Missy Qualifies for PBA Women's Challenge TV Show

To start off the 2014 World Series of Bowling, the PBA conducted three separate PBA Challenge events -  PBA Regional, PBA Women and PBA50. Each event consisted of the top 8 qualifiers from each of the 8 regions. For the PBA Women's Challenge, finalists were determined by the highest total points in three PBA Regional events in each of the 8 regions. 

In the PBA Women's Challenge, the finalists were:

-Missy Parkin, West Region

-Clara Guerrero, Southwest Region

-Lindsay Boomershine, Northwest Region

-Kristina Wendell, East Region

-Christina Hardee, South Region

-Liz Johnson, Central Region

-Amanda Greene, Midwest Region

-Yuka Tsuchiya, Japan

 

We then bowled 8 games of round robin match play with 30 bonus pins awarded for a win and 15 bonus pins awarded for a tie. I shot games of 194, 247, 246, 208, 199 and 199, winning 5 out of 6 matches to start the tournament and was top seed using my Columbia 300 Disorder and Enigma. 

I then hit a horrific pair and struggled shooting 154 in game 7. Although I still held on to the top seed going into the final position round game, this made the race for the TV show even closer. I bowled No. 2 seed Amanda Greene and No. 3 seed Clara Guerrero bowled Kristina Wendell in the position round game. Clara was less than 20 pins behind both Amanda and I. So if Clara won her match, then either myself or Amanda would be knocked out of the TV show. 

The match was really close between Amanda and I. Adding to the pressure was the fact that Clara was also stringing a lot of strikes together and winning her match. So whoever won the match between Amanda and I would make the TV show and the other would finish 3rd (a $3,000 difference.) 

It all came down to the 10th frame. Amanda had finished the game with a 213. I had a strike in the 9th frame and needed a mark in the 10th frame to advance to the TV show. That lane was breaking down and I made a move to adjust, but not a big enough move and left the 3,6,10 spare. This was definitely NOT the spare I wanted to have to convert to make a TV show since there are a million and one ways to chop it. Fortunately, I went up and converted the spare and then struck to beat Amanda 217-213 and made the Top 2 TV show. 

The TV show will be taped at the Southpoint Bowling Stadium on Sunday, Nov. 2nd starting at 10:30am. The TV show will air on Sunday, January 18th at 3pm EST (noon PST) on ESPN.

Missy Receives Several Awards

Following Missy Parkin's recent record-breaking performance at the PABCON Women's Championships in Cali, Colombia, Missy has received several awards and nominations.

Missy Parkin was named Bowler of the Month for September by the International Bowling Media Association (IBMA). Each month, the Bowling Writers select one bowler (men and women combined) to receive this honor. Although Missy has been nominated in the past, this is Missy's first time being selected and receiving this prestigious honor. Read the full press release here.

Missy was nominated for the United States Olympic Committee Female Athlete of the Month for September. Although Missy did not win the award, it was an honor for her to be nominated against the following athletes:

-Brandy Drozd, Shooting (1st Place)
-Adeline Gray, Wrestling (2nd Place)
-Serena Williams, Tennis (3rd Place)
-Julia Clukey, Luge
-Polina Edmunds, Figure Skating
-Sarah Hudek, Baseball
-Regina Jaquess, Water Skiing
-Beezie Madden, Equestrian
-Sage Palmedo, Fencing
-Brooke Schultz, Diving
-Evelyn Stevens, Cycling
-Crystal Wang, Table Tennis

The U.S. Women's Bowling Team was also nominated for USOC Team of the Month for September.

Missy also received the honor of being named to the Bowlers Journal International Top 100 Coaches for the 6th time. She also received this honor starting in 2007, followed by 2008, 2011, 2012, 2013 and now in 2014. For more information on Missy's lessons, click here. 

Summer/Fall PBA Regional Wrap Up - Missy Wins Women's PBA West Region!

This summer through the fall, I've been competing in several PBA Regional tournaments against the men PBA professionals in the West Region. Three of those PBA Regionals were deemed special PBA Women's Regionals, in which the PBA debuted this summer. The PBA announced that three PBA Regional events in each of the 8 regions would be considered a special Women's Regional.

Women would still compete against the Men, as per usual. However, for Women PBA Members that competed in these events, a cumulative 3-tournament point list would be kept based upon their final standings in each Regional. At the end of the three Regional events, the top woman with the most points in each region would be awarded a paid entry into the World Series of Bowling (WSOB) (a $900 value) plus bowl in an extra event at the WSOB with the top two women earning a spot in the televised finals.

