The US Open Battles - Great Show

 

If you didn’t happen to catch the finals of the US Open, you missed quite a show. Not only did the men and women compete on the same lanes throughout the tournament, but the men’s and women’s champions faced off in a Battle of the Sexes to determine one ultimate champion.

 

In the first women’s match; which didn’t make TV; reigning USBC Queens champion Diandra Asbaty fell to reigning Team USA Trials champion Danielle McEwan 192-171. McEwan advanced to face two-time Women’s US Open champion Liz Johnson.

 

On the men’s side, the first match was Team USA member and collegiate standout Marshall Kent against PBA champion Wes Malott. Kent left a bucket (2-4-5-8 combination) and missed the spare to allow Malott to win with a mark in the 10^th frame 200-193. Malott advanced to face five-time men’s US Open winner Pete Weber.

 

The men’s and women’s semifinal matches; Malott versus Weber and McEwan versus Johnson; were contested live on TV as both matches were conducted simultaneously. Johnson topped her Team USA teammate McEwan 227-202 while Malott rolled a 279 to best Weber’s 182 and setup a Master’s rematch against Jason Belmonte. Johnson advanced to face top seed Kelly Kulick. Kulick has been the top seed at three consecutive Women’s US Opens.

 

In the finals, Malott took advantage of Belmonte’s early struggles to best the Master’s champion 214-156. It was the first major title for Malott who has just come back from recent knee surgery. In the women’s finals, Johnson threw six consecutive strikes to easily best defending champion Kulick 257-195.

 

In the final TV match, Johnson and Malott faced off in the Battle of the Sexes round to determine the ultimate champion. Johnson, who faced Malott on TV previously in a PBA tournament, rolled a 194 to best Malott’s 188 earning herself an extra $10,000.

 

All eight bowlers in the stepladder finals are members of the Storm or Roto Grip staffs. While it would have been nice to see the first stepladder matches, the overall show was worth the watch.

International PBA Stars To Compete For World Games Berths

Mixed doubles teams from 19 WTBA American Zone countries will compete for berths in the 2013 World Games during the Pan American Bowling Confederation Champion of Champions event May 9-12 at Kegel Training Center in Babson Park, Fla.

Team USA will be presented by amateur Steve Smith of San Diego and two-time PBA Women’s Series titlist Liz Johnson of Cheektowaga, NY. Venezuela’s team will include PBA Hall of Famer Amleto Monacelli, PBA Tour titlist Andres Gomez will bowl for Colombia, and PBA Tour competitor Dan MacLelland will be on Team Canada. At stake are eight spots in the World Games, which will be held in Cali, Colombia.

The Champion of Champions event will award medals in men's and women’s singles, mixed doubles, men's and women’s all-events, national all-events, men’s and women's Masters, and mixed doubles Masters. The top eight teams in the national all-events will join Colombia in qualifying for the World Games, an international showcase for more than 30 sports that are not included in the Olympics Games.

Second Gold for Team USA Bowlers

Team USA won its second consecutive five-player team gold medal at the 2008 World Tenpin Bowling Association Men's World Championships in a dramatic tiebreaker Wednesday.