The biggest names in professional women’s bowling are among the 36 competitors who have advanced to the cashers’ round of the U.S. Women’s Open at ABC Gates Bowl in Rochester.
Led by Germany’s Birgit Noreiks, who topped the standings after each of the three eight-game qualifying squads, the list of bowlers who made the cut is a “who’s who” of stars on the Professional Women’s Bowling Association Tour.
Noreiks knocked down 1,652 pins on Saturday to finish qualifying with 5,277 – a 219.88 average on three extremely challenging oil patterns. She holds a 175-pin advantage over Lindsay Boomershine of Brigham City, Utah, who posted the day’s best score of 1,806 for the eight games – finishing with 279-247-257.
Boomershine, an Amherst native, is coming into this PWBA major tournament on the heels of her victory in the USBC Queens last month, another major.
Six former U.S. Women’s Open champions entered this week and five of them have advanced.
They are three-time winner Kelly Kulick of Union, N.J. (eighth with 4,985), six-time champion Liz Johnson of Niagara Falls (10th with 4,956), Josie Barnes of Hermitage, Tenn. (11th with 4,950), Danielle McEwan of Stony Point (15th with 4,908) and defending champion Erin McCarthy of Elkhorn, Neb. (34th with 4,767).
Competition resumes at 10 a.m. this morning Sunday with the cashers’ round (another eight-game block) on a 41-foot oil pattern. The top 24 (after 32 games) will proceed to round-robin match play over two days, with seeding based on their 32-game pinfall totals.
Thirty bonus pins will be awarded for each win in match play, and the 56-game pinfall totals, including bonus pins, will determine the five players for the championship stepladder.
All rounds of qualifying and match play are being broadcast live at BowlTV.com through Monday night, and the event will conclude live Tuesday on CBS Sports Network at 7 p.m. Eastern.
First prize is $60,000 and the right to wear the coveted green jacket.
QUALIFYING -- (24 games)
1, Birgit Noreiks, Germany, 5,277. 2, Lindsay Boomershine, Brigham City, Utah, 5,102. 3, Missy Parkin, San Clemente, Calif., 5,091. 4, Bryanna Cote, Tucson, Ariz., 5,051. 5, Dasha Kovalova, Muskegon, Mich., 5,045. 6, Diana Zavjalova, Latvia, 5,039.
7, Shannon O'Keefe, Shiloh, Ill., 5,020. 8, Kelly Kulick, Union, N.J., 4,985. 9, Maria Jose Rodriguez, Colombia, 4,968. 10, Liz Johnson, Niagara Falls, N.Y., 4,956. 11, Josie Barnes, Hermitage, Tenn., 4,950. 12, Verity Crawley, England, 4,945.
13, Sydney Brummett, Fort Wayne, IN, 4,943. 14, Clara Guerrero, Colombia, 4,936. 15, Danielle McEwan, Stony Point, N.Y., 4,908. 16, Jordan Richard, Tipton, Mich., 4,905. 17, Estefania Cobo, Puerto Rico, 4,886. 18, Sanna Oksanen, Finland, 4,884.
19, Stefanie Johnson, McKinney, Texas, 4,880. 20, Olivia Farwell, Elizabethtown, Pa., 4,879. 21, Ashly Galante, Palm Harbor, Fla., 4,874. 22, Shannon Pluhowsky, Dayton, Ohio, 4,869. 23, Juliana Franco (n), Colombia, 4,860. 24, Taylor Bulthuis, New Port Richey, Fla., 4,853.
25, Felicia Wong, Canada, 4,845. 26, Haley Richard, Tipton, Mich., 4,827. 27, Stephanie Schwartz, Racine, Wis., 4,819. 28, Ani Juntunen, Finland, 4,815. 29, Julia Bond, Aurora, IL, 4,814. 30, Hope Gramly, Aubrey, Texas, 4,803.
31, Jessica Earnest, Hermitage, Tenn., 4,795. 32, Peppi Konsteri, Finland, 4,791. 33, Lauren Pate, Ballwin, Mo., 4,781. 34, Erin McCarthy, Elkhorn, Neb., 4,767. 35, Kerry Smith, Lititz, Pa., 4,763. 36, Shannon Sellens (n), Long Beach, N.Y., 4,761.
