6
- January 2017
SERVING THE BOWLING INDUSTRY SINCE 1967
WHERE ARE THEY NOW?
2011 CUSBC Star of Tomorrow Anthony Rose is
Awarded Two Big Honors From Expedia
By: Bette Addington - California Bowling Writers
Las Vegas, NV—On December 6
th
, at the annual
Expedia Awards Ceremony held at the Bellagio, former
CA youth standout bowler and State Star of Tomorrow,
Anthony Rose received ―2016 Market Associate of the
Year‖ and ―Market Associate Influencer of the Year for
2016!‖ Congratulations are in order as both are huge
honors for Rose, who has been employed with Expe-
dia in Las Vegas for three years. Rose began employ-
ment with Expedia right after he graduated from UNLV.
Rose still has time to bowl in leagues and competes
in the Budweiser Scratch Invitational league, which is
the largest scratch league in Vegas of which his team
placed first last season,
on Tuesday nights at
The Orleans.
(Tony Rose, on right is
Daniel Wathen (Director
of Market Management,
Gaming) on left.
Two awards received
Kulick Defends Title At
Championships
By Matt Cannizzaro
ARLINGTON, Texas -
Team USA's Kelly Kulick has
been one of the world's most consistent performers
over the last two seasons, but she has struggled to
cash in on her championship opportunities.
That all changed Friday as she successfully defended
her title at the World Bowling Singles Championships,
defeating 2016 Professional Women's Bowling Associa-
tion Rookie of the Year New Hui Fen of Singapore, 214-
195, at the Qatar Bowling Center in Doha, Qatar.
The final ended in dramatic fashion, with Kulick convert-
ing the 4-9 split in the ninth frame but chopping the 6-10
combination in the 10th to give New a chance to steal
the victory with two strikes and eight pins. New left a 10
pin on the first offering of her final frame.
Kulick, a 39-year-old right-hander, earned the gold
medal for the win, while New, a 24-year-old right-
hander, took home the silver medal for the runner-up
effort.
"I've had a dry spell the last two years when it came to
final matches, and my confidence has been a little
shaky," said Kulick, who won the inaugural World Sin-
gles Championships in Cyprus in 2012. "I'm over the
moon with this victory and being able to hold this title
for another four years. Defending your title is always a
challenge, especially as the competition continues to
get stronger."
The road to Friday's semifinals included 28 games over
five days, but the unique format kept the players on
their toes all week.
After 12 games of qualifying, the field was cut to the
top 32 women and top 32 men, who were broken up
into groups of eight within their respective divisions.
Each group bowled eight more games, and the bowlers
earned a point for each competitor they beat each
game. The top two point-earners in each group then
advanced to the third step of the tournament, which
used the same point-based format and determined the
four bowlers in each category for the semifinals.
Kulick qualified 17th with a 203.83 average for 12
games but improved to 224.62 on the way to the semifi-
nals, where she was joined by teammate Shannon Plu-
howsky and Singapore's duo of New and Shayna Ng.
Kulick dispensed of Ng, 216-172, and New earned her
spot in the title tilt with a 238-237 win over Pluhowsky.
Ng and Pluhowsky tied for third and each earned
bronze medals.
The win capped a successful, but frustrating run for
Kulick, who has battled a severe ankle injury in 2016
and is winless in a PWBA-best 10 championship-round
appearances over the last two seasons.
Last year also ended well for Kulick, who claimed two
gold medals (doubles and team) and one bronze medal
(trios) at the 2015 World Bowling Women's Champion-
ships in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates.
"This is more than satisfying, and, honestly, it's almost
a relief," Kulick said. "I've started to second guess some
things, but I continue to work hard and always try to
improve. I really needed this to reassure who I am and
know what I'm doing is right."
On the men's side Friday in Qatar, Denmark's Jesper
Agerbo topped Malaysian left-hander Rafiq Ismail, 256-
205, to claim the men's title.
Agerbo gained momentum throughout the week,
sneaking into the cut to the top 32 by four pins and
eventually earning the top seed for the semifinals,
where he downed Joonas Jahi of Finland, 234-168.
Ismail defeated Hong Kong's Michael Mak in the other
semifinal, 235-224.
Team USA's Chris Via, the leading qualifier on the
men's side through 12 games, finished seventh this
week, while teammate John Janawicz bowed out after
Step 2, finishing fifth among his group of eight Thurs-
day.
Bryan O'Keefe, who also coached Team USA to a
successful run at the 2016 Pan American Bowling Con-
federation Adult Championships in September, was
happy to have helped Kulick bounce back from a slow
start this week.
"It's a world-championship event, and to come away
with a gold medal, half of the gold medals this week, is
a great feeling, especially with how the week went for
Kelly," O'Keefe said. "She struggled, by her standards,
the first part of the week trying to get the ball to do the
right things. We came up with a new game plan when
she made the cut, and it worked. She was doing some-
thing no other girl in the field was doing. To see her
come through is why she's one of the best in the world
and probably will go down as one of the best ever."
The 2016 World Singles Championships included 134
players from 50 countries, including 81 and 53 women.
The event capped a successful year for Team USA
and for O'Keefe as a coach.
"It was a blast stepping in and being a part of the
World Singles Championships," said O'Keefe, a USBC
Gold coach. "I think everybody had a good time, Qatar
was a great host and I think we represented ourselves
well."
2016 WORLD BOWLING SINGLES CHAMPIONSHIPS
At Qatar Bowling Center, Doha, Qatar
Friday's results
WOMEN
CHAMPIONSHIP
(Winner earns gold, loser gets silver)
Kelly Kulick, United States, def. New Hui Fen, Singapore,
214-195
SEMIFINALS
(Winners advance, losers tie for bronze)
Kulick def. Shayna Ng, Singapore, 216-172
New def. Shannon Pluhowsky, United States, 238-237
MEN
CHAMPIONSHIP
(Winner earns gold, loser gets silver)
Jesper Agerbo, Denmark, def. Rafiq Ismail, Malaysia, 256-205
SEMIFINALS
(Winners advance, losers tie for bronze)
Agerbo def. Joonas Jahi, Finland, 234-168
Ismail def. Michael Mak, Hong Kong, 235-224