Here's a recap of how the tournaments turned out.

Billy Myers Sr. West Open at Bowlium Lanes in Montclair, CA - Scorpion Pattern 
I shot +297 using my Columbia 300 Crazy Antics and Ebonite Pivot and qualified in 4th place. We bowled 16 games of round robin match play on Sunday. I went 10-6 in match play using my Columbia 300 Enigma and Crazy Antics and ended the tournament in 4th place.
4th Place
Winner - Mike DeVaney

PBA Steve Cook's Fireside Lanes West Open in Sacramento, CA - Dick Weber Pattern 
(1st of the PBA Women's Regionals)
I did not bowl well at this event, shooting -6 overall. However, it definitely could have been worse considering I started the tournament shooting back-to-back 167 games for -66 after 2. I came in 27th place in this event.
27th Place
Winner - PJ Haggerty

PBA Ken Fowler Auto Centers West Open in Ukiah, CA - Regional Tour Viper 
I literally drove up to this PBA Regional tournament after flying in late the night before from Colombia for the Women's PABCON Championships. However, the jet lag didn't seem to bother me, as I started off the tournament shooting 300 using my Columbia 300 Disorder. I was later informed that I was the first woman to ever shoot 300 at Yokayo Bowling Center, which opened in the 1950s. I ended qualifying with +422 using my Columbia 300 Disorder and Blur Hybrid and was leading the tournament going into match play.

This particular event then turned into a PBA/PBA Senior Doubles for the finals, where top seed in qualifying was paired with the top qualifying senior bowler and so on and so on. Total pinfall carried over into the 8 games of round robin match play and I was paired with PBA Senior qualifying leader Dale Eagle. Each match was awarded 10 points for the individual win and 30 points for the team game win, for a total of 50 bonus pins up for grabs every game. Going into the final position round game, it was very close between my team and Josh Blanchard and his partner Ed Silva. We needed to sweep the 50 bonus pins and win the team game by 18 pins in order to win the title. Unfortunately some bad breaks in the final frames cost us the match and we came in 2nd place.
2nd Place
Winner - Josh Blanchard and Ed Silva

                                       

PBA Fog City West Open in Daly City, CA - Bear Pattern 

(2nd of the PBA Women's Regionals)

Being the second of the PBA Women's Regionals, I needed a strong finish at this tournament, especially because I didn't fair too well in the first PBA Women's Regional. I bowled very steady all day on the grueling Bear pattern, shooting games of 221, 174, 208, 190, 204, 208, 197 and 210 for +12 overall. I used my Columbia 300 N'Sane Antics most of the day to qualify in 6th position going into the 10-game round robin match play finals.

Unfortunately, match play didn't go too well for me, as I only won 3 out of 10 matches and finished the day in 10th place. However, the finish did get me closer in the standings for the overall Women's Regional points.
10th Place
Winner - Michael Haugen Jr.

   

On the Way to Black Oak Casino
Are you sure there's a Bowling Center out here???

   Black Oak Casino

               
                         
PBA Battle at Black Oak Casino in Tuolumne, CA - Regional Tour Viper 
(3rd of the PBA Women's Regionals)

In the final PBA Women's Regional event, I definitely needed a strong finish to claim the top spot. I was behind Lindsay Boomershine by 1000 points going into the event. Luckily I started out strong in qualifying, shooting games of 224, 198, 234, 268, 225, 201, 198 and 211 using my Columbia 300 Disorder, Throw Down and Blur Hybrid for +159 overall. This qualified me in 5th position, advancing to the top 12 round robin match play finals. I then won 7 out of 11 matches using my Columbia 300 Throw Down and Blur Hybrid and was in 3rd place going into the final position round game. With only 60 pins between 2nd and 7th place, this game was huge. Unfortunately, I bowled against Lowell Hubber and he shot 268 so I lost the game shooting 209 and finished in 5th position. This secured my Top Spot as the High Woman for the West Region and guaranteed my free entry into the World Series of Bowling.
5th Place
Winner - Michael Haugen Jr.

For full standings of the PBA Women's Regionals and West Region Point leaders, click here 

Be sure to follow along with all of the action at the PBA World Series of Bowling that begins on Friday, October 24th - Sunday, November 2nd at Southpoint Bowling Center and Casino. The top 8 women that qualified from the PBA Women's Regionals will bowl an 8-game round robin match play finals on Friday, October 24th starting at 2:30pm. The top 2 women will make the televised finals. Be sure to tune in to Xtra Frame to see all of the action. 

