Millie Ignizio and Wendy Macpherson as a three-time Queens champion.

"It should give me an edge, but there is no guarantee of winning. I will use my knowledge and experience to give myself the best opportunity possible. At the end of the day, all I can do is my best. Some days it's good enough and others it's not enough."

The Queens kicks off with 10 qualifying games over two days on April 23 and 24 before the field is cut to the top 80 for five additional qualifying games the morning of April 25. The top 63 then advance to join Kulick in the double-elimination match-play bracket, which begins at 1:30 p.m. Eastern on April 25. The final five players will advance to the televised stepladder finals, which will be broadcast live on ESPN2 at 7 p.m. Eastern on April 27.

Should Kulick come away with another victory, she would become just the fifth woman to successfully defend a Queens title, joining Katsuko Sugimoto (1981, 1982), Donna Adamek (1979, 1980), Dorothy Fathergill (1972, 1973) and Millie Ignizio (1970-71).

The qualifying and match-play portions of the Queens are open to the public at no charge. A limited number of tickets for the televised finals will be sold for $10 and can be purchased on BOWL.com.

Bowling’s U.S. Women’s Open offers $200.000 prize fund

TV Finals will be staged June 30 at the Dallas Cowboys Stadium

The $200.000 Bowling’s U.S. Women’s Open sponsored by the Brands of Ebonite International will be held from June 24-30, 2011 and is open to all female youth and adults.

The tournament will take place during the 2011 International Bowl Expo which will draw more than 8,000 attendees from the bowling industry. Qualifying runs from June 24-29 at AMF Euless Lanes and the finals will be staged at the Dallas Cowboys Stadium in Arlington, Texas.

A total of 89 women have registered for the vent so far (as of April 14, 2011).

This will mark the first time in the history of the sport that a women's major professional bowling event will be held in a traditional sporting venue. The finals will be broadcast live on the stadium's famed 60-yard high definition video board.

Mika Koivuniemi, Cherie Tan triumph in 4th European Bowling Tour Masters 2011

PBA star Mika Koivuniemi (pictured left), a native Finn who lives in Hartland, Mich., USA, and Singapore international Cherie Tan (right) claimed the men's and women's titles in the 4th European Bowling Tour Masters, the season-ending event of the 2010 European Bowling Tour, Tuesday at Gladiator Arena in Ljubljana, Slovenia.

Koivuniemi, who led the 16-player field after day one, battled it out for the men's title with qualifying leader Martin Larsen of Sweden. The frontrunner in the 2010-11 PBA Tour Player of the Year race and sole two-time EBT winner this season led the round robin match play field of 8 after five games (23 overall).

Larsen (left) regained the lead when he fired the tournament's second 300 game but the first on mixed lane conditioning pattern in the penultimate game. Koivuniemi finished in style and rebounded with a perfecto in the last game to finish with 6075 pinfall total including a 6-1 won-loss record and a scratch average of 243.

Larsen countered with a 243 game but lost against Parker Bohn III (right, 266) and had to settle for second place with 6020 (240.80) including a 3-4 match play record. Bohn, a 32-time PBA Tour champion, landed in third place with 5918 (236.72, 4-3).

Cherie Tan, who participated in just one tournament on the 2010 European Bowling Tour, earned 250 ranking points for winning the women's rankings in the EBT Platinum Brunswick Ballmaster Open. Ranked 20th in the 2010 EBT rankings, Tan made it to the Masters due to several withdrawals in the women's division.

The Singaporean made the best out of it, finishing second on medium, first on long and third on mixed oil to earn the No. 1 seed for round robin match play. Tan won her first six games with 220, 267, 201, 237, 235 and 267 to wrap up the title before the final game. Despite losing the seventh game to Mai Ginge Jensen (left) of Denmark, 191-224,

Tan finished atop the women's leaderboard with 5771 pinfall total including 120 bonus pins and an average of 230.84 scratch. Jensen won all but one match in which she was tied with compatriot Kamilla Kjeldsen at 227 to finish second with 5599 (223.96) including 130 bonus.

Joline Persson-Planefors (right), Sweden, who has won two of three qualifying blocks on medium and mixed oil, finished third with 5477 (219.08, 3-4). Kjeldsen, who has won the first three EBT Women's Masters titles, finished in eighth place.

All 16 men and 16 women bowled 18 games preliminaries, six each on medium, long and mixed oil conditioning pattern, to cut to the top 8 for the match play finals. Those 8 men and 8 women determined the champion in seven games round robin match play with the pinfall total from the preliminaries being carried forward.

The players with the highest pinfall total after 25 games including bonus points (20 for a win, 10 for a tie) were crowned men's and women's EBT Masters champion and earned 4.000 Euro each.

