COTÉ EARNS TOP SEED FOR STEPLADDER AT 2021 PWBA TOUR CHAMPIONSHIP

RENO, Nev. – Bryanna Coté of Tucson, Arizona, averaged more than 243 for her final eight games of match play Saturday at the 2021 Professional Women’s Bowling Association Tour Championship to earn the top seed for Sunday’s stepladder finals.

The live CBS Sports Network broadcast will begin at 5 p.m. Eastern, with Coté looking to secure her first major championship, a $50,000 top prize and the 2021 PWBA Player of the Year award.

The 35-year-old right-hander posted a 16-8 record in match play to claim the top seed with a 6,095 total, including bonus pins for each victory.

She’ll be joined in the stepladder by Shannon Pluhowsky of Dayton, Ohio (6,026), Latvia’s Diana Zavjalova (5,853), Stephanie Zavala of Downey, California (5,768), and Shannon O’Keefe of Shiloh, Illinois (5,763).

The Tour Championship is the final event, and third major, of the 2021 PWBA Tour season. It also marks the conclusion of the PWBA Fall Classic Series, which featured the PWBA Reno Classic and PWBA Pepsi Classic.

Coté was the top qualifier for the all-match-play Tour Championship, which used the combined qualifying totals from the Reno Classic and Pepsi Classic (24 games) to determine the 24 athletes advancing to the season-ending major.

Pinfall dropped at the beginning of the Tour Championship, but the fresh start didn’t slow Coté’s roll this week at the National Bowling Stadium. She was in second place after the first two blocks of round-robin match play Friday and averaged more than 257 for her first five games Saturday to take over the top spot on the event’s 40-foot lane condition.

“I was pretty nervous this morning,” said Coté, who won her second career PWBA Tour title earlier this season at the PWBA ITRC Classic. “I still had eight games to bowl, and anything can happen in eight games, especially with how high the scores were getting. I wanted to make good shots, see the lane clear with my ball reaction and take advantage of the big games. You usually hit one or two pairs with big games, and I was grateful to have a few more where my ball reaction was great and my ball was going through the pins really well.”

Coté finished as the runner-up to Zavala on Tuesday at the Reno Classic and placed ninth at the Pepsi Classic on Thursday.

Her performance this week at the NBS, coupled with consistent showings throughout the 2021 season, have vaulted Coté to the top of the season-long points list, which determines PWBA Player of the Year and PWBA Rookie of the Year awards. She started the Fall Classic Series eighth on the points list.

Zavala, a three-time winner on the PWBA Tour this year, secured her spot as top rookie earlier in the week at the Pepsi Classic.

Coté will make her sixth championship-round appearance of the season Sunday and lock up the postseason award for the first time in her career with a victory in the title match.

It also would be possible for Coté to win the award before she even throws a shot Sunday, if O’Keefe loses the opening match of the stepladder to Zavala.

O’Keefe, the two-time reigning PWBA Player of the Year, can win the award for the third consecutive season if she finishes in fourth place or higher and Coté finishes in second place.

All of the extra noise surrounding the player-of-the-year race and pressure of a major championship, television lights and big payday are things Coté plans to put out of her mind.

“I really can’t think about all the outside factors,” Coté said. “If I let my mind get there, my body is not going to know what to do. My mind needs to focus on the task at hand, and everything else will fall into place if I do that.”

As Coté secured her spot at the top of the standings, Zavala turned the leaderboard upside down.

Zavala started the event with five consecutive open frames on the way to a 96 game, but she averaged 229 for the rest of the opening block to finish the first round in 16th place.

She slipped to 20th place after Friday’s second eight-game round, but a memorable comeback Saturday earned her a sixth championship-round appearance of the year.

Zavala started Saturday’s final round 338 pins outside of the cut number but averaged more than 251 and went 7-1 to make an improbable run to the show. She rolled games of 286, 266, 269, 252, 231, 227, 265 and 217.

The 25-year-old right-hander entered Saturday’s position round in fifth place, but she was only four pins ahead of Poland’s Daria Pajak.

Zavala recorded a 217-205 win by rolling three strikes in her final frame and moved into fourth place overall. Pajak finished in sixth place with a 5,722 total.

Zavala will be making her second consecutive championship-round appearance at a major after finishing fourth at the U.S. Women’s Open in August.

Pluhowsky hopes to capture her second major title at the 78-lane venue. She won her lone PWBA Tour title at the 2006 United States Bowling Congress Queens. She also made the show at the U.S. Women’s Open this year, finishing in third place.

Zavjalova is the only athlete to advance to the championship round at each major this season.