Missy Breaks Records at PABCON Women’s Championships

Last week, I had the honor and privilege to represent the United States as a member of Team USA competing in the PABCON Women’s Championships in Cali, Colombia. Joining myself on the team, were teammates Kelly Kulick, Liz Johnson, Shannon O’Keefe, Shannon Pluhowsky and Danielle McEwan.

Over the course of the week, we competed in the Singles, Doubles, Trios, Team and Masters events of the tournament. At this year’s PABCON Women’s Championships, we competed on the Long – 47’ Paris pattern and Medium - 39’ Seoul pattern.

The first event of the week was the Singles competition where we bowled 6 games on the Medium pattern. I started out the first game of the tournament very shaky, but quickly starting executing and was able to get everything back on track. I shot games of 182, 238, 224, 253, 213 and 230 for +140, just missing a medal by 20+ pins, finishing in 4^th place.  Clara Guerrero broke the All-time Singles record, shooting +298 to capture the gold medal, which is an amazing feat being in her home Country in front of all of her family and friends. Teammates Kelly Kulick and Liz Johnson finished 2^nd and 3^rd.

The next day, we bowled 6 games on the Long 47’ Paris pattern in the Doubles event. I was paired with Kelly Kulick, which I had also bowled Doubles with at last year’s World Championships where we captured the Silver medal. We started off shooting 439 and then backed it up with a huge second game of 554, where I had the first 11 strikes in a row. We never looked back from there, shooting games of 440, 429, 530, where I had the front 9 strikes, and then finished it up with a 469 team game. This put us at +461 overall, which not only won us the Gold Medal, but also broke the All-time Doubles event record. I shot games of 217, 296, 247, 225, 279 and 234 using my Columbia 300 Disorder and Ebonite Pivot for +298. Kamilah Dammers and Thashaina Seraus from Aruba won the Silver Medal and teammates Danielle McEwan and Shannon O’Keefe won the Bronze medal.

The next day, we bowled the Trios competition. I was paired with Shannon O’Keefe and Danielle McEwan.  For this event, we bowled on the Long 47’ Paris pattern on the left lanes and the Medium Seoul 39’ pattern on the right lanes. This proved to be both fun and very challenging at the same time since the lanes changed quickly and I had to throw the ball completely different on the two lanes. On the left lane, I was trying to throw the ball as slow as I can and make sure to be very rolly with my release, keeping the ball more end-over-end and then on the right lane, I was using my normal speed (much harder) with more of my normal release (more on the side.) We bowled well shooting games of 602, 661, 684, 705, 606 and 627 for +285 overall. I had my lowest block of the tournament thus far, shooting only +25, but luckily my teammates held me up.

Going into the 10^th frame, it was very close for medals. I left a 9 pin, picked it up and struck to lock up the Gold Medal. The Silver medal was still up for grabs between Colombia and our USA teammates. Colombia finished first in the 10^th frame and after which Liz Johnson, the anchor for the other USA Trios team, needed to throw all 3 strikes in the 10^th frame to win the Silver medal by 1 pin. She did just that, throwing all 3 shots perfect for USA to take both the Gold and Silver Medals. Colombia received the Bronze medal.

The next day, we bowled 3 games on the Medium 39’ Seoul pattern in Team Event and then came back for 3 more games on the Long 47’ Paris pattern. We started off strong and never looked back, posting 5-person team scores of 1182, 1099 and 1062. Then after the break, we came back and shot 1148, 1081 and 1166 for +738 overall, which broke the All-time Team Event record and won us the Gold Medal, 428 pins over 2^nd place. Canada won the Silver Medal and Mexico won the Bronze.

 

After we were done with Team event, I was informed that I had won the Gold Medal in All-Events and had also shattered the previous All-time All-Events record, shooting 5,515 averaging nearly 230 for all 24 games. Team USA swept the All-Events Medals, with Kelly Kulick winning the Silver medal and Liz Johnson winning the Bronze Medal which also solidified our berth into the 2015 Pan American Games.

The final day of competition was the Masters event, where the top 8 from All Events qualified to bowl head-to-head single elimination best of 3 matches. The top seed picked the starting pattern and the entire game was only bowled on that pattern and then you alternated between the patterns for consequent games. The first match, I faced Aumi Guerra from the Dominican Republic. I choose to start the match and that we would bowl on the Medium 39’ Seoul pattern. The first game was very close. I left a 10 pin and spared and then struck in the 10^th frame and Aumi needed to throw a double in the 10^th frame to beat me and she did not, shooting 213 – 195. We then moved to the Long pattern which was another close game. In the end, I ended up striking out in the 10^th frame to lock her out, winning 236-221.