 

Martin Larsen, Cherie Tan led top 8 mane and women into match play finals
Mika Koivuniemi, Cherie Tan lead fourth EBT Masters after 12 games preliminaries

 

1. Mika Koivuniemi (center), Finland, 4.000 Euro
2. Martin Larsen (left), Sweden, 3.000 Euro
3. Parker Bohn III (right), United States, 2.000 Euro
4. Gery Verbruggen, Belgium, 1.000 Euro
5. Mike Fagan, United States, 900 Euro
6. Osku Palermaa, Finland, 850 Euro
7. Tore Torgersen, Norway, 800 Euro
8. Mathias Årup, Sweden, 750 Euro
9. Paul Moor, England, 500 Euro
10. Thomas Larsen, Denmark, 500 Euro
11. Perttu Jussila, Finland, 400 Euro
12. Dennis Eklund, Sweden, 400 Euro
13. Mads Sandbækken, Norway, 400 Euro
14. Chris Loschetter, United States, 300 Euro
15. Peter Ljung, Sweden, 300 Euro
16. Jesper Agerbo, Denmark, 300 Euro

Qualifying leader: Gery Verbruggen, Belgium, 400 Euro
Block 1 leader: Osku Palermaa, Finland, 400 Euro
Block 2 leader: Martin Larsen, Sweden, 400 Euro
Block 3 leader: Martin Larsen, Sweden, 400 Euro

 

1. Cherie Tan (center), Singapore, 4.000 Euro
2. Mai Ginge Jensen (left), Denmark, 3.000 Euro
3. Joline Persson-Planefors (right), Sweden, 2.000 Euro
4. Lisanne Breeschoten, Netherlands, 1.000 Euro
5. Krista Pöllänen, Finland, 900 Euro
6. Birgit Pöppler, Germany, 850 Euro
7. Wendy Kok, Netherlands, 800 Euro
8. Kamilla Kjeldsen, Denmark, 750 Euro
9. Nina Flack, Sweden, 500 Euro
10. Helén Johnsson, Sweden, 500 Euro
11. Ghislaine van der Tol, Netherlands, 400 Euro
12. Tina Hulsch, Germany, 400 Euro
13. Rebecka Larsen Jr. Sweden, 400 Euro
14. Nicole Sanders, Netherlands, 300 Euro
15. Rikke Holm Agerbo, Denmark, 300 Euro
16. Nina Manninen, Finland, 300 Euro

Qualifying leader: Joline Persson-Planefors, Sweden, 400 Euro
Block 1 leader: Cherie Tan, Singapore, 400 Euro
Block 2 leader: Joline Persson-Planefors, Sweden, 400 Euro
Block 3 leader: Cherie Tan, Singapore, 400 Euro

Missy Parkin looking beyond heartbreak at 2011 Queens By Gianmarc Manzione

Anyone who watched as it happened will not soon forget it.

When Missy Parkin of Fullerton, Calif. took the approach in the 10th frame of her match against the sport's hottest hand in Kelly Kulick at the 2010 USBC Queens, she stood merely a mark and five pins away from moving one step closer to the women's title she has chased for years.

"I don't think anybody wants it worse than she does," says her best friend and fellow pro Scott Norton. "She's been knocking on the door for years."

Anyone who has seen the look in Parkin's eyes as she makes a shot knows how badly she wants it. When she stepped up to send Kulick packing that night in El Paso, she began her shot the same way she always does—by staring down her target as if she could burn a hole through the lane with her eyes.

"Missy's a tough competitor," says 2001 Queens champion and USBC Hall of Famer Carolyn Dorin-Ballard. "It's never a given against Missy; you have to throw some really good shots to beat her. She always keeps the ball in play and she makes her spares."

And keep the ball in play she did, sending it towards the pocket in what looked to be a strike or, at the very least, an easy spare leave for the win. And then, as has been the case for Parkin too many times before, what seemed like a good shot when it left her hand became a nightmare by the time it struck the pins.

Norton, sitting behind the lanes as her coach, hunched over and buried his face in his hands. Parkin's father Frank, the former pro bowler and longtime pro shop owner whom she credits as the biggest influence in her career, winced and looked away. Drew Parkin, whom Missy would marry months later, swung his arms up over his head as if he'd been dealt a knock-out blow in a boxing match.

"A great shot. The only result that could stop her from winning," Chris Barnes said of the pocket 7-10 split that crushed Parkin's dreams that night.

The break was as familiar to Missy as that look in her eyes is to people who have watched her bowl. It was the same pocket 7-10 that stood between Parkin and victory against Liz Johnson at the 2007 U.S. Women's Open, a result Marshall Holman then described as "one of the truly bad breaks in contemporary bowling," and one that sealed her fate that day too.

"For a while I was pretty devastated," the three-time Team USA member says of the pocket 7-10 she left at last year's Queens. "Every time I left the 7-10 after that it was a little more frustrating than it was before then. It kind of hurt my mental game a little because I knew I bowled so well that week to make the show. It's really tough to make the show and then have a break like that happen."

