PWBA Tour Championship

Despite having a rough tournament at the U.S. Women’s Open, I did manage to qualify as the No. 12 seed for the Top 16 finals of the Smithfield Foods PWBA Tour Championship.

Prior to the tournament, I was able to go home for a few days after 6 ½ very long weeks out on tour. While home, I got in some much needed rest, relaxation, beach time and of course a lot of practice.

Then it was off to the International Training and Research Center in Arlington, Texas for the culmination of the PWBA Tour. 

Luckily, at this event, my husband Drew was able to come and cheer me on. After an early morning and rushing around all day, we arrived and had our official practice session, followed by a reception and pro-am. 

The pattern for the PWBA Tour Championships was a 37’ pretty flat pattern. 

This event had a unique format in that the top 16 finalists were seeded into a bracket. The top 2 point leaders – Stefanie Johnson and Liz Johnson  were automatically seeded onto the televised finals. The No. 3 seed Kelly Kulick and No. 4 seed Diana Zavjalova both received a one round bye.

Each match was a Best of 5 single elimination format, meaning that the first bowler to win 3 games would advance to the next match and the loser would be eliminated from the tournament. 

Top 16 Finalists for the PWBA Tour Championship

I faced Shannon O’Keefe in the first round of matches. We bowled on lanes 5-6 which proved to be a tough pair. In the opening game, we both started out strong each throwing a turkey. Things quickly changed as Shannon had the front 7 strikes. I, being too far back and since total pins didn’t matter, decided to switch from my Track Paradox to try some other options for game 2. She easily won the first game 179 to 258.

Then in game 2, I switched to my New Columbia 300 Swerve and started out again with a turkey and had the lead until I left a very unfortunate pocket 6,7 which quickly changed the match. I had some carry issues and Shannon started stringing strikes and I ended up losing game two - 201 to 218.

In a do or die situation, I started out the next match throwing a great shot for a 2, 8, 10 and then chopping the 3, 6, 10. With what little ball reaction I had quickly diminishing, I changed back to my Paradox on the left lane and stayed with my Swerve on the right lane to try and pull the game out for a win. Unfortunately, that didn’t happen, as I strung strikes from the 8^th frame to the 1^st shot in the 10^th, but couldn’t get the 2^nd strike in the 10^th to put some pressure on Shannon. She won game three - 191 to 211 to quickly knock me out of the tournament.

Congratulations to Danielle McEwan for qualifying as the No. 5 seed, winning all of her matches and running the stepladder finals to win her first PWBA Tour Title! 

The U.S. Women's Open

Waking up early to catch a morning flight after bowling 16 games the day before (and throwing a majority of more than one shot a frame) was a bit tough. However, I made it safely to Newark, NJ (sleeping the entire flight of course.) thank goodness I can sleep on planes! 

Being the first to arrive out of my roomies, I got the rental car and then had a couple of hours to kill. So what did I do? Coincidentally there was an outlet mall only 7 minutes away and off I went. The rest of the day was a lazy Sunday, resting up for the start of the U.S. Open. 

Prior to the start of the practice session the next day, my roommates and I had a little fun celebrating the last week all together. 

My Roomies - Maria Jose Rodriguez, Clara Guerrero and Sandra Gongora

The lane pattern for the U.S. Open was 39' using the ice oil. The lanes seemed very playable and I had a variety of bowling balls that looked good. However, that quickly changed when the tournament actually started. 

Moving from pair to pair at Brunswick Zone Carolier Lanes is always difficult because each section of the house can be very different from the last. Having bowled there enough times, I had my notes on the center ready and was open minded about lane play. 

Well, the first block of qualifying started out about as bad as it can get. Not being able to stay out of trouble and leaving split after split after split using 3 or 4 different balls, I shot 120. I can't even remember the last time I bowled a games that low. 

