8 gamer at Classic Lanes

Hello!

Recently I bowled an 8-gamer Mixed Doubles/Over-Under Doubles at Classic Lanes in Norco. The 8 game format counted towards both your doubles and your singles score. I bowled with my best friend Scott Norton. Needless to say, he definitely held me up during the tournament.

We competed on the Kegel Sunset Strip pattern. Scott loved it, shooting games of 253, 256, 268, 191, 248, 215, 228 and 215 for +274. I, on the other hand, didn't fair as well shooting games of 194, 207, 238, 210, 196, 209, 193 and 200 for +47 overall.

Scott and I finished 2nd in the doubles portion of the tournament with Kerry Painter and David Haynes finishing in 1st. Scott also ended up in 2nd place in the singles portion of the event.

I guess I'm saving up all of my cary and high scores for next weekend when we bowl the PCB Mixed Doubles tournament together at Yorba Linda Bowl.

Til then...

Orange County Tournament

Hello all!

Recently, I competed in our local Orange County Tournament. Our team decided to bowl the doubles and singles portion of the tournament first and then bowl team event the next weekend.

Each event (Team, Doubles and Singles) is three games and then all 9 games combined acts as your all-events score.

The doubles and singles portion of the event was held at AMF Carter Lanes in Fullerton. We bowled our doubles event first, in which I was paired with Samantha Jimenez. We both started out REALLY well. She shot 255 and I had the first 10 strikes, but then left a stubborn 10 pin for a 289 game. I was using a Bounty Hunter Pearl by 900 Global. Our second game we shot 418 total, Samantha shooting 183 and myself shooting 235. The final game we stepped it up a notch and shot a team score of 490. Samantha bowled a 243 and I shot 247.

For the event, Samantha shot 681 and I shot 771 for a total of 1452. We ended up winning the Doubles portion of the event.

In singles, I again started out throwing a lot of strikes, the first 9 strikes to be exact, but then left another stubborn 10 pin for a 278 game. I followed that up with a 220 and 214 for a 712 series.

The following weekend we came back for team event, which was held at La Habra 300 Bowl. I unfortunately was really sick this weekend and didn't bowl too well. Our team did ok, but didn't place too high in team event. I only shot 588 for these three games, shooting 2071 for all-events. I ended up finishing in 5th place overall in the tournament.

I also bowled doubles and singles in the Open portion of the tournament as well, with another woman - Debbie Barrette. In doubles, I shot 246, 222 and 230 for a 698 series. Debbie shot a 548 series, but with her handicap we shot a doubles score of 1416.

I didn't fait too well in singles because it was the same weekend that I was sick and I pretty much ran out of gas the last three games, shooting 200, 194 and 217 for a 611 series.

Til next time...

USBC Masters

Hello everyone!

After the PBA Tournament of Champions, I decided to skip the Earl Anthony Memorial Classic in Dublin, California and competed in the USBC Masters at the National Bowling Stadium in Reno, Nevada.

During the practice session, I had a large variety of bowling balls that seemed to work well and I could play a variety of different lines. However, we all know (or should know) that the lanes aren't necessarily going to play the same the next day during competition, so I kept an open mind but had a very positive outlook going into qualifying. I knew I was throwing the ball well physically and everything seemed to be matching up, which is always a bonus.

Now the format for this tournament is rather difficult due to the fact that you only have a total of 10 games - two 5-game blocks, to figure out the lanes and make it to the casher's round. This leaves little room for mistakes or a bad game. With the lower amount of entries into the tournament, the casher's round was cut to the top 65. Then another 5 game block was bowled to cut to the top 63 bowlers, plus last year's defending champion Walter Ray Williams Jr. Then the tournament really began with head-to-head 3-game total pinfall matches, in a double elimination style format.

I bowled on B squad and therefore was able to watch all of my competitors on A squad prior to my start. The lanes were also not re-oiled inbetween squads, so it was very important to watch where everyone was playing on the lanes and especially where everyone was ending up on the lanes towards the end of the block.