She recorded fifth-place finishes at the USBC Queens, held at the NBS in May, and U.S. Women’s Open. She’s in search of her third major title (2013 and 2017 Queens) and fifth career PWBA Tour title.

O’Keefe is the defending champion at the Tour Championship and the only player to win the event twice (2017 and 2019). She won the season-opening PWBA Bowlers Journal Classic in January and is looking for her fourth major championship and 15th PWBA Tour title.

O’Keefe won the 2018 Queens at the NBS, defeating Coté in the title match, 221-189.

To learn more about the PWBA Tour, visit PWBA.com.

2021 PWBA Tour Championship
At National Bowling Stadium
Reno, Nev.

Saturday’s results

MATCH PLAY
(24 games, 30 bonus pins for a win, 15 bonus pins for a tie)

     1, Bryanna Coté, Tucson, Ariz., 16-8-0, 6,095. 2, Shannon Pluhowsky, Dayton, Ohio, 16-8-0, 6,026. 3, Diana Zavjalova, Latvia, 16-7-1, 5,853. 4, Stephanie Zavala, Downey, Calif., 13-11-0, 5,768. 5, Shannon O'Keefe, Shiloh, Ill., 14-9-1, 5,763.

DID NOT ADVANCE

     6, Daria Pajak, Poland, 13-11-0, 5,722, $6,000. 7, Missy Parkin, Laguna Hills, Calif., 14-10-0, 5,720, $5,000. 8, Shannon Sellens (n), Long Beach, N.Y., 13-11-0, 5,696, $4,500. 9, Liz Johnson, Niagara Falls, N.Y., 13-11-0, 5,671, $4,000. 10, Verity Crawley, England, 12-12-0, 5,658, $3,600. 11, Birgit Noreiks, Germany, 11-12-1, 5,599, $3,300.
     12, Sandra Gongora, Mexico, 13-9-2, 5,590, $3,000. 13, Maria José Rodriguez, Colombia, 14-10-0, 5,588, $2,800. 14, Kelly Kulick, Union, N.J., 12-12-0, 5,558, $2,600. 15, Julia Bond, Aurora, Ill., 12-11-1, 5,507, $2,400. 16, Ashly Galante, Palm Harbor, Fla., 12-12-0, 5,434, $2,250. 17, Stefanie Johnson, McKinney, Texas, 12-12-0, 5,432, $2,100.
     18, Valerie Bercier, Muskegon, Mich., 9-15-0, 5,359, $1,950. 19, Liz Kuhlkin, Schenectady, N.Y., 11-13-0, 5,332, $1,800. 20, Lindsay Boomershine, Perry, Utah, 9-15-0, 5,307, $1,650. 21, Misaki Mukotani, Japan, 6-18-0, 5,295, $1,550. 22, Dasha Kovalova, Ukraine, 8-16-0, 5,266, $1,450. 23, Shalin Zulkifli, Malaysia, 9-15-0, 5,046, $1,350.
     24, Jen Higgins, Lewis Center, Ohio, 7-17-0, 5,015, $1,250.

KELLY KULICK WINS 2021 PWBA ALBANY OPEN

SOUTH GLENS FALLS, N.Y. – Kelly Kulick of Union, New Jersey, was in complete control of her game this week at the 

Professional Women’s Bowling Association (PWBA) Albany Open, and her masterful performance concluded with a return to the winner’s circle for the first time since 2017.

The United States Bowling Congress Hall of Famer defeated two-time reigning PWBA Player of the Year Shannon O’Keefe of Shiloh, Illinois, in a thrilling title match at Kingpin’s Alley Family Fun Center, 228-217, to record her seventh PWBA Tour victory.

The championship round was broadcast live on BowlTV.com, with Kulick earning $10,000 for the win. O’Keefe collected $5,000 for the runner-up finish.

Kulick’s last win on tour came at the 2017 PWBA Fountain Valley Open, and her victory Saturday was her second since the relaunch of the PWBA Tour in 2015.

The 44-year-old right-hander entered Saturday’s competition as the tournament leader and retained that spot through 12 more games to earn the top seed for the stepladder finals, averaging more than 240 for her 24 qualifying games.

O’Keefe never let her out of her sights, however, averaging more than 238 to finish qualifying in second place.

The 14-time tour champion continued to pressure Kulick as the title match got underway, rolling three consecutive strikes after a spare in the first frame to take the early advantage.

Kulick maintained her hold on the pocket on this week’s 36-foot oil pattern, but she didn’t record a double through the first five frames.

A small adjustment in her physical game helped her create a better angle through the pins, resulting in four consecutive strikes, starting in the sixth frame.

