6
- August 2016
SERVING THE BOWLING INDUSTRY SINCE 1967
2016 USBC Mixed Comes
To A Close In Las Vegas
LAS VEGAS –
The 2016 United States
Bowling Congress Mixed concluded its
second run alongside the USBC Women’s
C h a m p i o n s h i p s o n S u n d a y .
The USBC Mixed, which made its debut in
2015 at the National Bowling Stadium in
Reno, Nevada, kicked off April 10 and fea-
tured four-player mixed team (two men and
two women), mixed doubles (one man and
one woman) and open singles competition.
Mixed team events were held at the new
South Point Bowling Plaza, while doubles
and singles were contested at the South
Point Bowler Center. Both are located at
the South Point Hotel and Casino.
The divisional structure at The Mixed mir-
rors the format at the Women’s Champion-
ships and includes four average-based
divisions for the team event and six divi-
sions for doubles and singles. All standings
are unofficial and pending final verification.
Go Bears of Benicia, California, set the
bar in Division 1 Team, averaging nearly
220 as a team May 23 for a 2,639 total.
Led by five-time Professional Bowlers
Association Tour titlist Michael Fagan’s 746
series, Go Bears improved each game at
the Bowling Plaza, using scores of 826,
867 and 946 to secure the lead.
Fagan was joined by Shannon Sellens
(664), Bryan O’Keefe (664) and Marcia
Kloempken (565).
Larry Trenn Jr. of Aurora, Colorado, used
a 278 game in his final game May 20 to
push his way into the lead in Division 1
Singles with a 745 total. Trenn added 222
and 245.
Melissa Peters of Henderson, Nevada,
and Adam Ishman of Las Vegas cruised
into the Division 1 Doubles lead July 3 with
a 1,461 total at the South Point Bowling
Center. Ishman paced the effort with a 751
se t , and Pe t e r s added 710 .
Justin Sloan of Saddle Brook, New Jer-
sey, also left his mark by rolling the first
perfect game in Mixed history June 27,
wh i l e c ompe t i ng i n doub l e s .
The Mixed will follow the Women’s Cham-
pionships to Baton Rouge, Louisiana, in
2017. Team, doubles and singles competi-
tion for the 2017 Mixed will be held at All
Star Lanes and run from April 24-July 9.
2016 USBC MIXED CHAMPIONSHIPS
At South Point Bowling Plaza and South
Point Bowling Center, Las Vegas
(Top 5 division leaders with hometown & pin-
fall) As of July 10, 2016 NOTE: All standings
are unofficial and pending final verification.
TEAM Division 1
(For bowlers with combined averages of
725 and above)
1, Go Bears (Shannon Sellens, Marcia
Kloempken, Bryan O’Keefe, Michael Fagan),
Benicia, Calif., 2,639. 2,
StrikeCityPS, South Amboy, N.J., 2,600. 3
(tie), Lodge Lanes Mixed, Tonganoxie, Kan.,
and BowlersMart, Henderson, Nev., 2,594. 5,
Who’s Right or Left, Land O' Lakes, Fla.,
2,575.
Division 2
(For bowlers with combined averages of
650-724)
1, Peanut Buttercups (Johnny Harper, Kim
Harper, Brittany Harper, Gabe Graham),
Rainsville, Ala., 2,231. 2, No Doubt, Vallejo,
Calif., 2,207. 3, LC in LV, Las Cruces, N.M.,
2,145. 4, Rice Bowling Center, Stuttgart, Ark.,
2,136. 5, F O C U S, Las Vegas, 2,129.
Division 3
(For bowlers with combined averages of
575-649)
1, The Xpress (Bruce McLeod, Michelle
Rhines, Sharon McLeod, Jeffrey Washing-
ton), Charlotte, N.C., 2,047. 2, Just Bowl-Roll
Strike, Campbell, Calif., 2,010. 3, Knuckles
Deep, Cleo-Springs, Okla., 1,971. 4, Just For
Fun 1, Bonney Lake, Wash., 1,956. 5, 4xs Da
Trouble, Fayetteville, N.C., 1,953.