That's the thing about making the TV finals at a major: Those who tune in see only the game or two you bowl on TV, not the dozens of great games you bowled to get there. For a week of grueling competition to culminate in a one-and-done performance on TV is a disappointment as agonizing as the loss itself.

"I have never seen her that upset before," says Norton, who has known Parkin since age 14. "It was pretty heart-wrenching for those of us who were there."

But anyone who has battled Parkin on the lanes knows that she may lose now and then, but she will never be defeated. It was Liz Johnson whom Parkin bested in the finals at the U.S. Women's Open in 2009, two years after Johnson eliminated her at that same event. A year later, Parkin sent Dorin-Ballard to the contender's bracket at the 2010 Queens, three years after losing a PBA Women's Series title to her at the 2007 Motor City Classic.

For Parkin, that 7-10 split is just the latest in a long line of disappointments to avenge. And if her past is any proof of what's to come, she will not let it beat her again.

"It made me want to make my game even better," Parkin says of the experience. "I have been working very hard on my game in the past few months, changing my ball roll to get a different axis tilt, and that's really been helping my carry." That work is paying off. Parkin bowled two 300s en route to the title at a Pacific Coast Bowlers doubles tournament last month, where she and partner Norton bowled a 600 game in qualifying.

"You have to stay positive," Parkin explains. "You can't be like so many bowlers and say 'Woe is me! I never carry! Woe is me! I never get good breaks!' You have to be proactive and ask yourself why you're not getting good carry."

For Norton, who won his first PBA Tour title at last year's World Series of Bowling as Parkin looked on from the front row, you also have to ask yourself if you want to be great.

"The people who are remembered throughout history are the ones that can forget about it and move on and throw it just as well the next time," he says. "I don't care who you are, if your name is in the history books, you will have done that many times."

But Parkin already has signed her name into those history books as the first woman to win two PBA Regional titles and the first woman to join the PBA. And if winning is any indication of the number of times a bowler has taken the gut-punch of a bad break and gotten up to throw a better shot next time, Parkin has done plenty of that, too.

"When I was growing up I won 18 girls' titles by age 16 on the junior amateur tour, and a few people said 'Why don't you bowl in the boys' division?'" Parkin recalls. "So I started bowling in the boys division and won my very first tournament. After a while they renamed it the 'open' division because I was winning a lot of titles against the boys."

After all, this is the Missy Parkin who averaged 165 in a scratch league at age 10, the Missy Parkin who earned a spot on team USA before she even graduated high school—the youngest bowler to do so at the time.

And in a year when collegiate bowling boasted talent such as Bill O'Neill, Sean Rash and Ronnie Russell, it was Parkin, and not any of those stars, who won the Most Valuable Player award at the 2003 Intercollegiate Bowling Championships (now the Intercollegiate Team Championships). That year, she anchored the Cal State Fullerton team to a fourth-place finish and was voted to the All-Tournament team in the men's division.

"She was always the first one down on the lanes practicing and the last one to leave," says former Fullerton teammate Kristie Leong.

A spot in the history books may be enough to appease other players; but Parkin's ambition will be satisfied only when she claims a spot among the greatest who ever took the lanes.

"Everybody knows the talent is there," Norton says. "It's just a matter of getting some breaks when she needs to. I think it's starting to get to her a little bit that she hasn't won a women's title yet, but we all know it's a matter of time. We all know it's going to happen."

"I keep telling myself my breaks will come," Parkin says as she looks ahead to the 2011 Queens, which gets underway in Syracuse on April 22. "I know as soon as you get that first title it's usually easier to get the next one. That snowball effect happens a lot. I know my time will come. Maybe this year, maybe next year, but hopefully sooner rather than later."

Parkin is no stranger to the "snowball effect" she speaks of. A week after shooting her first 300 game at age 14, she did it again. Three months later, she had three perfect games to her credit, each in a different bowling center.

No one who knows her would be surprised to see Parkin wear the crown in Syracuse next week. But whenever she does chase down the title she has worked toward since that 14-year-old girl collected perfect games like coins in the bowling centers of southern California, one of the people who knows her best understands exactly what that moment will be like.

"Yeah, it's going to be pretty emotional," Norton says.

Osku Palermaa shoots big games to win the 2nd Track Dream-Bowl Palace Open

Three-time European Bowling Tour ranking champion Osku Palermaa (pictured left) of Finland averaged 256.17 in the single-elimination finals of the 2nd Track Dream-Bowl Palace Open Sunday at Dream Bowl Palace in Munich, Germany en route to win the title and the 10.000 Euro top prize.

In the high-scoring championship match over two games total pinfall, Palermaa defeated Swede Johan Helldén, 524-496. With the 100 ranking points for the victory in the EBT Silver tournament, Palermaa overtook the lead in the 2011 EBT men's rankings.

