Striking Spotlight

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

CONTACT: Terry Bigham
PWBA Communications
817-385-8379
terry.bigham@bowl.com
On the Web: BOWL.com

MCCARTHY CLIMBS INTO U.S. WOMEN’S OPEN LEAD AFTER FIRST ROUND OF MATCH PLAY

ORLANDO, Fla. – Erin McCarthy, who captured her first Professional Women’s Bowling Association Tour title two weeks ago, seemingly always finds a way to work her way into contention, having made the stepladder finals in two majors.

At the U.S. Women’s Open this week, McCarthy has quietly worked her way up the standings and Thursday night posted a 6-2 record in the opening round of match play to snag the lead. The third seed for last year’s U.S. Women’s Open television show, McCarthyunderstands she has a long way to go before this year’s finalists are determined.

“We have 24 games of match play, it’s a lot,” said McCarthy, who won the PWBA Louisville Open title in early June. “Although I’m in first, I try not to look at scores. It’s something I’m trying to get better at. It just helps me focus and not get too far ahead of myself.”

Her run to the top started during the final round of qualifying and continued in the cashers’ round Thursday morning.

“I just tried to stay in the moment today,” McCarthy said. “I didn’t bowl very well the first two blocks. The third block was really good so I came into today with a new mindset, trying to build off last night.”

Danielle McEwan, who averaged 231 on fresh conditions during qualifying, did the same again during the cashers’ round to move into ninth place. In match play, she then proceeded to win her first seven matches and now sits in third.

“This is exciting, to be able to go head-to-head, and take advantage of bonus pins,” McEwan said. “It’s fun. It makes it much more interesting than bowling for score at the end.”

During the eight-game cashers’ round Thursday morning that determined the 24 players for match play, Shannon O’Keefe built off the momentum of her previous round with a 1,903 block (237.8 average). She finished the block with a 298 game to move into first-place tie with Stefanie Johnson of McKinney, Texas.

“298 is always fun,” O’Keefe said. “It was a really good pair. I think when you get in a groove like that, your whole pair loosens up because everyone is striking.”

Stefanie Johnson, who led all three qualifying rounds, lost her first six matches, going 1-7 in match play and dropped to eighth. Four-time defending champion Liz Johnson of Palatine, Illinois, who was in fourth place after the cashers’ round, went 3-5 and fell to 14th.

Shalin Zulkifli of Malaysia was disqualified from the U.S. Women’s Open on Thursday evening. During match play, Zulkifli self-reported she had used a ball in competition which she did not properly mark on her Equipment Registration Card. She will be replaced in the field by Kamilah Dammers-Naddall of Aruba.

Competition at the 2018 U.S. Women’s Open featured three days of eight-game qualifying rounds. After 24 games, the field was cut to the top 36 players for an eight-game cashers’ round. The 32-game pinfall totals determined the 24 bowlers for round-robin match play.

Match play continues Friday with two more rounds (16 total games). The 56-game totals, including 30 bonus pins for each win in match play, will decide the five players for the stepladder finals.

Xtra Frame, the online bowling channel of the Professional Bowlers Association, is live streaming all preliminary rounds of the U.S. Women’s Open, with CBS Sports Network providing live coverage of the stepladder finals on Saturday, June 30 at 5 p.m. (Eastern).

U.S. WOMEN’S OPEN
At Boardwalk Bowl, Orlando, Fla.

