onefrombills
10-21-2008, 04:56 AM
SANTIAGO, Chile - Team USA exuded its dominance in the opening event of the 2008 Pan American Bowling Confederation Women's Championships, sweeping the medals Monday in singles.
Liz Johnson of Cheektowaga, N.Y., took the gold medal with 1,482 for six games, an average of 247. Carolyn Dorin-Ballard of North Richland Hills, Texas, won the silver with 1,449, while Lynda Barnes of Double Oak, Texas, earned the bronze with 1,448.
Competing on the opening squad, Johnson got off to a strong start with games of 258, 279 and 224 and finished with 248, 215 and 258. She led from the first game and never looked back.
"I guess it's a little bit of a confidence booster bowling on the short pattern for me," Johnson said. "I had a good shot and made good shots. There's a lot of games to go and it's all about team play right now to just get our feet going and see what happens."
Heading into the final game, Dorin-Ballard was mathematically eliminated from gold medal contention but closed with a 279 game to edge Barnes, who finished with 227.
"This is a great team, and for us to sweep the medals in the opening event is amazing," Dorin-Ballard said. "This puts us off to a good start, but there's a lot of work left to be done. We've all got our eyes on the team gold medal."
Team USA's Kelly Kulick of Union, N.J., just missed earning a medal, finishing seven pins behind Barnes with 1,441. Diandra Asbaty of Chicago totaled 1,338 and finished in 10th place, while Wendy Macpherson of Henderson, Nev., took 29th place with 1,254.
Action next shifts to the doubles event Tuesday with Dorin-Ballard and Johnson pairing up for the morning squad. Kulick and Macpherson are together in the afternoon, and Barnes and Asbaty will take to the lanes in the evening.
The 2008 PABCON Women's Championships features 16 countries from the American Zone competing in singles, doubles, trios, team, Masters and all-events. The top 16 players in the all-events standings after 24 games advance to the Masters match play competition.
Liz Johnson of Cheektowaga, N.Y., took the gold medal with 1,482 for six games, an average of 247. Carolyn Dorin-Ballard of North Richland Hills, Texas, won the silver with 1,449, while Lynda Barnes of Double Oak, Texas, earned the bronze with 1,448.
Competing on the opening squad, Johnson got off to a strong start with games of 258, 279 and 224 and finished with 248, 215 and 258. She led from the first game and never looked back.
"I guess it's a little bit of a confidence booster bowling on the short pattern for me," Johnson said. "I had a good shot and made good shots. There's a lot of games to go and it's all about team play right now to just get our feet going and see what happens."
Heading into the final game, Dorin-Ballard was mathematically eliminated from gold medal contention but closed with a 279 game to edge Barnes, who finished with 227.
"This is a great team, and for us to sweep the medals in the opening event is amazing," Dorin-Ballard said. "This puts us off to a good start, but there's a lot of work left to be done. We've all got our eyes on the team gold medal."
Team USA's Kelly Kulick of Union, N.J., just missed earning a medal, finishing seven pins behind Barnes with 1,441. Diandra Asbaty of Chicago totaled 1,338 and finished in 10th place, while Wendy Macpherson of Henderson, Nev., took 29th place with 1,254.
Action next shifts to the doubles event Tuesday with Dorin-Ballard and Johnson pairing up for the morning squad. Kulick and Macpherson are together in the afternoon, and Barnes and Asbaty will take to the lanes in the evening.
The 2008 PABCON Women's Championships features 16 countries from the American Zone competing in singles, doubles, trios, team, Masters and all-events. The top 16 players in the all-events standings after 24 games advance to the Masters match play competition.