Palermaa, who has won his first PBA title in the PBA World Series of Bowling in November 2010, finished qualifying among the top six to earn two byes for the first round of the finals. The two-hander averaged 247.75 in Round Three to earn the No. 2 seed for the eight-player head-to-head match play portion.

In the opening round, Palermaa rolled games of 241 and 257 to eliminate fellow countryman and national team mate Petteri Salonen (left), 498-443. In an all-Finnish semifinal match against lefty Kimmo Lehtonen (right), Palermaa took a 74-pin lead with a 300 game and cruised to a huge 516-443 victory.

Helldén had to go the distance after finishing qualifying in 17th place. The Swede rolled four-game series of 936, 982 and 978, an average of 241.33, en route to earn the No. 4 seed for the playoffs.

He started his way to the title match with a stunningly ruthless 524-496 victory against PBA super star and Tournament of Champions winner, Mika Koivuniemi, Finland. Helldén had games of 279 and 245, while the frontrunner for PBA Player of the Year honors had 216 and 280.

The Swede carried the momentum into his semifinal match against three-time EBT ranking champion Paul Moor defeating the Englishman, 459-390.

Helldén pocketed 6.000 Euro for second place. Moor, seeded third, and No. 8 seed Lehtonen received 2.500 Euro each for third and fourth place. Last year's runner-up and top seed Robert Andersson (left), Sweden, who fell to Lehtonen in the opening round, 483-452, was fifth, followed by Koivuniemi, PBA and USBC Hall of Famer Parker Bohn III (right) and Salonen. Places 5-8 received 1.500 Euro apiece.

The PBA pros dominated the six-game qualifying round in the 2nd Track Dream-Bowl Palace Open. Four-time PBA titlist Sean Rash led the field of 252 players - 208 men and 44 women - from 25 countries and regions with 1545 total and an average of 257.50. Koivuniemi was second with 1511 and Bohn third with 1498.

PBA exempt player Chris Loschetter (left), who has won the Kuwait Open in March, was fourth with 1485. Palermaa landed in fifth place with 1481.

Five of the 44 women, Danes Kamilla Kjeldsen, sisters Anja Ginge Jensen and Mai Ginge Jensen, Britt Brøndsted (256 in the Desperado Squad) as well as Germany's Janin Ribguth advanced to the finals.

Kjeldsen (right), a two-time EBT women's ranking champion and three-time defending ENT Masters winner, was the sole woman who reached the third round of the finals eventually finishing in 11th place en route winning the women's rankings of the tournament.

2011 EBT Men's Ranking
2011 EBT Women's Ranking

The 2nd Track Dream-Bowl Palace Open was held from March 30 - April 3, 2011 at 52-lane Dream Bowl Palace in Unterföhring, Germany, the biggest bowling center in Europe. The tournament was the sixth stop of the 2011 European Bowling Tour and the third of total seven "Silver" events this season.

The DPB Open offered total prize fund of 50.000 Euro with 10.000 Euro going to the winner. Women received 8 pins handicap each game, a standard for women on the European Bowling Tour.

Since the Viborg International in Viborg, Denmark originally scheduled for July 30-Aug. 7, 2011 has been cancelled, the 2011 European Bowling Tour consists of 21 tour stops in 17 countries including two Platinum, six Gold, seven Silver and six Satellite tournaments.

The top 50 men and the top 50 women in each event receive ranking points. The winner of a Platinum tournament receives 250 ranking points, the winner of a Gold tournament gets 150, the winner of a Silver tournament such as the Dream-Bowl Palace Open earns 100, and the winner of a Satellite tournament gets 50 ranking points.

The top 16 men and the top 16 women at the end of the 2011 season qualify for the 5th EBT Masters to be held at Dream-Bowl Palace in Unterföhring near Munich, Germany on April 30 and May 1, 2012. The event will become the first EBT Masters to be contested on lane condition.

A total of 48 players qualified for the finals on Sunday, April 4th. The top 8 qualifiers earned two byes while players seeded 9-16 bypassed the first round of the finals.

Rounds 1-3 featured 4-game blocks starting from scratch which trimmed the field to 32, 20 and then 8 players who advanced to the quarterfinals. The format switched to match play with the two-game total determining the winner.

In each round the highest seeded player after Round 3 met the lowest seeded player, the second highest met the second lowest, and so on.