Although I was slightly in panic mode after game 1, I knew that this tournament was a marathon not a sprint. So I had plenty of games to make up for it. Unfortunately the rest of the block didn't go much better. I missed too many spares and didn't execute consistently enough. I ended up shooting -152, even with shooting 235 my last game.  

After a disastrous Day 1 of qualifying, I definitely needed to get my mind off of bowling and have some fun. So the girls and I went to NYC. It was Sandra's first time there and she was very excited. I played tour guide (although I've only been to the City 3-4 times prior.)

We went to Times Square. Then headed over to Radio City Music Hall and Rockefeller Center and went to the Observation deck at the Top of the Rock, 67 stories high. I had been to the top of the Empire State Building, but not Rockefeller Center. We had so much fun and got some amazing pictures. We ended the night walking along the famous 5th avenue and had some yummy NY pizza before heading back to NJ. 

The next day, we bowled on the burn squad, meaning they did not re-oil the lanes after the previous squad's 8 games of qualifying. I can't remember the last time, I bowled a burn squad when there would be a total of 16 games bowled without a re-oil. 

Luckily, I started out steady and kept the ball in play shooting +98 for that block, which was high for our entire squad. That put me at -54 overall. I used my Track LX16 and a newly drilled pin up Warrior for most of the block. 

After bowling, we had a quick dinner and then went to sleep, as we had to then turnaround and bowl our final 8 games of qualifying early in the morning.

All I can say about the final block of qualifying is that I did not match up, missed too many spares and did not execute to my ability. Even though the lanes were extremely challenging, which I love, I couldn't seem to get anything together. 

I ended up in 60th place at this year's U.S. Women's Open and missed the cut to the cashers round of 51 people. 

Am I disappointed? Of course! But with failure, comes learning and with learning and hard work comes success. I guess if we always bowl well all of the time, then the wins wouldn't be as sweet. 

Even with my disastrous performance at the U.S. Open, I still managed to qualify for the Top 16 Players Championship next week in Arlington, Texas. A few days of rest at home, as well as a lot of practice and then I'm off again for the last stop of the PWBA Tour.

Stay tuned...

A Fun Week in Detroit

After the PWBA Minnesota Open, I flew directly to Detroit. My roomies had the treacherous 17 hour drive from Minnesota back to Austin, Texas, before then flying to Detroit. 

During this time I was able to visit with a couple of my friends from Detroit as well as their furry friend Wrigley. 

They played tourist and gave me a tour of Birmingham and the greater Detroit area. It was an absolute blast and I greatly appreciated the hospitality! 

Later that week, prior to the PWBA Detroit Open, EBI set up a pro-am event with the ladies of the Detroit Athletic Club (DAC). 

On Tuesday night, we got to attend the Detroit Tigers baseball game and low and behold they were playing my Angels! I absolutely love Tiger stadium. I also thoroughly enjoyed going to the game, especially since the Angels won! 

On Wednesday morning, I had a much needed massage and enjoyed the amenities of the DAC. We then attended the yearly draft for the ladies' leagues and then bowled in the pro-am event at the 8-lane bowling center. 

I want to sincerely thank Tom Reaume for the gracious hospitality and all of the ladies from the DAC for such a fun night! 

The next day we started competition for the PWBA Detroit Open. We bowled on a 35' flat pattern using Kegel Fire oil. 

The lanes were tough and spare shooting was extremely important. I shot 198, 221,170, 222, 180 and 204 for -5 on the block. I used a Paradox, drilled with the pin very close to my axis, and an LX16. 

On our short break, I fixed one of my balls and quickly had lunch and then we were back out on the lanes again. Needing a good block to make the top 16, I had a horrific start, shooting 158, 187 and 189. But then brought it back shooting games of 223, 199 and 235 for -14 overall and qualified in 12th position for Matchplay. During the block I used two Paradox's. The same one I used the first block as well as this one. 

If you've been keeping up with my blog, then you should see a theme going on...paradox, paradox and yes paradox. I can't say enough good things about this ball! You definitely need one in your arsenal! 

