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

 

Osku Palermaa overtakes lead in 2011 European Bowling Tour Men's Rankings

 

Three-time European Bowling Tour men's ranking champion Osku Palermaa (2007-09, pictured left) of Finland captured his ninth career EBT title and the first since February 2010 in the 2nd Track Dream-Bowl Palace Open Sunday at Dream Bowl Palace in Munich, Germany.

Besides the 10.000 Euro top prize, the two-hander received 100 ranking points for winning the EBT Silver event en route to leap from fourth to first place in the EBT men's ranking. After the sixth tournament of the 2011 EBT season, Palermaa has 334 total ranking points.

Previous leader Thomas Larsen (right), Denmark, slipped to second place with 308 pints after finishing 27th in the DBPO and 24th in the men's rankings, worth 16 points. Four-time EBT ranking champion Gery Verbruggen, Belgium (2000-03) and Syafiq Ridhwan, Malaysia, did not compete in Munich and fell one spot to third and fourth place with 262 and 250, respectively.

Three-time EBT ranking champion Paul Moor, overtook reigning ranking champion Dominic Barrett thanks to a third-place finish with 245 points, good for fifth place in the 2011 rankings. Barrett, who was injured in an accident during the Saudi Arabia International, did not compete.

On the women's side, Carolyn Dorin-Ballard (left), United States, remained atop the leaderboard with 320 ranking points. The Team USA member did not participate in the DBPO.

Mai Ginge Jensen (right), Denmark, finished third in the women's rankings (70 points) and 22nd overall to leap from fourth to second place with 287 points. Two-time World Champion Clara Juliana Guerrero, Colombia, who has won the EBT Platinum Brunswick Euro Challenge, slipped to third place with 278 points.

World Games champion Krista Pöllänen, Finland, fell to fourth place with 275 points. Rounding out the top five is reigning women's ranking champion Nina Flack, Sweden, with 205 points. Both Pöllänen and Flack did not compete in Munich.

Two-time EBT women's rankiung winner and three-time EBT Masters winner Kamilla Kjeldsen, Denamrk, led the rankings in Munich and received 100 ranking points, her first points of the season, to move into 17th place.

Since the Viborg International in Denmark has been cancelled, the 2011 European Bowling Tour features 21 tournaments in 17 countries, two Platinum, six Gold, seven Silver and six Satellite tournaments. The total prize fund of the 2011 Tour will exceed 1 million Euro.

2011 EBT champions, men's and women's ranking winners and schedule

The top 50 men and the top 50 women in each tournament of the European Bowling Tour cash ranking points no matter from which country or World Tenpin Bowling Association Zone (Europe, Asia, America) he or she comes.

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 Track 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 in the EBT ranking will qualify for the 2012 EBT Masters to be held in conjunction with the 3rd Dream Bowl Palace Open in Unterföhring near Munich, Germany April 30 and May 1, 2012.

The 2011 European Bowling Tour will be in Ljubljana, Slovenia, this week for the 5th Qubica/AMF Open 2011 to be held at Bowling Center Gladiator in Ljubljana, Slovenia from April 5-10. Immediately following the touranemt ist he 4th EBT Masters.

Jason Couch claims March Bowler of the Month

Jason Couch (pictured), Clermont, Florida, has been named the March 2011 Kegel Bowler of the Month by the Bowling Writers Association of America.

Couch captured the PBA Mark Roth Plastic Ball Championship, defeating Parker Bohn III, Jackson, New Jersey, in the title match, 219-175. The win is his 16th career PBA title and first since January 2007. After the 2006-07 season, the three-time Tournament of Champions winner faced knee surgery knocking him out of the 2007-08 season.

"It's a big monkey off my back to win. I'm very happy to see that my hard work has paid off and that my body is keeping up with me," Couch said after clutching the trophy.

The 1992 PBA Rookie of the Year took the lead after the 14-game qualifying round and stayed in the top 4 through the remainder of the tournament. He qualified as the top seed in the four-man stepladder TV finals.

Others receiving votes were Chris Loschetter, winner of the 8th Kuwait International Open, Randy Weiss, top 3 finalist in the PBA Dick Weber playoffs, Dick Allen, also a top 3 finalist in the PBA Dick Weber Playoffs and Clara Guerrero, Colombia, winner of the European Bowling Tour's Brunswick Euro Challenge.