Division 4
(For bowlers with combined averages of
574 and below)
1, Slotters (Tammy Snyder, Cindra Harbaugh,
Gregg Snyder, Brad Harbaugh), Somerset,
Pa., 1,752. 2, Texas Strike Force, Mineral
Wells, Texas, 1,715. 3, Rock Mountain High
3, Loveland, Colo., 1,673. 4, A Samwich, Las
Cruces, N.M., 1,605. 5, Take The Nine, Uni-
versity Park, Ill., 1,593.
DOUBLES Division 1
(For bowlers with combined averages of
380 and above)
1, Melissa Peters, Henderson, Nev./Adam
Ishman, Las Vegas, 1,461. 2, Marcia Kloemp-
ken, Pleasant View, Utah/Steve Smith, San
Diego, 1,381. 3, Diana Jessie, Euless, Texas/
Anthony Lavery-Spahr, Little Elm, Texas,
1,373. 4, Brandy Sanderson, Bossier City,
La./Michael Williams, Montgomery, Ala.,
1,362. 5, Kandace Little/Samuel Norman,
Bronx, N.Y., 1,350.
(Continued on page 10)
Liz Johnson wins 2016
PWBA Las Vegas Open
By
LAS VEGAS -
Reigning
Player
of the Year Liz Johnson of Cheekto-
waga, New York, wasted no time putting
in her bid for a second consecutive POY
honor as she defeated top seed Shan-
non Pluhowsky of Dayton, Ohio, to win
the 2016
Johnson said she's been struggling with spares early in the 2016 PWBA sea-
son, but filling frames ultimately was her key to success in a 195-172 win
against Pluhowsky at The Orleans Bowling Center.
The USBC Hall of Famer spared seven times for her third consecutive clean
game of the night, and that was just enough to hold off Pluhowsky, the lone left-
hander on the show, who had back-to-back opens frames early in the title
match.
"I had a great feeling coming into today," said Johnson, a 15-time PWBA
champion, including four major titles. "It feels like as the weeks have pro-
gressed, I've gotten stronger physically and overcome some spare issues. To-
day, I bowled three clean games, and I was pretty happy about that. With the
last match being so low-scoring, it was really important to fill my frames and
just make the shots."
Johnson, 42, earned her spot in the championship match with a 237-186 win
over Mexico's Sandra Gongora. A ball change helped Johnson battle the transi-
tion of the 39-foot oil pattern early in the game, and she was able to take the
lead for the first time with a double in the seventh and eighth frames. Johnson
closed the match with six consecutive strikes.
"I had a really good look the first game, but I started hitting that transition, and
the oil started carrying down," Johnson said. "I didn't want to move left because
I thought I'd get a little too much push, so I went to an earlier ball and tried to
just keep the shots more in front of me, which I ended up not doing so well the
last game against Shannon."
In the opening match of the PWBA Las Vegas Open stepladder, Johnson
struck in four of her first five frames to build a 32-pin lead at the halfway point
and went on to outdistance Colombia's Rocio Restrepo, 237-204.
Johnson, who has battled knee problems in recent years, has seen some limi-
tations in her signature knee bend, which she always has considered her
strength, but it has not slowed her down.
She also opened the 2015 PWBA season, the organization's first year of op-
eration since 2003, with a victory, claiming her second USBC Queens title, and
she went on to add wins at the PWBA Detroit Open and the Bowlmor AMF U.S.
Women's Open to secure the player of the year award.
"We have 10 more weeks, and hopefully there's a few more TV shows and
wins out there for me," Johnson said. "To win this early, I'm hungry to keep
winning. I'm feeling good physically and mentally, and I'm just going to keep
digging as much as I can. I just turned 42, and that's been a good number so
far. Hopefully, I can get even stronger as the season goes on."
For more information on the PWBA, visit
PWBA Las Vegas Open
At The Orleans Bowling Center, Las Vegas
Final standings
1, Liz Johnson, Cheektowaga, N.Y., 669 (three games), $10,000
2, Shannon Pluhowsky, Dayton, Ohio, 172 (one game), $5,000
3, Sandra Gongora, Mexico, 186 (one game), $3,500
4, Rocio Restrepo, Louisville, Ohio, 204 (one game), $3,000
