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View Full Version : Sandelin takes first-round Senior Queens qualifying lead



onefrombills
04-26-2009, 03:00 AM
RENO, Nev. - Lucy Sandelin of Tampa, Fla., didn't come into the 2009 United States Bowling Congress Senior Queens angry and upset at herself over the "tactical error" she made a year ago in a failed attempt to defend her 2007 Senior Queens title. But she definitely learned a lesson.

Bowling with a sense of purpose Saturday in her bid to advance to the 32-woman match play finals field, the USBC Hall of Famer and 10-time Team USA member fired a Senior Queens record five-game 1,108 total to take the first-round qualifying lead at the National Bowling Stadium. She holds an 83-pin lead over 2000 Senior Queens champion Rose Smith of Las Vegas, who was assigned to bowl on the same lanes.

Karen Smith of San Marcos, Calif., is third with 1,018 and USBC Hall of Famer Dana Miller-Mackie of Albuquerque, N.M., competing in her first Senior Queens, was fourth with 1,004.

"I think I got lucky being paired with Rose," Sandelin said. "She's a really good bowler and we play similar lines. When we changed pairs after each game, the lanes reacted a little different, but we were able to make similar adjustments just by watching each other. Plus the lanes played similar to the way they did in practice, which was a pleasant surprise."

Last year in suburban Detroit, Sandelin was automatically seeded into the three-game, double-elimination match play finals as defending Senior Queens champion. She had an option of bowling the 15 games of qualifying just for practice and to get familiar with the lane conditions, or she could sit out until match play started. She opted to sit back, watch and wait.

"I made a tactical error by deciding to save 15 games of wear and tear on my arm," she said. "I figured I'd get 15 minutes of practice before match play, which would have been enough time to decide what ball I wanted to use, where to stand, etc., but when match play started, the tournament director said we'd only have five minutes of practice instead of 15.

"I guess I should have read the rules," Sandelin confessed. "I'm not saying I would have won the tournament, but I wasted three games trying to figure things out, and that cost me."

Sandelin was eliminated with a 1-2 match play record in 2008, but she learned her lesson and isn't going to waste any opportunities this year.

"This year I have no choice about bowling 15 games," she said. "But I'm confident in the way I'm playing. The key right now is just to get into the match play field. After that, it's a matter of making good shots and letting fate take its course."

The 10th USBC Senior Queens, open to women bowlers ages 50 and older, drew a field of 140 players. After another five games for all players Sunday, the top 50 will advance to a third five-game qualifying round Monday morning to determine the top 31 who will join defending champion Sandy Postma of Lansing, Ill., in the match play finals Monday and Tuesday.

Just for the record, Postma is bowling her optional qualifying-round games in preparation for match play.