I then moved on to face teammate Liz Johnson. I did not have the best look on the next pair and choose the Long pattern to start on, which also was not the best decision.  I lost game 1 – 183-232. Then came back and fired a242 to win that game of Liz’s 201. Then we went back to the Long pattern, which had given me so much trouble during the first game. The backends were extremely tight on that lane and since the pattern was so long, getting my ball to go through the pins correctly was a bit of a challenge. After leaving a pocket 8-10 in the middle of the match, I then figured it out and struck out 7-10 frames for 216, needing all 3 strikes in the 10^th frame to force Liz to double in the 10^thto beat me. She made a good shot and left a 10 pin, which led me to advance to the final match against teammate Danielle McEwan.

In the final match, this was another close one. I shot 227 the first game, which forced Danielle to strike out to beat me, in which she did not, shooting 219. The next game was even closer. Danielle threw great shots striking out in the 10^th frame to force me to double in the 10^th frame to beat her. I got a lucky first strike and then left a 10 pin on a good 2^nd shot to lose 235-239. The final game, the right lane changed very quick for me and I couldn’t quite get my ball to match up correctly. Danielle bowled very well and beat me to win the Gold Medal in the Masters. I then took the Silver Medal and Liz Johnson and Clara Guerrero both won the Bronze Medal.

Later that night, we had the closing banquet. They took us to a typical Colombian restaurant, which had a giant thatch roof and was open air. The food was amzing! Even though we did not have time to go sightseeing or venture out in Cali, we did get to experience the amazing food of Colombia. Here are a few of my meals and some fun photos from the banquet. The green drink is called Lulada and is made of the fruit Lulo which is only native to Colombia. It was super yummy!

Click here for a full story.

Til next time….

Missy and Drew Open Parkin’s Bowling Supply #3

This had been one crazy month. Despite all of the travel, my husband Drew and I managed to also open our 3^rd Parkin’s Bowling Supply location inside Bowlium Lanes in Montclair.

Our Grand Opening was Tuesday, August 26^th and it was a success! BIG thank you to proprietors Scott and Teresa Poddig for having us join the Bowlium Lanes family and making us feel welcome with a pink balloon arch and cake to celebrate our big day.

Come and visit one of our Parkin’s Bowling Supply locations inside Tustin Lanes, AMF Cerritos Lanes and Bowlium Lanes - for all of your bowling needs! 

Missy and Scott Win Luci Bonneau Mixed Doubles

This month, Scott Norton and I ventured to Houston, Texas to compete in the Luci Bonneau Mixed Doubles tournament. This event is the biggest mixed doubles tournament in the Country, if not the world.  Every August, Houston basically turns into a Men’s and Women’s National Pro Tour stop with the amount of talent in the field. The event sells out in the matter of days and it’s one of the events that I always look forward to competing in.

Scott and I bowled last year in the Luci Mixed Doubles for the first time together, and unfortunately it did not go too well. We did not make the cut and ended up spending our day off, visiting the Houston Space Center, which was a decent alternative (although we would have much rather been bowling.)

This year, we were determined to not have that happen again. Flying in on Thursday afternoon, we were able to get in some quality relaxation time with our friends Debbie and Ziggy that recently moved to Houston. They have a gorgeous house, pool and spa and graciously let us stay with them for the weekend. We were able to spend a relaxing evening visiting and also got a show, watching a crazy lightening storm off in the distance.

Friday was practice and pro-am day. Practice session went well and then we had the pro-am shortly afterwards.  The pro-am at this event is always full and so much fun as Donna Connors puts on an amazing event with grandiose prizes and auction items, plus the entire tournament serves as a charity for breast cancer awareness and donations to research etc.

We bowled B squad on Saturday. In between squads, Donna has raffle items for the pros and the prizes are insane! Every entrant receives a free ticket and she gives away two of every item – one for the women and one for the men. Well the very first prize she gave away this year happened to be the grand prize – a 55 inch flat screen TV. Scott happened to be walking by the table right as they were going to start the drawing so they asked him to pull the first ticket. I was holding both of our tickets (blue for the guys and red for the women.) Low and behold they started reading off the numbers and Scott drew his own ticket, unbeknownst to him since I was holding them. So before we even threw a ball, Scott had won a 55 inch TV! Not a bad way to start the day. 

