onefrombills
11-12-2008, 09:01 PM
HERMOSILLO, Mexico - Team USA's Shannon Pluhowsky of Phoenix and Derek Eoff of Greenfield, Wis., are taking different paths to success at the 2008 QubicaAMF World Cup this week at Bol 300, but they are both in the mix, nonetheless.
The left-handed Pluhowsky, a two-time World Cup champion, has taken the slow and steady approach, and while other players are throwing the occasional crowd-gathering game, she quietly has been making her spares and keeping under the radar with a solid and consistent performance.
Although Pluhowsky struggled at the end of Tuesday's third round, she has posted 14 games of 200 or better this week and finished the day tied for 10th place with a 3,831 total for 18 games.
With one block remaining before the field is cut to the top 24, Pluhowsky is nearly 250 pins ahead of 24th place. Jasmine Yeong-Nathan of Singapore leads with 4,210, while defending champion Ann-Maree Putney of Australia is second with 4,013.
"Knowing how much I struggled in the last three games today, I was relieved when I saw that I was still only 150 pins out of third place," said Pluhowsky, who shot 517 for her final three games Tuesday. "I just need that one big game to get over the hill. I feel like I've been making the right moves, but there also have been some bad breaks and confusing lane transitions along the way. I changed a couple of ball surfaces for tomorrow, but overall, the game plan is the same. I just want to throw strikes and stay clean."
The right-handed Eoff, a first-time World Cup participant, is leaving nothing to chance and has distanced himself from the rest of the field heading into Wednesday's final qualifying round.
The two-time Team USA member averaged nearly 228 on the way to a 1,366 effort Tuesday night and remains the tournament leader with a 4,156 total for 18 games. Canada's Jack Guay is second with 4,053, and Hussain Al Suwaidi of the United Arab Emirates is third with 4,030.
"The goal right now is to stay on top and get as many pins as I can," Eoff said. "You definitely don't want to give any pins back to the field once you're on top, so I am doing my best not to lose focus. I'm still throwing one or two bad shots each game, but overall, I feel like I'm throwing it well. I'm not sure if my feet are getting fast, or I'm just letting up when I do miss, but that is something I will continue to work on as the week goes on."
After Wednesday's final six-game block, the field will be cut to the top 24 players in each division. All remaining competitors will then bowl eight additional games before the field is cut to the top eight in each division. The top eight will bowl eight games of round-robin match play, after which the top three will advance to the televised stepladder finals.
"I'm excited about having a lead heading into the last day of qualifying, and even though I have thought ahead a little bit, there are still quite a few games left," Eoff said. "Since the ultimate goal is to make it to the top three, I am very happy with where I am. Now, I just have to throw good shots and stay there."
Competition continues Wednesday with the final women's squad at 8 a.m. (10 a.m. Eastern), followed by Eoff's squad at 2 p.m. (4 p.m. Eastern) and the final men's squad at 6 p.m. (8 p.m. Eastern).
The left-handed Pluhowsky, a two-time World Cup champion, has taken the slow and steady approach, and while other players are throwing the occasional crowd-gathering game, she quietly has been making her spares and keeping under the radar with a solid and consistent performance.
Although Pluhowsky struggled at the end of Tuesday's third round, she has posted 14 games of 200 or better this week and finished the day tied for 10th place with a 3,831 total for 18 games.
With one block remaining before the field is cut to the top 24, Pluhowsky is nearly 250 pins ahead of 24th place. Jasmine Yeong-Nathan of Singapore leads with 4,210, while defending champion Ann-Maree Putney of Australia is second with 4,013.
"Knowing how much I struggled in the last three games today, I was relieved when I saw that I was still only 150 pins out of third place," said Pluhowsky, who shot 517 for her final three games Tuesday. "I just need that one big game to get over the hill. I feel like I've been making the right moves, but there also have been some bad breaks and confusing lane transitions along the way. I changed a couple of ball surfaces for tomorrow, but overall, the game plan is the same. I just want to throw strikes and stay clean."
The right-handed Eoff, a first-time World Cup participant, is leaving nothing to chance and has distanced himself from the rest of the field heading into Wednesday's final qualifying round.
The two-time Team USA member averaged nearly 228 on the way to a 1,366 effort Tuesday night and remains the tournament leader with a 4,156 total for 18 games. Canada's Jack Guay is second with 4,053, and Hussain Al Suwaidi of the United Arab Emirates is third with 4,030.
"The goal right now is to stay on top and get as many pins as I can," Eoff said. "You definitely don't want to give any pins back to the field once you're on top, so I am doing my best not to lose focus. I'm still throwing one or two bad shots each game, but overall, I feel like I'm throwing it well. I'm not sure if my feet are getting fast, or I'm just letting up when I do miss, but that is something I will continue to work on as the week goes on."
After Wednesday's final six-game block, the field will be cut to the top 24 players in each division. All remaining competitors will then bowl eight additional games before the field is cut to the top eight in each division. The top eight will bowl eight games of round-robin match play, after which the top three will advance to the televised stepladder finals.
"I'm excited about having a lead heading into the last day of qualifying, and even though I have thought ahead a little bit, there are still quite a few games left," Eoff said. "Since the ultimate goal is to make it to the top three, I am very happy with where I am. Now, I just have to throw good shots and stay there."
Competition continues Wednesday with the final women's squad at 8 a.m. (10 a.m. Eastern), followed by Eoff's squad at 2 p.m. (4 p.m. Eastern) and the final men's squad at 6 p.m. (8 p.m. Eastern).