After watching, I was pretty confident that it was going to be a good day...So...we started bowling. I had a great look with my polished Bank and shot 208 the first game with a slam 9 pin and pocket 7-10 inbetween strikes and a ring 10 pin in the 10th frame. Then I shot 196 and 202 and decided that although I could hit the pocket well, maybe I should try some different bowling balls to see if I could up my carry. So I switched to the AMF Shred-It. I had a great game going and could strike out for 248. I needed to make a move in the 10th frame, so I did and through it exactly where I wanted to and left an untimely pocket 7-10, to only shot a disappointing 215. My last game I then started out with a pocket 4-9 and later in the game through another pocket 7-10. I ended up bailing out the game, striking out from the 8 frame for a 204 game to end the block and be at +25 for day. Not bad, but very disappointing since my ONLY opens for the entire block were four pocket 7-10s and a pocket 4-9.

However, I was definitely within striking distance of the cut number and would be bowling on the fresh condition the next day. So after a good night's rest and a few surface adjustments to some equipment (I sanded my Bank Pearl to 2000 and my Black Break to 4000), I was ready for a day of good bowling.

However, my day didn't turn out according to plan. I started out shooting 201, but then caught an awful pair and shot a 175. I switched balls, using my 900 Global Profit and shot 225. Needing a couple of big games, the lanes began to transition a bit and alongside that, I still had my carry problem and couldn't get my ball to quite see the lanes correctly, so I shot a 187 and then needed a 250+ game to make it. I threw the ball well, but then another pocket 7-10 stood in my way early on in the game and locked me out of making the cut. So I ended with a 171 game.

All in all I was pleased with how I physically executed. I bowled well and just couldn't quite get lined up well to score.

Until next time...

Tournament of Champions - Las Vegas, Nev.

Hello all and Happy New Year!

Last week, I had the pleasure and honor to compete against the toughest field, in the most prestigious tournament that bowling has to offer - The PBA Tournament of Champions, held at Red Rock Lanes in Las Vegas, Nev.

This year, the format was changed for the esteemed event, allowing all bowlers you have won either a PBA Regional title, PBA Women's series title, PBA Senior title or PBA Senior Regional title, to bowl in the most lucrative event of the century. I qualified to compete in the tournament, having won two PBA Regional titles in 2007.

Players who were not currently exempt on the PBA tour and had fewer than 5 National PBA Tour titles (such as myself), were required to bowl in the "Champions field" portion of the event. The "Champions field" had to bowl two 7-game blocks, prior to the start of the actual tournament. After the 14-game total, the top half of the bowlers qualified to compete in the Elite field and bowl in the official tournament, and have a chance at the million dollar prize fund and $250,000 first place prize.

The way my first three game of the tournament went, I thought I was going to have a very short-lived week in Vegas. I shot 168, 186 and 181. Needless to say, my armswing wasn't too loose! I then figured things out and switched to a polished Bank, playing inside and shot 221, 235, 173 and finished with a BIG 258, throwing the front 7 strikes to finish out the block. I ended up +22 for the day, which I was very content with, especially after my horrid start.

After struggling on the fresh and on the high-end of the center, I decided to make some surface adjustments to my equipment, taking off some of the surface I had put on the balls the day before.

The next day started off much better, shooting 218 and 188 out of the gate. However in game 3, I had a bit of a meltdown and went braindead for three straight frames, leaving and missing the 1,2,4 then the 1,2,8 and then the 1,2,4,7. It was one of those stop the bleeding already games! I got it together after that shooting 219, 252 and 211.

I was in the cut going into the last game and the lanes had gotten pretty nasty by then. I managed to stay clean until the 10th frame and knew that I probably needed to strike out to make the cut. With many bowlers around me being really close to the number and close to what I was at, the pressure was definitely on! But that situation is why we all bowl - to make the shots when it matters most.

I went up and threw three perfect shots in the 10th, striking out to make the cut! If I would have just gone 9/X, I would have missed by one pin! It was crazy how close everything got at the end, and as it turned out, three people ended up tying for the final spot and had to bowl in a one game roll-off! Corey Husted ended up claiming that final spot, after throwing the front 7 and shooting 258 in the roll-off.

So, I made it into the Elite field and all of our pins were now dropped and everything started all over again. Later that night, we had to bowl our first of four 5-game blocks. After the twenty game total, the top 53 players advanced to the Cashers Round.