THURSDAY’S RESULTS (After 40 games)
Match Play, Round 1
(30 bonus pins for each win)
1, Erin McCarthy, Omaha, Neb., 6-2-0, 9,025. 2, Sandra Gongora, Mexico, 5-3-0, 8,950. 3, Danielle McEwan, Stony Point, N.Y., 7-1-0, 8,928. 4, Tannya Roumimper, Indonesia, 5-3-0, 8,857. 5, Shannon O’Keefe, O’Fallon, Ill., 4-4-0, 8,831. 6, Missy Parkin, Laguna Hills, Calif., 5-3-0, 8,777.
7, Clara Guerrero, Colombia, 5-3-0, 8,759. 8, Stefanie Johnson, McKinney, Texas, 1-7-0, 8,758. 9, Siti Rahman, Malaysia, 5-3-0, 8,724. 10, Thashaina Seraus (n), Aruba, 4-4-0, 8,700. 11, Shannon Sellens (n), Copiague, N.Y., 4-3-1, 8,695. 12, Jen Higgins, Westerville, Ohio, 5-3-0, 8,673.
13, Jordan Richard, Tipton, Mich., 3-5-0, 8,664. 14, Liz Johnson, Palatine, Ill., 3-5-0, 8,649. 15, Shannon Pluhowsky, Dayton, Ohio, 4-4-0, 8,647. 16, Liz Kuhlkin, Schenectady, N.Y., 6-2-0, 8,634. 17, Daria Kovalova, Ukraine, 6-2-0, 8,631. 18, Juliana Franco (n), Colombia, 3-5-0, 8,614.
19, Giselle Poss, Nashville, Tenn., 4-4-0, 8,547. 20, Li Jane Sin, Malaysia, 4-4-0, 8,536. 21, Urara Himeji, Japan, 2-6-0, 8,469. 22, Jodi Woessner, Oregon, Ohio, 2-5-1, 8,381. 23, Brandi Branka, Fairview Heights, Ill., 1-7-0, 8,367. 24, Shalin Zulkifli, Malaysia, DQ.

CASHERS’ ROUND

1, (TIE) Shannon O’Keefe, O’Fallon, Ill., and Stefanie Johnson, McKinney, Texas, 7,057. 3, Sandra Gongora, Mexico, 6,944. 4, Liz Johnson, Palatine, Ill., 6,920. 5, Erin McCarthy, Omaha, Neb., 6,916. 6, Tannya Roumimper, Indonesia, 6,900.
7, Clara Guerrero, Colombia, 6,894. 8, Juliana Franco (n), Colombia, 6,892. 9, Danielle McEwan, Stony Point, N.Y., 6,847. 10, Missy Parkin, Laguna Hills, Calif., 6,842. 11, Thashaina Seraus(n), Aruba, 6,840. 12, Jordan Richard, Tipton, Mich., 6,836.
13, Jen Higgins, Westerville, Ohio, 6,820. 14, Shalin Zulkifli, Malaysia, 6,777. 15, Shannon Sellens (n), Copiague, N.Y., 6,772. 16, Jodi Woessner, Oregon, Ohio, 6,760. 17, Urara Himeji, Japan, 6,756. 18, Shannon Pluhowsky, Dayton, Ohio, 6,750.
19, Brandi Branka, Fairview Heights, Ill., 6,746. 20, Liz Kuhlkin, Schenectady, N.Y., 6,742. 21, Giselle Poss, Nashville, Tenn., 6,740. 22, Siti Rahman, Malaysia, 6,738. 23, Daria Kovalova, Ukraine, 6,733. 24, Li Jane Sin, Malaysia, 6,688.

DID NOT MAKE CUT

25, Kamilah Dammers-Naddall, Aruba, 6,684, $2,200. 26, (TIE) Daria Pajak, Poland, and Diana Zavjalova, Latvia, 6,666, $2,075. 28, Rocio Restrepo, Louisville, Ohio, 6,665, $2,000. 29, Jennifer Russo, Monmouth Junction, N.J., 6,656, $1,975. 30, StephanieSchwartz, Racine, Wis., 6,636, $1,950.
31, Kelly Kulick, Union, N.J., 6,632, $1,925. 32, Lindsay Boomershine, Perry, Utah, 6,624, $1,900. 33, Verity Crawley, England, 6,556, $1,875. 34, Nina Flack, Sweden, 6,542, $1,850. 35, Elysia Current, Ephrata, Pa., 6,530, $1,825. 36, Ashly Galante, Palm Harbor, Fla., 6,432, $1,800.
n-Not a PWBA member

About the PWBA
The Professional Women’s Bowling Association (PWBA) originally was formed in 1960. The PWBA Tour has events throughout the country, offering high-level competition and top prize money for women bowlers. The PWBA is supported by the Bowling Proprietors’ Association of America (BPAA) and the United States Bowling Congress (USBC).

# # #