onefrombills
10-06-2008, 12:46 AM
By Lucas Wiseman
USBC Communications
ROMEOVILLE, Ill. - In the first matchup of African-American athletes for a professional title in the history of bowling, Kim Terrell-Kearney of Dover, Del., defeated Trisha Reid of Columbus, Ohio, 216-189, to win the 2008 U.S. Women's Open, a United States Bowling Congress event.
Terrell-Kearney built an early lead and held on to win her second U.S. Women's Open and her third career major title and earned $25,000 for the victory. The event has been featured on a tape-delayed basis by ESPN for five consecutive weeks since Sept. 7.
Only a handful of African-American women, including Terrell-Kearney, and one African-American male have won professional bowling titles. Although she wasn't sure, Terrell-Kearney had a hunch history was being made at Brunswick Zone XL.
"I had a feeling it was the first time something like this had happened," said Terrell-Kearney, who is the head women's bowling coach at historically African-American college Delaware State. "I've had footsteps to follow in, and hopefully I'm providing inspiration for other African Americans out there to pursue their goals in bowling."
In the championship match, Terrell-Kearney struck on four of her first five shots to take a 24-pin lead at the halfway point, while Reid mustered just three strikes in the entire game.
"It's been a great week, and it's really satisfying to reach my goal of 10 career titles," Terrell-Kearney said. "Winning the Open is the pinnacle of most bowlers' careers and to win it twice is amazing."
Terrell-Kearney narrowly advanced to the championship match with a 216-202 victory over USBC Hall of Famer Carolyn Dorin-Ballard of North Richland Hills, Texas. In the dramatic finish, Dorin-Ballard missed a 10 pin in the final frame to open the door for Terrell-Kearney, who earlier in the match missed a 10 pin of her own.
"I knew I couldn't make mistakes against Carolyn, and I feared that miss would cost me even though it happened early in the match," said Terrell-Kearney, who struck on her first ball in the final frame to advance. "It took me a minute to regain my composure after that, but thankfully I did. I was just hoping for an opportunity in the 10th frame and it happened."
Reid moved into the final by defeating Malaysia's Shalin Zulkifli, 237-180, in the other semifinal. Reid pulled ahead after Zulkifli left the 2-4-10 split in the fourth frame and a pocket 7-10 split in the sixth frame.
"It feels great, just awesome, and I'm still overwhelmed," said Reid, who was one of 12 bowlers to earn spots in the PBA Women's Series through qualifying at the U.S. Women's Open this week. "Even though I finished second, I still feel like I won. I really came here to make the top 12 for the Women's Series and everything after that was icing on the cake."
USBC Communications
ROMEOVILLE, Ill. - In the first matchup of African-American athletes for a professional title in the history of bowling, Kim Terrell-Kearney of Dover, Del., defeated Trisha Reid of Columbus, Ohio, 216-189, to win the 2008 U.S. Women's Open, a United States Bowling Congress event.
Terrell-Kearney built an early lead and held on to win her second U.S. Women's Open and her third career major title and earned $25,000 for the victory. The event has been featured on a tape-delayed basis by ESPN for five consecutive weeks since Sept. 7.
Only a handful of African-American women, including Terrell-Kearney, and one African-American male have won professional bowling titles. Although she wasn't sure, Terrell-Kearney had a hunch history was being made at Brunswick Zone XL.
"I had a feeling it was the first time something like this had happened," said Terrell-Kearney, who is the head women's bowling coach at historically African-American college Delaware State. "I've had footsteps to follow in, and hopefully I'm providing inspiration for other African Americans out there to pursue their goals in bowling."
In the championship match, Terrell-Kearney struck on four of her first five shots to take a 24-pin lead at the halfway point, while Reid mustered just three strikes in the entire game.
"It's been a great week, and it's really satisfying to reach my goal of 10 career titles," Terrell-Kearney said. "Winning the Open is the pinnacle of most bowlers' careers and to win it twice is amazing."
Terrell-Kearney narrowly advanced to the championship match with a 216-202 victory over USBC Hall of Famer Carolyn Dorin-Ballard of North Richland Hills, Texas. In the dramatic finish, Dorin-Ballard missed a 10 pin in the final frame to open the door for Terrell-Kearney, who earlier in the match missed a 10 pin of her own.
"I knew I couldn't make mistakes against Carolyn, and I feared that miss would cost me even though it happened early in the match," said Terrell-Kearney, who struck on her first ball in the final frame to advance. "It took me a minute to regain my composure after that, but thankfully I did. I was just hoping for an opportunity in the 10th frame and it happened."
Reid moved into the final by defeating Malaysia's Shalin Zulkifli, 237-180, in the other semifinal. Reid pulled ahead after Zulkifli left the 2-4-10 split in the fourth frame and a pocket 7-10 split in the sixth frame.
"It feels great, just awesome, and I'm still overwhelmed," said Reid, who was one of 12 bowlers to earn spots in the PBA Women's Series through qualifying at the U.S. Women's Open this week. "Even though I finished second, I still feel like I won. I really came here to make the top 12 for the Women's Series and everything after that was icing on the cake."