The way the squads ended up, I bowled on the burn shot twice and then bowled on the fresh twice. So prior to the start of my first 5-game block, I again had to make some surface adjustments and put some shine on all of my bowling balls. I started off the night shooting 203 and 232.

Then I hit one of the pairs...Let me explain...The challenging part of the entire week was making the correct decisions and moves when moving from pair to pair because each pair was VERY different from each other; it was as if you changed bowling centers every game when simply moving to the next set of lanes. There were some VERY good pairs and there were some VERY bad pairs. It was pretty easy to shoot 140 or 150 on those bad pairs, but when you hit the good pairs, you'd better take advantage of it and shoot a big game!

So...my third game I hit one of those BAD pairs, shooting 141. I wasn't too disappointed as I knew how easy it was to shoot a bad game. I came back that block shooting 189 and ended the night with a 234, using my Long Shot, to be -1 for the block. So-so for my first block.

The next day, I bowled on the burn again and then bowled on the fresh after they re-oiled the lanes. I bowled REALLY well during my second block on the burn. I figured some things out the night before and decided to throw it hard and play straighter to start my second block. Straighter was definitely greater, as I started out with a bang, shooting 268 my first game. I followed it up with a 193, on one of those "bad" pairs and then shot 231, 205 and 237 to be +133 overall. I was right in the cut after that block and feeling really good!

I again made some surface adjustments to all of my equipment because now I would be on the fresh for 10 games. Thinking I had put enough surface on my bowling balls, which clearly wasn't the case, I struggled finding the pocket and getting the right ball reaction all night. I shot 193, 196, 220, 188 and ended with a destructive 151 game. I was pretty upset after that block, especially after bowling so well in the morning block. So I decided to drill up another Bank Pearl, which Michael Haugen Jr. layed out for me.

I needed a HUGE set to make the cut and I definitely gave it my all the next morning. Using the newly drilled Bank Pearl and playing way off the corner, I shot 258, 223, 218, 192 and 224, putting me at +196. I missed the cut by 60 pins, which was disappointing, but overall I know that I threw the ball well all week, just caught a couple of bad games at inopportune times.

I stayed the rest of the week to attend the formal Tournament of Champions and Hall of Fame dinner. The event was a lot of fun and it was nice to see everyone all dressed up and looking their best, instead of the normal bowling clothes look we are all so used to seeing. Check out the photos above!

I attended the dinner with my father Frank, who was able to be there with me during the entire Tournament of Champions week. That was very special considering my father had open heart surgery in early November of last year, so it was his first trip away from home, since his surgery. We both had a blast! The food was delicious, the company was fun and the speeches...well they were ok too.

2010 - a Year in Review

Hello everyone!

I hope everyone is enjoying the holiday season. As 2010 comes to a close, I thought I'd reflect on the past year - the good, the bad and the ugly.

Let's start with the positives..Definitely topping the list would be getting married to my wonderful husband Drew Parkin on September 18, 2010. Although the wedding planning process was a bit stressful at times and was definitely more difficult that I had expected, the day turned out to be absolutely perfect, as we got married on a yacht in Newport Beach Harbor at sunset.

Next would have to be our unforgettable honeymoon throughout the Eastern Mediterranean, where we visited Italy, Greece, Turkey and Egypt. This past year also marked a few milestones, as I was able to visit a few places that were on my "Top 10 List" of places I had never been to, but wanted to see - Rome, the pyramids in Egypt and the Big island of Hawaii, as well as my favorite place in the world - Venice, Italy!

We also ended out the year adding two additions to our family - a black kitty named Gizmo and a Basset Hound/Golden Retriever mix puppy named Shelby. Both of which are keeping us busy!