During the first round of Matchplay, I started off very well, winning 5 out of 8 matches and being very close to the top 4 stepladder finals. The lanes were pretty different from block to block all tournament long, so during the first round of Matchplay, I used my Columbia 300 Disorder and N'Sane Antics as well as a Track LX16. 

 Needing a big last 8-game block, I unfortunately couldn't get matched up and only won 2 out of 8 matches. The ball that worked the best was a Columbia 300 Eruption Pro Orange. I finished the tournament in 10th place overall.

We then immediately flew to Newark, NJ for the start of the U.S. Women's Open. 

Until then...

Life on the Road - PWBA Tour

After the PWBA Topeka Open, we travelled 3 hours to the college town of Lincoln, Nebraska. It was my first time in Lincoln, and I have to admit I was pleasantly surprised. We stayed in Downtown Lincoln, within walking distance to great restaurants. The college was also located right there, which I thought was very unique being that centralized in Downtown.

Luckily, the proprietor of Sun Valley Lanes allowed the women to practice before and after the PWBA Lincoln Open in preparation for the upcoming events. 

A few girls arrived early to the PWBA Lincoln Tour stop and after gym workouts, lots of practice and some laundry duty, we managed to also have a little fun on the famous "O Street."

This week, we bowled on a 41 foot pattern with higher volume using Kegel Ice oil.

During practice, I seemed to have a good look using a variety of bowling balls. However, during the first block of qualifying, the lanes changed a bit (as they usually do) and I couldn't quite seem to get my ball to react accordingly. I shot -9 and was in 43rd place with 6 games to go.

Rob Gotchall and I discussed my issues and we decided to drill a ball in the very short break. I drilled a stronger Track Paradox, which gave me a chance at the top 16 cut. I can't say enough good things about this ball. It is definitely one to add to your arsenal!

The second block, I shot games of 257, 217, 182, 232, 202 and 194 for +75 overall and ended up in 29th place, missing the top 16, but still cashing in the tournament. Although it was definitely not my goal, I was at least throwing the ball better, as well as shooting much better at my spares.

Congratulations to Hammer staffer Amanda Greene for dominating and winning the event.

After the PWBA Lincoln Open, Clara and I had our 3rd clinic of the season, this time at Mockingbird Lanes in Omaha, Nebraska. We had a quite a few youth come out and a few travelled far to participate in the clinic.

The next few days, we worked out at the gym, practiced hard and also made a trip to the outlets that were nearby. We then made the 8 hour trek to Welch, Minnesota. The last hour and a half was all back country roads, with gorgeous views of corn fields, lakes, barns and silos (which for this California girl was a rare sight.)

       












The PWBA Minnesota Open was hosted by Treasure Island Casino and Island Xtreme Bowl. We bowled on a 47 foot, light volume pattern using Kegel Fire oil.

After practice, I knew I had a great look on the fresh, but I needed a different look once the pattern carried down a bit. I drilled one of my favorite balls of all time (which they happen to have on the truck) - a Track LX 16.

During the first block of qualifying, I shot +222 using my Ebonite Pivot and was in 3rd place going into the final 6 game block of qualifying. Still needing a different look later on in the block, I drilled a Hammer Red Legend Solid in the short break.

I came back and shot +209 the second block for +431 overall using my Ebonite Pivot and Red Legend Pearl and was sitting in 2nd place going into matchplay. Feeling great going into matchplay and overall loving the competitiveness of matches, I was confident going into the final day of the tournament.

Well, Sunday was a completely different story. The lanes were much different (as they usually are) but I couldn't seem to get my ball to go through the pins correctly, no matter what I tried. I physically threw the ball very well, but it was just one of those days where nothing seems to go your way. My matchplay record was a horrific 4-10-2. My opponents averaged 234.3 which was higher than the tournament leader's average.