2011 EBT Schedule and Champions

 

Dream Bowl Palace in Munich, Germany (March 30 - April 3, 2011)

Championship Round:
1. Osku Palermaa, Finland, 1537 (6 games), 10.000 Euro
2. Johan Hellden, Sweden, 1453 (6 games), 6.000 Euro
3. Paul Moor, England, 894 (4 games), 2.500 Euro
4. Kimmo Lehtonen, Finland, 924 (4 games), 2.500 Euro
5. Robert Andersson, Sweden, 452 (2 games), 1.500 Euro
6. Mika Koivuniemi, Finland, 496 (2 games), 1.500 Euro
7. Parker Bohn III, United States, 481 (2 games), 1.500 Euro
8. Petteri Salonen, Finland, 443 (2 games), 1.500 Euro

Playoff Results:
Quarterfinals:
#8 Lehtonen (224 + 259) def. #1 Andersson (226 + 226), 483-452
#2 Palermaa (241 + 257) def. #7 Salonen (224 + 219), 498-443
#3 Moor (259 + 245) def. #6 Bohn (265 + 216), 504-481
#4 Helldén (279 + 245) def. #5 Koivuniemi (216 + 280), 524-496

Semifinals:
#2 Palermaa (300 + 216) def. #8 Lehtonen (226 + 217), 516-443
#4 Helldén (232 + 219) def. #3 Moor (201 + 189), 459-390

Championship:
#2 Palermaa (278 + 245) def. #4 Helldén (214 + 256), 523-470.

 

9. Martin Larsen, Sweden, 750 Euro
10. Sean Rash, United States, 750 Euro
11. Kamilla Kjeldsen, Denmark, 750 Euro
12. Dennis Eklund, Sweden, 750 Euro
13. Niko Kurppa, Finland, 750 Euro
14. Erik Andersin, Sweden, 750 Euro
15. Stuart Williams, England, 750 Euro
16. Chris Loschetter, United States, 750 Euro
17. Pascal Winternheimer, Germany, 750 Euro
18. Alexander Medveditskov, Russia, 750 Euro
19. Joonas Jähi, Finland, 750 Euro
20. Mike Fagan, United States, 750 Euro
21. Janin Ribguth, Germany, 550 Euro
22. Mai Ginge Jensen, Denmark, 550 Euro
23. Jimmy Mortensen, Denmark, 550 Euro
24. Jesper Agerbo, Denmark, 550 Euro
25. Ron Mohr, United States, 550 Euro
26. Or Aviram, Israel, 550 Euro
27. Thomas Larsen, Denmark, 550 Euro
28. Michael Grabovac, Germany, 550 Euro
29. Mathias Årup, Sweden, 550 Euro
30. Peter Hellström, Sweden, 550 Euro
31. Anja Ginge Jensen, Denmark, 550 Euro
32. Matt Miller, England, 550 Euro
33. Rob Thurlby, England, 400 Euro
34. Lars Tangermann, Germany, 400 Euro
35. Joonas Jehkinen, Finland, 400 Euro
36. Martin Paulsson, Sweden, 400 Euro
37. Britt Brøndsted, Denmark, 400 Euro
38. Andrey Suslov, Russia, 400 Euro
39. Ronnie Russell, United States, 400 Euro
40. Daniel Hellmich, Germany, 400 Euro
41. Teemu Raatikainen, Finland, 400 Euro
42. Manuel Mrosek, Germany, 400 Euro
43. Anssi Valtonen, Finland, 400 Euro
44. Lukas Eigelt, Germany, 400 Euro
45. Genadi Sidorov, Russia, 400 Euro
46. Dirk Völkel, Germany, 400 Euro
47. Paul Hutchinson, Denmark, 400 Euro
48. Andreas Skoglund, Norway, 400 Euro

Bowling Industry unites to keep Intercollegiate Team Championships on television in 2011

Industry partners have joined together to keep the United States Bowling Congress Intercollegiate Team Championships on television for the 10th consecutive year in 2011. The men's and women's finals of the event will air on ESPN2 on May 15 at 2 p.m. Eastern.

The USBC, Bowling Proprietors' Association of America, Professional Bowlers Association, Strike Ten Entertainment, The Bowling Foundation and the YES Fund are all contributing to broadcast college bowling's biggest event.

The YES Fund, a joint initiative of the BPAA and the USBC, is made possible by many of the leading brands in bowling including Brunswick, Columbia 300, Ebonite, 900 Global, Hammer, QubicaAMF, Roto Grip, Storm and Track.

The Intercollegiate Team Championships will feature 16 men's teams and 16 women's teams competing for collegiate national titles from April 21-23 in Columbus, Ga.

"This event is the crown jewel of college bowling, and I'm very excited the bowling industry was able to come together and keep the Intercollegiate Team Championships on television," International Bowling Campus Director of Youth Development Chad Murphy (pictured right) said.

I would like to personally thank Steve Johnson at BPAA, Stu Upson at USBC, Frank DeSocio at Strike Ten, Fred Schreyer of the PBA and, of course, our YES Fund partners for their efforts to make this a reality."

Dave LaMont will handle play-by-play duties with Team USA and PBA standout Chris Barnes providing color commentary for the televised finals, which will be taped on April 23 when the final two men's and two women's teams meet in their respective brackets.

The format will remain the same as past years with the first team to win two games in the Baker system format matches winning the title.

ESPN2 will provide two hours of coverage for the second consecutive year, bringing college bowling to 100 million homes across the United States. The event will be produced by the PBA for the first time.