Positives in the bowling world definitely peaked with the USBC Queens tournament that was held in April of 2010 in El Paso, Texas. The USBC Queens tournament is one of the hardest TV shows to qualify for primarily due to the difficult format. After qualifying, it all comes down to winning the three-game total pins matches in the double-elimination style bracket, and you definitely want to stay in the winners bracket to improve your chances of making the show. I had some very grueling and close matches throughout the event, but definitely my toughest match had to be against Carolyn Dorin-Ballard. It was the deciding match to see who would make the TV show and with both of us being pretty lined up, our scores were high and striking was at a premium! The entire three-game match came down to the 9th and 10th frame to see who would move on. Carolyn threw a nasty split in the 9th and I filled frames in the 9th and 10th to advance to the TV show finals. We'll discuss the actual TV show later...

The next "good" aspect of 2010 was being invited to compete in the LBO Stop #5 Open in Tokyo, Japan in October of 2010. With a rocky start in the tournament, I came on the final day, bowling very well in the semifinals winning 7 out of 8 matches in the round robin match play format, advancing to 2nd place for the TV show finals. On the TV show, I first bowled Japanese star Hiroko Shimizu and won 236 to 220. Then in the championship match I lost to Shannon Pluhowsky, who threw the front 8 strikes to win the title. So I ended up in 2nd place overall in the tournament, earning a nice paycheck in the process.

The bad...that would probably have to do with my struggle at the beginning part of the year with my pulled groin muscle injury which I incurred during the 2009 Women's U.S. Open. Unfortunately that injury takes a long time to heal and the fact that I was forced to then bowl on it for a month straight during the 2009 World Series of Bowling, right after I had injured it, I'm sure didn't help matters. The nagging injury proved to be a little disheartening and gave me a little setback for the start of 2010.

And the ugly...that's an easy one...who could forget the USBC Queens TV show. Needing only a mark to move on to the semifinal match, I went up and threw what I thought to be a perfect shot off my hand, only to be faced with the dreaded pocket 7-10 split to loose to Kelly Kulick. I will say, that if I was given the opportunity to do it all over again, I wouldn't do change a thing. It was just a very unlucky break at a very inopportune time.

So what does 2011 have in store for me?...We'll have to wait and see...

PCB Mission Hills Mixed Doubles Event

Hello!

I hope everyone enjoyed a VERY happy Thanksgiving! The weekend before the festive holiday and shopping madness, Scott Norton and I competed in the local PCB Mission Hills Mixed Doubles tournament at Mission Hills Bowl from November 20-21.

The mixed doubles tournaments are always fun and usually draw some pretty big names and great competition. On Saturday, we bowled on A squad for our 9 games of qualifying. I was pretty steady all day and mostly used the new AMF Shred It, shooting games of: 229, 276, 215, 215, 222, 215, 244, 222 and 223 for +261. Scott shot games of 188, 248, 225, 279, 257, 189, 279, 248 and 245 for +358. So combined we were +619 and in first place after both squads of qualifying. The field was then cut to the top 12 teams for Sunday's competition.

On Sunday, we bowled 12 games of round robin matchplay. Each individual game win was worth 10 bonus pins and the team game win was worth 30 bonus pins for a possible 50 extra pins each game. So you can see how important it was to win matches.

During the first 6 matches, we struggled a bit, earning only 160 bonus pins and had dropped to 4th place. The good news was that we were only 100 pins out of first place. We weren't necessarily bowling bad either, we just had some pretty big scores shot at us and couldn't win the needed bonus pins.

We started out strong the next set, each shooting 268 for a nice 536 team game and winning all 50 bonus pins. But we again had some trouble, losing the next three straight matches. We ended up shooting a decent last game to finish in 5th place overall in the tournament. Wendy Macpherson and Dave Wodka won the event in an exciting and very close position round match against Michael Haugen Jr. and Caycee Landers. Congrats to all of the finalists!

Missy Makes TV Show in Japan

As previously posted (and for those who either don't speak/read Japanese or weren't able to keep up with the late night LIVE streaming) I was invited to compete in the Ladies Bowling Organization (LBO) Ladies Bowling Tour Stop #5 in Tokyo, Japan over Halloween weekend.

On Friday, during the first day of qualifying, we bowled 6 games, then took a lunch break and bowled 6 more games. I didn't throw the ball that well, as I was suffering from the rather hot bowling center conditions and couldn't quite get the ball off my hand well. (However, the scores were VERY high, and I still managed to score well.) I shot 258, 182, 223, 212, 246, 255, 231, 258, 189, 246, 201 and 208 for +309, using my Bounty Hunter Pearl all day, and was in 4th place.