Despite all of this, I still managed to come in 8th place in the PWBA Minnesota Open. I hit the pocket a lot, just couldn't carry as much as I needed to. I'm very proud of how well I physically threw the ball and maintained my concentration despite the bad breaks. I also didn't miss one single pin spare in 28 games and I shot at quite a few.

This tournament was special because my amazing in-laws flew in to Minnesota to come and cheer me on. It was definitely nice having the family support there!

Congratulations to Team C300 staffer Diana Zavjalova for winning the tournament.

On to the next event in Detroit! Until then...

On the Road Again - the PWBA Tour

Well, the last two weeks have been pretty frustrating and disappointing. But, all I can do is learn from it, bowl better and move on to the next event.

Two weeks ago, my bestie Scott Norton and I travelled to Houston, Texas to defend our title at the Luci Bonneau Striking Against Breast Cancer Mixed Doubles event.  This tournament is by far one of my favorite events of the year. The lanes were very challenging and we were fortunate enough to bowl the last squad of qualifying, so we were able to watch the other squads beforehand.

Unfortunately, things did not go well, as we couldn't stay out of trouble and caught a lot of bad breaks. Despite a big last game, we ended up shooting -74 overall for the 8 games of qualifying and missed cashing by 12 pins. BIG thank you to Donna Connors who always runs an amazing tournament! Congratulations to Shannon O'Keefe and Bill O'Neill for winning and capturing the PBA/PWBA Title.

In between the Luci and the PWBA Topeka Open, I travelled back to Austin, Texas with my roommates Clara Guerrero, Maria Jose Rodriguez and Sandra Gongora. Clara and I hosted out 1st of many bowling clinics throughout the summer at Mel's Lone Star Lanes. The event was a success!

Besides practice and a sports massage, we also made time to have a little fun in Austin. We rented a boat and cruised around the gorgeous Lake Travis. We then headed 10 hours to Topeka, Kansas for the next PWBA Stop.

We bowled on a 35' short pattern and after the practice session, I drilled 3 new balls - an Ebonite Code of Honor and Game Breaker 2 and a Classic U2 urethane ball. In the first 6 games of qualifying, I shot +17 using the Ebonite Code of Honor and Game Breaker 2 and also a Columbia 300 Eruption Pro Orange. I was roughly 40 pins behind the cut number and knew I needed a good final block.

I started out the next block struggling a bit, shooting 170, but then brought it back with a 216, 224, 191 and 210 for +28 going into the last game. I needed a big game to possibly make the cut and a decent game to get a check. We hit a really bad pair and I ended up using 3 different balls and shot 154 to miss cashing by 17 pins. I was pretty upset with my finish, but all I can do is learn from it and move on.

The next day, I cheered on my roommate Clara Guerrero, who qualified for the top 16 match play finals. She won 10 out of 16 matches to move from 13th to 4th and qualify for the stepladder finals. The position round was intense with 3rd to 8th place all able to make the stepladder. So winning that match and shooting a decent game was critical.

Stepladder Finalists for the PWBA Topeka Open - Danielle McEwan, Liz Johnson, Liz Kuhlkin and Clara Guerrero

Congratulations to Hammer staffer Liz Kuhlkin for winning the tournament.  HUGE thank you to the host and staff at West Ridge Lanes for providing amazing hospitality the entire week!

On Sunday, Clara and I had our second clinic and hosted it at the same bowling center we competed in all week long. We then left Topeka and travelled immediately to Kansas City to bowl in the Bowlers Show Charity Doubles tournament.

We bowled 3 games of qualifying. I shot 765 and Clara shot 710 and we were the top qualifiers. The field was then cut to the top 4 for a baker stepladder finals. Clara and I together shot 225 and won the tournament. We both used our Columbia 300 Urge the entire day. The tournament raised more than $1200 for the Willie Pollard scholarship fund.

We spent another day in Kansas City before heading to Lincoln, Nebraska for the next PWBA Tour stop. We practiced every day this week and managed to have a little fun before the start of the next PWBA event.