“I talked with my tour reps and wondered if I needed to make a ball change,” said Kulick, a 17-time Team USA member. “After talking about it, I told them I knew what I needed to do. I got my hand underneath the bowling ball and started to go around it a bit more, to create more angularity off the spot. I know I have the tools and the knowledge, but you have to trust what you’re able to do. I trusted myself, like I had all week long.”

Kulick entered the final frame with the opportunity to roll two more strikes to shut out O’Keefe, but a light hit on her first delivery resulted in a 7 pin. She converted the spare and struck on her fill ball to force O’Keefe to double for her second win of the season.

O’Keefe, who won the season-opening PWBA Bowlers Journal Classic, left a 3-10 split on the first shot of her 10th frame, allowing Kulick to raise the trophy.

Kulick had finished as the runner-up five times since her win in 2017, including earlier this season at the PWBA Lincoln Open.

Saturday’s run to the stepladder finals was her third championship-round appearance in five events this season, and her confidence is growing as she looks ahead at the rest of the year.

“I came out here for two reasons – to have fun and enjoy bowling again and to know I could win again,” Kulick said. “Age is just a number, and I still feel energetic, youthful and like I’m in great shape. With the way I’m throwing it right now, I’m building confidence, and I know the sky is the limit for the rest of the season. I’ve been bowling smart and trusting myself, and the fact that I’m making shows on multiple patterns means my versatility is still there, too.”

O’Keefe advanced to the title match by defeating her former student-athlete at McKendree University, Breanna Clemmer of Clover, South Carolina, 247-193.

O’Keefe is the head coach for the women’s bowling program at McKendree, and Clemmer attended the university from 2016-2020. O’Keefe and Clemmer helped bring the Bearcats titles at the 2017 NCAA Women’s Bowling Championship and Intercollegiate Team Championships.

Clemmer, a rookie on tour this season, made her second consecutive championship-round appearance after recording a third-place finish at last week’s PWBA BVL Open in Farmingdale, New York.

The 23-year-old right-hander advanced to the semifinals by defeating three-time PWBA Tour champion Stefanie Johnson of McKinney, Texas, in the opening game of the stepladder, 213-192. Clemmer closed with four strikes to shut out Johnson, who made her first championship-round appearance of 2021.

The 66-player field in South Glens Falls bowled 12 games Friday, before the first cut to the top 32 athletes. Advancers bowled an additional six-game block Saturday morning, with the top 12 competing in a final six-game round to determine the four bowlers for the stepladder, based on 24-game pinfall totals.

The PWBA Tour will head to Smyrna, Tennessee, next week for the PWBA Greater Nashville Open. The event will be held at the Smyrna Bowling Center and take place June 10-12. 

The First Champion of 2021 of the PWBA Bowlers Journal Championship

ARLINGTON, Texas - In case anyone had questions about how the events of the last year affected Shannon O'Keefe and her momentum on the Professional Women's Bowling Association Tour, the two-time reigning PWBA Player of the Year offered a quick reminder that she's still the player to beat by winning the 2021 Bowlers Journal Classic, the first event of the new season.

It also was fitting that the title match Thursday night at the International Training and Research Center featured the tour's top two players - O'Keefe and top seed Danielle McEwan of Stony Point, New York - in another epic showdown.

O'Keefe, of Shiloh, Illinois, bounced back from a second-frame split and closed the title tilt with eight consecutive strikes to defeat her longtime Team USA teammate, 243-225. The win was the 14th of O'Keefe's career and earned her a $10,000 top prize. 

The Bowlers Journal Classic was the first event of the PWBA Kickoff Classic Series, which will feature three national tour stops and one regional event during its seven-day run at the ITRC, the home of Team USA.

The PWBA Tour's historic return to the spotlight was broadcast live on BowlTV.com and marked the first time since September 2019 a PWBA Tour title had been awarded. The 2020 season was canceled due to COVID-19.

"This feels so amazing for multiple reasons," said O'Keefe, a 41-year-old right-hander. "It has been so long since we competed, but I was trying hard not to get wrapped up in that. I just wanted to make sure I could turn off my practice brain after all this time and get back into a competitive mindset. And, it's never about comparing one calendar year to the next. Instead, I always try to focus on the process and being appreciative of each opportunity to compete. To pick up where I left off and start this year with a win is incredible."

McEwan had the early momentum in the match, striking on three of her first four shots, but she did not strike again until the ninth frame. O'Keefe started the finale teetering between two bowling balls and some subtle moves based on how her semifinal win ended, but after leaving the 4-6-7-9-10 split in the second frame, she forced herself to commit to a game plan and was able to regain control.