The field was then cut to the top 14 players. The next day we bowled 14 games of round robin match play, with 30 bonus pins awarded for each game win. I decided to change the surface on my Bank and polish it a little, which made it work much better and I was able to use it for most of the day. I started off well, shooting 217, 239, and 237, winning the first 3 matches. Then it was all downhill, as I had trouble winning matches with everyone shooting really high scores at me. I shot 200, 216, 241 and 195 and lost every match. The next set of 7 games, I shot 233 and won. Then I shot 184, 217 and 219 and lost all 3 games. I finally figured some things out, switching to my Profit and shot 245 and won, 224 and lost and ended the day with a 223 win. So even after a disastrous matchplay record of 6 and 8, I was still in 4th place and made it to the top 8 finals for Sunday.

On Sunday prior to bowling the finals, the main sponsor of LBO - DHC - a major makeup and health/beauty brand, came out and did our hair and makeup for bowling that day. It was a lot of fun and I always LOVE getting pampered! SO I really enjoyed the whole experience.

We then bowled 8 games of round robin match play and then they cut to the top 5 for the TV show stepladder finals. I had my game face on that day and came out of the gates with a 245, 259, 229 and 236, winning all of the matches. I then lost my only match of the day to Shannon Pluhowsky - 211 to 224. I then proceeded to win the rest of my matches, including the crucial position round match with scores of 256, 257 and 246. I had moved into 2nd place and was only 30 pins short of the top seed spot for the TV show.

The first match of the TV show, Mai Takasaka defeated Tomomi Shibata 237 to 191. The next match, Mai faced Japanese sensation Hiroko Shimizu and Hiroko won, 236 to 220. In the semifinal match, I then faced the fierce left-hander Hiroko and defeated her using the Bank, shooting 247-233.

The final match, I bowled Shannon Pluhowsky for the title and the nearly $50,000 prize. Shannon just kept striking, throwing the front 7 strikes at me, meanwhile I faced some carry issues and couldn't knock down 10 pins. Shannon ended up winning 255-195. There was also a HUGE prize for shooting a 300 game on TV and we all were cheering for Shannon to do it. If she had strung 12 strikes in-a-row, she would have won $300,000! Just crazy!

When all was said and done, I finished 2nd in the tournament and came home with a nice paycheck. I had an amazing time in Japan, as Shannon and I stayed in Japan two extra days to do some sightseeing. We went to Asakusa one day in Tokyo and the other day we went to Tokyo Disney Sea, which was a lot of fun! I was able to get my Disney fix, even all the way in Japan!

Regarding the entire tournament and organization, I must say that I am VERY impressed with the professionalism and respect displayed by each of the competitors, staff and the entire organization. Just to give you an example, the players all wore matching suits and nice dress shoes whenever in the bowling center and not bowling.

Each day of the tournament, we had an official opening ceremonies, where each player was individually introduced and then following the introductions, Shannon and I were usually interviewed prior to the start of practice. Also, at the beginning and end of competition every day, we went out to the foul line and gave a courtesy bow to all fans in attendance. Then, immediately following competition every day, ALL signed autographs and took pictures with the fans, making the event VERY fan friendly! And there were plenty of fans to fill the bowling center each day, with stadium type seating all along the concourse, which made it even more fun to compete!

Speaking of the fans, many had thunder sticks, similar to what we would see at sporting events. So the bowling center was definitely loud whenever a favorite bowler would strike or spare.

Another noteworthy positive of the LBO tour is the fact that each bowler is individually recognized in some way, by either the way they dress, a nickname, etc., making it even easier for fans to connect with that bowler and choose bowlers to route for. And each bowler has a character drawing of themselves that is then sold on merchandise such as program books, pins, t-shirts, fans, etc. And it's all very girly and super cute! All of the girls either wear skirts or shorts and matching shirts. And all of the bowling attire is very girly and attractive. Plus the official color of LBO is pink! So you can never go wrong with that!

All in all, I was very honored to be invited to compete in this inaugural tour season for LBO and hope to be back again next year!