Missy Comes in 3rd in Inaugural PWBA Event

This past weekend, I competed in the first regular PWBA event in over 12 years - the PWBA Sacramento Open. I was still in compete and utter shock that I wasn't dreaming on my 7 hour drive up to Sacramento. We do actually have a full-time Women's Professional Bowling tour, which we will be competing in throughout the entire summer!

After the unofficial practice session on Thursday and then the official practice session on Friday morning, we then completed two 6-game blocks of qualifying, followed by a sold-out pro-am later that night.

Prior to the opening qualifying block, I was given the privilege to throw out the first ball of the tournament, alongside Hall of Famer Betty Morris and little 5 year old local Zoe. We represented the past, present and the future of bowling.

Then competition began. The amount of applause, cheering and sheer electricity inside the bowling center was unlike anything I had ever experienced.  I quit honestly had a hard time not tearing up during my first few frames of the actual tournament. Just knowing that my dreams were actually coming true was an overwhelming feeling (and I'm not a super emotional kind of girl.) The center was jam-packed all weekend long, with standing room only for the entire event. It was definitely an amazing opportunity to be able to compete in front of a crowd like that.

My first block of qualifying was very steady, shooting games of 223, 223, 231, 183, 216 and 224  for +100 using my new Columbia 300 Urge, Track Paradox and Ebonite Pivot. I was currently in 6th place. After a quick break, we were back out on the lanes again for round 2. I shot games of 203, 214, 233, 213, 203 and 192 for +158 overall, qualifying 11th going into the top 16 round for MatchPlay.

The next day, we bowled 16 games of round robin matchplay with 30 bonus pins awarded to the winner of each match. I knew winning matches was key. The first block of matchplay was definitely a bit of a roller coaster for me. I won 5 out of 8 matches and had my highest game of the tournament thus far - a 259 and my lowest game - a 168 back-to-back games.

I was tied for 3rd place going into the final 8 game block of the tournament. The top 4 qualified for the live-streamed stepladder finals. Luckily, I had a much more consistent block. I won 4 out of 7 matches going into the stepladder finals and was currently in 4th place. With not many pins between 3rd-6th, I knew I needed to win my match to secure my spot in the stepladder finals. I threw the ball really well and kept the ball in play, defeating Rocio Restrepo 225-185 to move into 3rd place for the stepladder finals.

Qualifying as the tournament leader and absolutely obliterating the field was Kristina Wendell, 2nd seed was Elysia Current and 4th seed was Rocio Restrepo.

First of all, the crowd for the stepladder finals was amazing. The setting was exactly like a TV show with fans along the side of the approach and a HUGE amount of people in the bowling center. All of the fans and many of the bowlers came back for the stepladder finals to watch all of the action unfold. I must say it was an electrifying atmosphere to bowl in.

In the stepladder finals, I faced Rocio Restrepo in the first match. Using my new Track Paradox during the finals, I never missed the pocket the first match coming out of the gates strong and stringing strikes. Rocio started striking in the middle of the match to get back in it, but then missed a difficult spare in the 9th frame to force me to mark in the 9th and 10th frames. I went up and doubled, winning the match 216 to 202.

The 10th frame of Match 1

I then faced Elysia Current in the next match. She had incredible ball reaction and I knew I was going to need a big game. She started out with the first 6 strikes and I was still in the match despite a couple of 10 pins. However, in the 10th frame she needed a mark to lock me out, and left the 3,6 and spared it for the win. I ended up losing 248 to 233.

Elysia then faced tournament leader Kristina Wendell. Elysia kept her great look, shooting another big game - 246 to defeat Kristina's 194 for the win. Congratulations to Elysia Current on her first PWBA Title!

To watch the entire stepladder finals of the PWBA Sacramento Open, click here.

The next stop for the PWBA is the PWBA Lubbock Sports Open from July 16-18 in Lubbock, Texas. Watch all of the action LIVE on Xtra Frame and stay up-to-date with results, bios and news on www.pwba.com 

#letsbowl