Missy Makes Top 8 at the Malaysian Open

Check out the story:

http://www.mtbc.org.my/results/32ndopen-res.htm#Round2

And be sure to check http://www.mtbc.org.my/ for complete up-to-date coverage of the finals that are taking place tomorrow!

Till then...

Missy in Malaysia

Hello from Malaysia!

The 32nd Canon Malaysian Open started this past Friday, March 13th at Sunway Pyramid Mega Lanes inside Pyramid shopping center. Pyramid shopping center is HUGE - four levels and really spread out. There's even an ice skating rink in the center and theme parks outside. So needless to say I haven't been bored. Prior to the start of the tournament I have been seeing the sights, shopping and eating lots of yummy food in Kuala Lumpur.

I went to the Malaysian National Museum in downtown KL and learned more about the Malaysian culture and history. Outside the museum is a traditional Malaysian village house made out of wood and tree leaves for the roof. See picture above.

I've also been eating a lot of really good food! From Indian, Chinese, Malaysian and Thai ,the food may look a little different but it all tastes yummy. We went to an outdoor Indian restaurant where a banana leaf is your plate and your hands are your utensils. See picture above.

I also had a Thai massage while I've been here because massages and facials are so cheap compared to the U.S. An hour massage is only $20.

The other day we did the craziest thing ever! Inside pyramid shopping center, we had a fish pedicure. Yes, FISH! It was so weird. You put your feet inside a fish tank full of minnows and the fish eat all of the dead skin off the bottom of your feet. It tickles sooooooooooo bad! I was laughing so hard for 5 minutes that I was crying. Eventually I got use to it and it really worked. My feet are so smooth.

Check out the link below for more information on how I'm doing in the Malaysian Open and be sure to stop by my blog for more information as the tournament progresses. Till then...

http://www.abf-online.org/results/32ndopen-res.htm#Mar14A

Missy Finishes 6th in DHC Girls Championship

The DHC Girls Championship in Tokyo, Japan came and went too fast. Once Friday hit, it was a whirlwind of bowling until I left Monday morning.

Friday, we had a bowlers'/manager's meeting and press conference. Then immediately following we had the official practice session, where several media photographers and video crew were also on hand. Official practice was a little different than what we are used to in the U.S.A We had an assigned group of 6 lanes we could bowl on and then we moved 6 lanes every 20 minutes for a 2-hour long practice session.

After practice, we had a welcome reception where all of the competitors were announced and speeches were made by Japanese dignitaries. Then we had a really good buffet style dinner with traditional Japanese food and Western food.

Saturday was all day bowling day! We had 5 on a pair, and we weren't allowed to move to our next pair and begin the next game until everyone was finished with the previous game. So another words, it made for a REALLY long day. We bowled 6 games in the morning, and I shot +134 and was in 21st. Scores were high and the lanes were pretty easy.

However, the next 6 game block proved to be tougher as they did not re-oil the lanes. The lanes became really wet/dry and over-walled, meaning the dry outside part of the lane was too dry and the oily inside part of the lane was really wet. I bowled really well on the shot and ended the day at +297 overall and in 7th place.

After Saturday's 12 games, the field of 90 bowlers was cut to the top 32. Then we bowled 6 more games of semis to determine the top 8 for the TV show. I bowled just o.k. during the first three games and had moved down to 10th place. Then I started throwing the ball better and carried more and shot 216 and 238 and had moved up to 8th place going into the final game. Scores were extremely close and a lot of people still had a shot at the TV show. Being in 8th position, I knew I needed a big game and came threw striking out in the 10th frame for a 245, moving me into 5th place and on the TV show.

The TV finals 1st match featured 5th-8th bowling a 1-game shootout match with the highest score advancing to the top 5 stepladder finals. In the shootout match, I bowled against Sharon Koh from Malaysia, Mayumi Yoshida from JPBA and Jeon Eun-Hee from Korea. I bowled really well the entire game, but a stubborn 7 pin in the 9th frame ended up costing me the win. I lost to Jeon Eun-Hee of Korea 232-237 and ended up in 6th place. Jeon Eun-Hee ended up climbing the ladder to capture the championship.

For the full story, see link below.

http://www.bowlingdigital.com/bowl/node/5994

Missy in Japan!

Hello everyone!

I flew 12 hours to compete in Tokyo, Japan in the DHC Cup Girls Championship. While I was in Tokyo, I was able to do a little sightseeing. My favorite place was Asakusa. It's an old part of Tokyo that still preserves the traditional Japanese culture. There's a huge gate that opens up into Nakamise street, which is almost like an outdoor flea market, filled with lots of Japanese crafts and souveniors. At the end of this line of shops is the Sensoji Temple.

It's big and really beautiful. On the way up to the stairs of the temple there were various rituals performed by locals. There was a a little well that had incense burning and everyone went up to it and pulled the smoke from the incense towards their bodies. Then there was a fountain with soup laddels in it and people scoopped up the water from the upper part of the fountain, then put it in their mouth and spit it out in the lower part of the fountain.