Leading up to the finals, BOWL.com will provide free live streaming coverage of the event, including all qualifying and match-play rounds.

ESPN2 also will broadcast coverage of two other major events this year. The finals of the USBC Queens will be shown live on April 27 at 7 p.m. Eastern, while the championship round of Bowling's U.S. Women's Open will be taped for broadcast on July 2 at a time to be determined.

UMES' Kristina Frahm named 2011 Bernstein Achievement Award winner

Senior Kristina Frahm was awarded the Richard Bernstein Achievement Award for Excellence April 7th during the University of Maryland Eastern Shore's 58th annual Honors Convocation ceremony.

Frahm, the daughter of Paul and the late Carrie Frahm of Oswego, Ill., received the $5,000 cash award named for and established by the local philanthropist and businessman credited with bringing the world of high technology to Maryland's Eastern Shore.

This year's recipient is worthy on many levels. Frahm has "triumphed over adversity and maintained a record of achievement rivaling any I have encountered in my career," said Dr. Kate Brown, chair of the Department of Business, Management and Accounting.

Frahm, an accounting major, is an exceptional student athlete, Brown said. She achieved a 3.95 GPA while also serving as captain of UMES' NCAA Division I women's bowling team.

Frahm said receiving the award was a great honor. "I've worked so hard the four years I've been here (at the university)," she said. "I know that my mother would be proud of me. She was in accounting, too."

Frahm began her bowling career at UMES as National Rookie of the Year for 2007-08 and went on to become a three-time NCAA All-American. She was named MEAC Tournament Most Outstanding Player and lead the team to an NCAA Division I National Championship, both in 2008. The team recently claimed the 2011 Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference Championship and received a bid to the NCAA Championship April 14-16 in Michigan.

As to her success as a student athlete, Frahm lists time management as a key element — using all available. "I do homework on the road and on airplanes and spend a lot of late nights studying," she said. "For earning my degree, it's worth it and I love the sport of bowling."

Frahm has been named to the dean's list during each semester of her academic career. She is a member of the Phi Kappa Phi and Sigma Beta Delta honor societies and is a member of the National Society of Leadership and Success. She was also a member of the Department of Business Federal Reserve Challenge Team in 2009.

In the community, Frahm has volunteered for Habitat for Humanity, Relay for Life and helps her fellow accounting students on a regular basis, Brown said.

Frahm accomplished all of this while also dealing emotionally with the death of her mother when she was a sophomore. According to Brown, "she coped with this deep loss with grace and poise, never asking for special consideration or an easy path. She is truly inspirational and deserving of the highest achievement award at UMES."

The Bernstein award is an unrestricted gift, awarded to a UMES senior graduating in business, accounting, science, engineering, construction management technology, and mathematics or computer science.

The recipient must demonstrate leadership abilities at school or in the community, effectiveness on an interpersonal basis, a high degree of integrity, the ability to work with others, outstanding performance in academic work, the potential for continued scholarly work and evidence of overcoming physical or personal obstacles to earn a degree.

USBC Women's Championships gets underway in Syracuse

With the glitz and glamour of an opening night worthy of Broadway, the curtain was raised on the 2011 United States Bowling Congress Women's Championships at the Oncenter Convention Center in Syracuse, N.Y. on April 7.

Twinkling scoreboard lights and pulsating music welcomed the first of nearly 6,000 teams during the official opening ceremonies at the newly constructed 48-lane Oncenter venue. The festivities included the ribbon cutting featuring New York's Onondaga County Executive Joanie Mahoney (center), USBC Executive Director Stu Upson (left) and USBC President Darlene Baker (right).

"There is an incredible buzz as people have been excited for this tournament to start," Mahoney said. "You have created a lot of excitement in our city and county, and we welcome you."

Onondaga County legislator Kathy Rapp, dressed in a light blue bowling shirt, rolled the ceremonial first ball. Entertainment was provided by The Mandarins, an all-female acapella group from Syracuse University.

Opening night also featured the presentation of the inaugural gem series championship trophy to Missy Klug of Macomb, Mich. Klug, a three-time Team USA member, won the Scratch Doubles title with Carol Gianotti of Henderson, Nev., last year in El Paso, Texas. This was Klug's first time bowling on opening night.

"I was excited to be a part of opening night," Klug said. "It was awesome to be recognized in front of such a large group of people, and this is something I will remember for a long time."

The Women's Championships has three average-based divisions, which will be contested using 100-percent handicap. The divisions are named Diamond, Ruby and Sapphire.

Nearly 29,000 bowlers, plus family and friends, from 50 states and several foreign countries are expected during this year's 88-day event. The tournament is expected to provide an estimated $40 million boost to the local community. This is the third time in the 92-year history of the Women's Championships that Syracuse has hosted this event. It previously was held there in 1940 and 1954.

This year marks the second consecutive time the tournament is being held in a convention-center setting, similar to the one used for the USBC Open Championships, which was held in Syracuse in 1999. The 2010 Women's Championships was held in El Paso.