We then bowled our 8 games of qualifying. The oil pattern at the Luci is always difficult so it puts a premium on shot making and picking up spares.  I shot games of 214, 215, 233, 198, 258, 226, 236 and 242 for +222 and was high amongst all of the women. I used my Columbia 300 Blur Hybrid and Track LX 16 for the entire day. Scott shot games of 224, 177, 214, 243, 231, 190, 219 and 235 for +133 using his Columbia 300 N’Sane Antics for most of the day. Total we were at +355, which put us in 2^nd place overall.

The next day, we bowled 4 games of semifinals and then the field was cut to the top 8 teams for round robin match play. I think I forgot how to bowl in the morning or just flat out wasn’t awake yet, as I struggled shooting games of 169, 191, 181 and 213. Luckily Scott held me up shooting 234, 247, 220 and 230. We had dropped down to 3^rd place going into match play.

We then bowled 8 games of round robin match play with 50 bonus pins awarded to the team winning the team total each match. Scott and I both LOVE match play and it was evident as we went 6.5-.5 and had made up enough ground to move into 1^st place going into the position round. However, we were only ahead of Tom Daugherty and his partner Kristina Wendell by 9 pins. So whoever won the match, was going to win the title.

Luckily I had a good look on the pair and starting stringing strikes early. Tom had a couple of early opens, but Scott also didn't have a great look on the pair, so the match was pretty close. Going in to the 10^th frame we were ahead but needed to finish strong. I left a stubborn 10 pin, which forced Scott to have to get a mark on his bad lane. He went up and threw it perfect for a strike and we won the title 420-393!

Not only is winning any tournament a great feeling, but winning this prestigious event with your best friend just puts icing on the cake! The tournament also counts as a PBA Regional title, so I am now the only woman to have 3 PBA Regional Titles and Scott now has lucky number 7.

Til next time…

BPAA Ladies All Star Event

Last month I competed in the BPAA Ladies All Star event in Rockford, Illinois. This tournament took the place of the U.S. Open this year and I am so grateful that BPAA with the help of John Sommers provided another tournament for us to compete in.

The Ladies All Star was also run in conjunction with the Senior U.S. Open. Down the street another BPAA tournament was held – The National Family tournament.

Prior to the start of competition, I bowled one of the pro-am squads that teamed us with the National Family tournament. It was so much fun meeting the parent, grandparent or family friend and the child they were competing with. It was a great event and I know the parents and kids were excited to have us there.

After practice session and pro-ams, The Ladies All Star tournament held a banquet that celebrated the history of women's bowling. Many Hall of Famers were present and shared stories of the old LPBT and PWBA tours. It was a fun night and gave great insight to the history of women's bowling.

The BPAA Ladies All Star was comprised of three 6-game qualifying blocks. I started off the tournament well, shooting games of 248, 218, 224, 172, 198 and 258 for +118 overall. I used my new Columbia 300 N’Sane Antics and Track LX 16 during this block.

The next day, we bowled on the burn squad, meaning they did not re-oil the lanes in between squads. I didn’t fair as well and just grinded out the day shooting games of 182, 208, 224, 206, 178 and 212 for +128 overall and +10 on the day using my Track LX16.

The final day of qualifying, the lanes were brutal. I could not figure out a great way to stay out of trouble when I missed and getting to the pocket was very difficult. I again struggled in the middle during the transition, shooting games of 233, 184, 171, 169, 214 and 191 for +90 overall using my pin down Columbia300 N’Sane Antics and pin up Ebonite Pivot. Luckily I had enough pins to qualify for the top 16 round robin match play finals.

Starting the day in 10^th place, my first 8 games of match play went very poorly. I believe I somehow forgot how to bowl overnight. I went 2-6 and had dropped very far from the top 5 stepladder finals. However, after a nice break and some lunch, I regained consciousness and remembered how to bowl, going 6-2 in match play and climbing my way back to 10^th place. During the block I had moved up to 6^th place with only 20ish pins out of the top 5 stepladder finals.

All in all, I was pleased with my performance for the week. The pattern was extremely difficult, as a U.S. Open type tournament pattern should be. Execution had to be perfect and finding a ball that didn’t leave you pretty designs when you missed was a must. Unfortunately, I couldn’t quite match up well enough to find that magic reaction very often. However, despite that, my execution was top notch; I never missed a single pin spare in all 34 games and that’s all I can really ask for.

Congratulations to Shannon Pluhowsky for winning the BPAA Ladies All Star and Paula Vidad for winning the Senior U.S. Open! Great bowling ladies!

Til next time…