Stay tuned for the next tournament - the PWBA Lincoln Open Aug. 13-15. Watch all of the action LIVE on XtraFrame.tv

Until next time...

The PWBA Wichita Open

Last week, I competed in the PWBA Wichita Open at Northrock Lanes in Wichita, Kansas. I flew in just before the Thursday practice session and was able to get a good 45 minutes of practice in. Unfortunately, I was battling a stiff neck that I had treated at home, but it was still not going away. I didn't really realize how bad it was until practice. Every time my swing got to a certain height, it would pull on my neck, hurt extremely bad and cause me to therefore miss my target left. I figured it would hopefully go away by the next day so I could feel 100% going into the tournament.

After the practice session, we had an EBI photo/video shoot and than went back to the room to rest before competition the next day.

This week we bowled on a 38 foot sport pattern with  25.8 mL of oil

The next morning, we started our first six games of qualifying. My neck still wasn't the greatest and I used Bio Freeze to loosen it up a bit. I really struggled the first 3-4 games with my execution, missing a couple of easy spares and even missing the headpin left. I can't even tell you the last time I missed the headpin left, but I did spare the 1-3-6-9. After some Advil and constant Bio Feeze on my neck, I finally was able to start executing and ended up shooting +40 on the block using my Ebonite Game Breaker 2 and Hammer Red Legend.

The next block, luckily everything physically felt better and I was able to fully execute. The lanes were much flatter the 2nd set of 6 games, and scores definitely dropped. I started out on the end pair and struggled, shooting 163 to start the block. I brought it back with clean games of 218 and 214, before hitting another bad pair (on Xtra Frame) and shooting 162. I made a ball change to my new Columbia 300 Urge and shot 234 to have a chance at the cut with a big game. I moved to my last pair and started out the game great, but the lanes changed a bit and I got a little caught up in the transition and ended up shooting 190 the last game to be +21 overall. I missed cashing by 14 pins.

Although I am definitely disappointed with my performance this past week, I am taking care of my injuries with proper care, so that I am ready for next week's competition. Many people don't realize the amount of games that we are competing in does take a toll on our body and really does require proper care. We are athletes and should be treating ourselves as such. Besides practice and working out with my trainer, I also make sure to get the proper care that my body needs. I've been getting a sports deep tissue massage every week and seeing my chiropractor as needed in between the PWBA Tour stops. This week I will be getting at least two deep tissue massages and also a chiropractic adjustment. Hopefully along with some rest, that'll do the trick.

BIG congratulations to Hammer staffer and good friend Stefanie Johnson for dominating and winning the PWBA Wichita Open using the new Track Paradox.

After the PWBA Wichita Open, I caught a ride with Maria Jose Rodriguez and Nathan Bohr from Wichita to Austin, Texas. I'm staying in Austin this week with Maria and Clara Guerrero before heading to our next tournament in Houston. I've never been to Austin before, so I'm excited to see some of the sights. So far I've been to the Oasis, an amazing restaurant overlooking Lake Travis with a gorgeous view of the sunset.

 


I'm excited for this week's upcoming event - The Luci Bonneau Striking Against Breast Cancer Mixed Doubles. Scott Norton and I look to defend our titles in one of my favorite tournaments of the year! It's also one of the best run events and for such a great cause that is extremely dear to my heart - breast cancer. With one of my bowling Moms passing away from this horrific disease, I always try to do anything and everything to support finding a cure for breast cancer.

Subscribe to Xtra Frame to watch all of the best PWBA/PBA bowlers in the world compete at this amazing event starting Thursday, July 30th.  Until then...

Missy Comes in 3rd in PWBA Lubbock Sports Open

This past week, I competed in the 2nd PWBA Tour stop - the PWBA Lubbock Sports Open in Lubbock, TX.