2011 EBT Ranking - Women's Division after Munich

2011 European Bowling Tour

Players with country, ranking point total and number of top 50 finishes

Pos	Player	Country	Points	Top 50
1.	Carolyn Dorin-Ballard	United States	320	2
2.	Mai Ginge Jensen	Denmark	287	3
3.	Clara Juliana Guerrero	Colombia	278	2
4.	Krista Pöllänen	Finland	275	2
5.	Nina Flack	Sweden	205	2
6.	Joline Persson Planefors	Sweden	186	3
7.	Nadine Gei0ler	Germany	178	3
8.	Wendy Kok	Netherlands	171	3
9.	Patricia Luoto	Germany	155	3
10.	Jacqueline Sijore	Malaysia	150	1
11.	Nicole Sanders	Netherlands	147	3
12.	Nicki Ainge	England	146	3
13.	Isabelle Sacco	France	145	2
14.	Marilyn Planchard	France	144	2
15.	Janin Ribguth	Germany	140	3
16.	Anja Ginge Jensen	Denmark	130	2
17.	Kamilla Kjeldsen	Denmark	128	2
18.	Darya Kovalova	Ukraine	125	3
19.	Laura Beuhtner	Germany	122	3
20.	Ghislaine van der Tol	Netherlands	120	2
21.	Kirsten Penny	England	118	2
22.	Rebecka Larsen Jr.	Sweden	115	3
(tie)	Hee Kar Yen	Malaysia	115	1
24.	Britt Brøndsted	Denmark	114	3
25.	Sophie Herbin	France	110	1
26.	Lisanne Breeschoten	Netherlands	108	2
27.	Zandra Aziela	Malaysia	105	1
28.	Diana Zavjalova	Latvia	104	2
29.	Tanya Cuva	Germany	100	1
30.	Heidi Thorstensen	Norway	99	4
31.	Sandra Andersson	Sweden	79	2
32.	Daria Pajak	Poland	76	2
33.	Heidi Manninen	Finland	75	1
34.	Rikke Holm Agerbo	Denmark	72	2
(tie)	Marija Tkachenko	Latvia	72	1
36.	Mari Nurmilo	Finland	70	2
37.	Michaela Göbel-Janka	Germany	66	2
(tie)	Vanessa Timter	Germany	66	2
39.	Cassie Staudinger	Australia	65	1
40.	Jazreel Tan	Singapore	63	1
41.	Birgit Pöppler	Germany	62	3
(tie)	Bianca Wiekeraad	Netherlands	62	2
43.	Cheska Tomas	Netherlands	60	3
(tie)	Siti Shazwani	Malaysia	60	1
45.	Priscilla Maaswinkel	Netherlands	58	2
46.	Lauriane Célié	France	55	1
47.	Maxime de Rooij	Netherlands	54	2
48.	Roosa Lunden	Finland	52	2
49.	Reija Lundén	Finland	49	2
50.	Marjo Pöntinen	Finland	45	1
51.	Ellen Jansen	Netherlands	42	2
(tie)	Eva Lindner	Germany	42	1
(tie)	Nina Manninen	Finland	42	1
54.	Lisa Kabowski	Germany	40	2
(tie)	Laurene Bouillier	France	40	1
(tie)	Malin Glendert	Sweden	40	1
57.	Luz Adriana Leal	Colombia	39	2
(tie)	Jenni Keränen	Finland	39	1
59.	Anne Lorraine Gales	Denmark	38	2
(tie)	Carmen Haandrikman	Netherlands	38	2
61.	Elin Adolfsson	Sweden	36	1
(tie)	Jenni Mäkelä	Finland	36	1
63.	Nicole Heberle	Germany	35	1
64.	Jonna Jokinen	Finland	34	2
65.	Laura Tuomisalo	Finland	33	1
66.	Katrien Goossens	Belgium	32	2
67.	Anna Orlova	Russia	30	1
(tie)	Elise Bretteville	France	30	1
(tie)	Nadejda Korablinova	Russia	30	1
(tie)	Sonja Forslund	Finland	30	1
71.	Sonja Uhlich	Germany	29	3
72.	Sanna Pasanen	Finland	28	2
(tie)	Sophie van der Meer	Netherlands	28	2
(tie)	Adina Kindzule	Latvia	28	1
75.	Laurence Gaillard	France	26	1
76.	Joasia Merklejn	Poland	25	1
77.	Camilla Cheri Guldbrand	Denmark	24	1
(tie)	Hannele Impola	Finland	24	1
(tie)	Helvi Mäkipää	Finland	24	1
(tie)	Mari Kalliokoski	Finland	24	1
81.	Heidi Guldbaek	Denmark	23	2
(tie)	Blanka Hanusíková	Czech Republic	23	1