I then headed to the part of town called Shibuya, a trendy fashion area full of really cute shops. The area is near Harajuku, the Gwen Stefani inspired part of Tokyo. From there I stopped at Ginza, another shopping area full of high-end shops that boasts the highest piece of real estate per square inch in Japan.

After browsing around, I went to the Imperial Palace, which is the home of the royal Japanese Family. The grounds are enormous! The entire palace has a moat around it, complete with swans and there are several entrances.

Enjoy the pictures!

Missy Goes to Asia!!!

Hello all!

I leave tomorrow to compete in two tournaments in Asia.


The first event is the DHC All Girl's Bowling International Championships, which will run from March 6-8th in Tokyo, Japan. For results and information, check www.bowlingdigital.com


I will then fly to Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia to compete in the Canon 32nd Malaysian International Open, running from March 13th -21st. To follow along with tournament results, information and photos, click here.


I'll be blogging from abroad as much as possible, along with posting fun photos!

The USBC Masters

This year had a new venue for the USBC Masters ! Instead of traveling to the cold Midewest location of Milwaukee, WI (complete with a Brewer stadium finale), we instead moved west to Sin City - Las Vegas, NV for the third Major of the PBA Tour season.

The venue was also brand new - the Cashman Center, situated just North of the Downtown Las Vegas area. Sixty lanes were installed in the once home of a minor league baseball stadium- turned convention center. The Masters marked the first bowling event to take place inside the venue. Immediately following the completion of the Masters, the 60 bowling lanes will then be the site for the USBC Men's National Championships which will run through July '09. After which, the lanes will also house the Women's World Championships in late July.

There were 465 bowlers from all over the states and the world. Courtesy of the Megabuck tournaments completing in Las Vegas the weekend before the Masters, many international bowlers choose to stay and compete in the Masters.

The lanes proved to be difficult as usual, especially if you were rev challenged (like myself). If you saw the scores of the Masters and actually scrolled down low enough, then you saw that I bowled pretty terrible that week. My first block I shot a decent -7 on the burn shot (not re-oiled lanes).

It was a completely different story on the fresh the next day. Not only did I physically bowl about as bad as I could bowl (without missing single-pin spares), I also had no where to throw the ball. Meaning...no matter if I played hard and straight anywhere from 4-12 board or moved inside into 4th arrow or deeper and hooked the ball, nothing worked. So needless to say I left a lot of splits and hard spares.

However, this a good example that everyone has bad days and everyone gets into slumps, including the pros. So the next time you have a bad league night or struggle a little in a tournament, just remember that you are not alone. Try to think of ways that you could have bowled better and learn from every bowling outting, including the bad ones.

Even though the bowling didn't go as well as planned, it was still a fun week in Las Vegas. See the pictures above.

Dick Weber Open in Fountain Valley, CA

This week I competed in the Dick Weber Open at Fountain Bowl in Fountain Valley, CA. This unique, retro, open-field event has its own oil pattern-the Dick Weber pattern. With the tournament being only 10 miles from my house. It was definitely nice to be able to compete and sleep in my own bed!

Each year the Dick Weber pattern plays pretty difficult and this year was no exception. Crucial shot making was a must and versatility was a definite benefactor. The pattern played a lot drier than normal, even when the lanes were freshly oiled. This made the lanes extremely difficult for the grueling break-down block that each bowler had to complete.

There were really only two places to play on the lane - way out (around 5-6 board) or way in (lofting the left gutter cap for most of the guys).

The format consists of three 5-game blocks. The first day each squad bowls one 5-game block on fresh oil and then one 5-game block on the burnt down lane conditions of the squad before (no re-oil). Then the next day consists of one more 5-game block on fresh oil to complete 15 games of qualifying. After the 15 games, the field is then cut to the top 24 players who bowl 24 games of round robin match play with the top five determining the stepladder finals TV show.

Since I was on B squad, I had to bowl my first block on the burnt lanes. I started out swinging 18 and then kept moving inside from there. By the end, I was throwing it really hard and playing about 25 at the arrows. It wasn't very long during that block before the guys were standing in front of the ball return, taking three steps and lofting the left gutter cap. I ended the block at +1.

Then I bowled my first block on the fresh oil. I got off to a great start, but then hit a really bad pair. (And by really bad, I mean REALLY REALLY bad.) I ended up shooting 132 my 4th game, leaving 5 splits and used three different bowling balls and played way in and way out. After that block I was -51 overall.

So needless to say the first day didn't go as well as excepted. I had decided to play inside the entire day, which didn't work out as well for me. So then next day, for my last 5-game block, I decided to have a different game plan.

I played outside, throwing it hard and really straight and started off on fire, shooting +90 after three games. Then the lanes changed and I had to move way inside and start hooking the ball again and didn't make up enough ground to cash. I ended up +25 overall for qualifying and it took +105 to cash and +180 to make the top 24.

My roommate Shalin Zulkifli was the lone female to cash in the event and no women or lefties made the top 24 match play finals.

Stay tuned for the LIVE ESPN finals tomorrow, Feb. 8th.