Coming off of last week's stepladder finals, I felt great going into this week. This week, we competed on a 40 foot pattern with higher volume, so a few feet shorter than Sacramento's 44 foot pattern. Each week, we find out the pattern just before our Thursday afternoon practice session. Here it is. 

In the first block of qualifying, I started out of the gates strong, shooting 279 (and I was on the live stream pair.) I followed that up shooting very steady with games of 197, 196, 226, 218 and 235 for +151 using my New Hammer Red Legend Solid.

We then had a short break and came back for 6 more games of qualifying later that afternoon. The 2nd block the lanes were definitely flatter and more difficult in my opinion. I shot games of 215, 204, 207 and then hit the end pair 39-40. To say I struggled a lot was an understatement. I tried a variety of bowling balls and angles and couldn't seem to stay clean shooting 137 game 4. I then brought it back shooting 199 and 259 to end the block at +21 shooting +172 overall for the 12 games of qualifying. Luckily 39-40 were out of play during match play.

I qualified 2nd going into the top 16 round robin match play finals, behind Singapore's Jazreel Tan who was dominating the field at +297. We then bowled 16 games all on Saturday to determine who would advance to the top 4 stepladder finals. The winner of each match received 30 bonus pins and 15 pins for a tie. So again, winning matches was key.

In the first 8 games of match play, I won 5 out of 8 matches and used my Hammer Red Legend Solid, Ebonite Warrior and Hammer Red Legend. With 8 more games of match play to go, I was currently in 3rd place for the stepladder finals and not very far in the top 4 cut.

I knew I needed a big set and definitely needed to win matches. I shot very steady my next 8 games of matchplay and had won 4 out of 7 matches going into the position round match. I shot a huge game 5 - a 268 to jump me into 2nd place and only 100 pins back from Jazreel Tan who had remained in 1st place. 100 pins sounds like a lot, but I knew I would be facing her in game 7 of matchplay and also in the final position round, so winning both matches would get me within 40 pins, which was doable. Unfortunately, game 6 and game 7, I lost both matches by less than 5 pins, making the gap between 1st and 2nd pretty big.

I was 2nd seed going into the final position round and needed to win my match and shoot a decent game to stay the No. 2 seed. Stefanie Johnson had picked up some ground and was only 46 pins behind me.  With not a great look on the position round pair and using my Hammer Red Legend on the left lane and Ebonite Warrior on the right lane, I managed to string a few strikes together to defeat Jazreel 204-202 in the position round and secure my spot as the No. 2 seed.

Here are the Top 4 for the stepladder finals (from right to left): 

Leader - Jazreel Tan, 2nd - Missy Parkin, 3rd - Stefanie Johnson and 4th - Danielle McEwan

The stepladder finals were bowled again on the same pair as my position round game. Although I will admit that was not my favorite pair in the house, I was still very confident going into the stepladder finals, especially after a great performance during last week's stepladder finals in Sacramento. I faced fellow EBI staffer Stefanie Johnson, who had defeated Danielle McEwan in the opening match 233-159.

After practicing on the pair prior to the start of the stepladder finals and even prior to my match, I thought I had a good look. Well that quickly changed as I couldn't get my ball to face up correctly and had to change balls 3 times during the match. Even though I ended up shooting 158, I will say that is probably the best 150 game I've ever bowled. I made a lot of great shots, I just couldn't get my ball to face up correctly.

I'm definitely disappointed with my 3rd place finish this week. I know that I did improve some things from last week's 3rd place finish in Sacramento. Last week, I had some crazy spare issues during match play. This week, I bowled much better at my spares and in 29 games, I missed one single pin (which is still unacceptable, but definitely better than the previous week.) I also bowled more consistent overall and am throwing the ball better physically as well.

Although I still have some things to work on and am still seeking that 1st PWBA title, I am pleased with making back-to-back stepladder finals and feel confident going into next week's tournament in Wichita, Kansas. Congratulations to Singapore's Jazreel Tan on winning the PWBA Lubbock Sports Open!

Until then...