83.	Felinda Grzybowska	Poland	22	1
(tie)	Monica Lislien	Norway	22	1
(tie)	Sabrina Laub	Germany	22	1
86.	Tanja Hansen	Denmark	21	1
87.	Nickie Marie Lund Bøgeskov	Denmark	20	2
(tie)	Valérie Murat-Mourgues	France	20	1
(tie)	Zara Giles	England	20	1
90.	Anja Hilpinen	Finland	18	1
(tie)	Ivonne Gross	Austria	18	1
(tie)	Jenni Blomberg	Finland	18	1
(tie)	Sonja Mäkelä	Finland	18	1
94.	Camilla Lindqvist	Sweden	16	1
(tie)	Julia Stolting	Germany	16	1
(tie)	Rosa Mas Puigros	Catalonia	16	1
(tie)	Wendy Bergen	Belgium	16	1
98.	Ruta Tumileviciute	Lithuania	15	2
(tie)	Lisa John	England	15	1
(tie)	Nathalie Di Martino	France	15	1
101.	Annalisa Regoli	Italy	12	1
(tie)	Catherine Lindström	Sweden	12	1
(tie)	Chantal Jacobs	Netherlands	12	1
(tie)	Cristina Sanz Moreno	Catalonia	12	1
(tie)	Jeanett Haavelmoen Johansen	Norway	12	1
(tie)	Jelena Celiseva	Latvia	12	1
(tie)	Kelly Plummen	Netherlands	12	1
(tie)	Monic Facius	Germany	12	1
(tie)	Petra Korkiamäki	Finland	12	1
(tie)	Pilar Perales Alcacer	Catalonia	12	1
(tie)	Sandra Torrents Pelaez	Catalonia	12	1
(tie)	Suvi Leskinen	Finland	12	1
113.	Natalia Ann De Lisser	Denmark	10	2
(tie)	Aude Saint Marc	France	10	1
(tie)	Elise Trouniac	France	10	1
(tie)	Laetitia Cardi	France	10	1
(tie)	Nadège Maitre	France	10	1
(tie)	Victoria Johansson	Sweden	10	1
119.	Elaine Jatko-Lundberg	Sweden	9	1
(tie)	Julia Ruseeva	Russia	9	1
(tie)	Reija Nurmi	Finland	9	1
(tie)	Ricarda Speckbacher	Austria	9	1
(tie)	Teresa Oberkersch	Austria	9	1
124.	Alexandra Filor	Germany	8	1
(tie)	Cornelia Glasl	Germany	8	1
(tie)	Florence Abras	Belgium	8	1
(tie)	Ingrid Julià Inglés	Catalonia	8	1
(tie)	Juliane Rieger	Germany	8	1
(tie)	Lia Mojarro	Catalonia	8	1
(tie)	Melanie Gerbracht	Germany	8	1
(tie)	Meritxell Sanchez	Catalonia	8	1
(tie)	Natercia Gouveia	Portugal	8	1
(tie)	Nina Weschke	Germany	8	1
(tie)	Noelia Rastrero Medina	Catalonia	8	1
135.	Christine van Boom	Belgium	6	1
(tie)	Danièle Guigon	France	6	1
(tie)	Elena Sazonova	Russia	6	1
(tie)	Iina Kämäräinen	Finland	6	1
(tie)	Jenni Styrman	Finland	6	1
(tie)	Mariska van den Bos	Netherlands	6	1
(tie)	Melissa Vallons	Belgium	6	1
(tie)	Monique Reichwald	Germany	6	1
(tie)	Petra Stankova	Slovakia	6	1
(tie)	Riikka Ratia	Finland	6	1
(tie)	Salla Mäkelä	Finland	6	1
(tie)	Tessa van Ojik	Netherlands	6	1
(tie)	Veronika Pospisilova	Slovakia	6	1
(tie)	Yolanda van Regenmortel	Belgium	6	1
149.	Amandine Jacques	France	5	1
(tie)	Danielle Brasser	Netherlands	5	1
(tie)	Isabelle Derynck	France	5	1
(tie)	Marie Gauton	France	5	1
153.	Alexandra Kammerer	Germany	4	1
(tie)	Jolanda Visser	Netherlands	4	1
(tie)	Kimberley Koudstaal	Netherlands	4	1
(tie)	Kristina Sramkova	Slovakia	4	1
(tie)	Laura Wouters	Belgium	4	1
(tie)	Lisanne Borst	Netherlands	4	1
(tie)	Lucia Kleinova	Slovakia	4	1
(tie)	Monika Wustinger	Germany	4	1
161.	Henna Rantala	Finland	3	1
(tie)	Jutta Pilecky	Austria	3	1
(tie)	Maria Koshel	Russia	3	1
(tie)	Tiia Hakamäki	Finland	3	1
165.	Amy Hendriks	Netherlands	2	1
(tie)	Samantha Greiner	Netherlands	2	1
(tie)	Sanne Hellemann	Belgium	2	1