O'Keefe also was the last person to claim a championship trophy, which she did at the 2019 PWBA Tour Championship for her third career major title. That victory was the final piece of a five-win season that included her second consecutive PWBA Player of the Year Award.

In both 2018 and 2019, McEwan was the runner-up in the player-of-the-year race, and she has been among the top five on the PWBA Tour's points list each year since the organization's relaunch in 2015.

During the same span, McEwan has collected five PWBA Tour titles, one in each of her five seasons, and her success includes two major victories. Her first win, also her first major, came at the 2015 PWBA Tour Championship, the last PWBA event to be held at the ITRC.

The last time McEwan and O'Keefe faced off for a PWBA title was at the 2019 BowlerX.com Orlando Open, where O'Keefe escaped with a 207-202 victory. A week later, McEwan topped O'Keefe for the singles gold medal at the 2019 World Bowling Women's Championships. 

"Bittersweet is the best way to put it," McEwan said of her second-place finish Thursday. "I was anxious and nervous going into this event because I wasn't even sure if I would remember what to do and how to be Danielle again, but things fell into place. To work through everything and have it end how it did was disappointing, but Shannon is an amazing champion and the player to beat. If I'm going to beat her, I need to be better."

To set up the championship meeting with McEwan on Thursday, O'Keefe turned in a 10-strike, 245-212 performance against their red-hot Team USA teammate Missy Parkin of Laguna Hills, California. After opening with five strikes, O'Keefe was slowed only by a 2-10 split in the sixth frame and an 8 pin in the ninth frame.

In the opening match, Parkin was able to continue the momentum that helped her into the stepladder, and she delivered a final-frame strike to sneak past fellow PWBA Tour champion Erin McCarthy of Omaha, Nebraska, 238-227.

Parkin catapulted into the top four by finishing match play with games of 258 and 238. The late surge, plus 30 bonus pins for winning each game, helped her erase a sizeable deficit that still was 72 pins heading into the position round.

Competition at the ITRC will resume Friday with the start of the PWBA ITRC Classic, which will feature qualifying rounds at 11 a.m. and 5 p.m. Eastern. Nine-game pin-fall totals will determine the 12 players who advance to match play from the 36-player field.

All of the qualifying and match-play rounds at the Kickoff Classic Series are being broadcast live at BowlTV.com, free of charge to visitors who create a login for the site. Each of the four events will conclude with formal stepladder finals, which will require a BowlTV subscription to watch live.

The third event of the Kickoff Classic Series will be the PWBA Arlington Regional, taking center stage Sunday, and the excitement will conclude with the PWBA Hall of Fame Classic on Monday and Tuesday. 

The Hall of Fame Classic will feature the week's top 24 performers, based on their 18-game pin-fall totals from the Bowlers Journal Classic and ITRC Classic. Each event also will feature a different lane condition.

The prize fund for each of the three national tour stops will be $65,000, with $10,000 going to each champion.

The 2021 PWBA Tour season will feature 20 events, highlighted by the introduction of the Classic Series events and an increase in the season's overall prize fund by nearly $400,000.

O'KEEFE CAPS CAREER YEAR AS NOVEMBER BOWLER OF THE MONTH

Shannon O'Keefe, Shiloh, Illinois, has been named the November 2018 Kegel Bowler of the Month by the International Bowling Media Association.

 O'Keefe topped Sin Li Jane, Malaysia, 238-236, for the women's title at the 54th QubicaAMF World Cup in Las Vegas.    

           

After finishing the eighteen-game qualifying round in third place averaging 208, O'Keefe spent the twenty-four-game match play in the top ten, defeating Daphne Tan, Singapore, to secure fourth place going into the championship round.

 

The semifinals began as the fourth-seeded O'Keefe stunned top-seeded Nadia Pramanik, Indonesia, 247-202. The third-seeded Sin ousted second-seeded Maria Jose Rodriguez, Columbia, 207-166, in the other semifinal, setting up the final match with O'Keefe.

 

The win comes at the end of an amazing year for the head coach for the highly-ranked McKendree University women's bowling team. O'Keefe won two titles out of seven championship round appearances, including the USBC Queens tiara, en route to 2018 PWBA Player of the Year.

 

Others obtaining votes this month were Sam Cooley, Australia, winner of the men's 54th QuibicaAMF World Cup, Tim Foy, Jr., winner of the PBA East Region Bowlers Discount Pro Shop Open presented by Track, and Dick Allen and Walter Ray Williams, Jr., winners of the PBA/PBA50 Southern Region Decker Appraisal Services Harrisonburg Baker Doubles Honoring Guppy Troup.