6
- JULY 2014
SERVING THE BOWLING INDUSTRY SINCE 1967
Colombia’s Rodriguez
Wins 2014 USBC Queens
RENO, Nev. -
Maria Jose Rodriguez of Colombia out-
lasted two-time United States Bowling Congress
Queens champion Kelly Kulick of Union, N.J., to win the
2014 event, presented by Storm, in a dramatic 190-189
finish at the National Bowling Stadium on Thursday.
Rodriguez, a 25-year-old right-hander and former col-
legiate standout at Maryland Eastern Shore, missed the
2-4-5-8 combination in her final frame, but Kulick still
was forced to throw a double in order to become the
third player in history with three USBC Queens titles.
Kulick hadn't struck since the fourth frame of the
championship match and was coming off a 7-10 split in
the ninth fame. The 37-year-old right-hander, who won
the Queens in 2007 and 2010, left a 10 pin on her first
shot in the 10th frame, handing Rodriguez the title.
"I couldn't believe it," said Rodriguez, who earned the
$20,000 first-place prize and coveted Queens tiara. "I
opened, and I still won. I wanted everything to be per-
fect, and it wasn't, but it turned out exactly how I hoped
it would. I am so happy right now."
Rodriguez cruised through match play this week on
the way to a 5-0 record, despite struggling early when
the lanes were freshly oiled. As the top seed for the
stepladder finals, there already had been three matches
before she took to the championship lanes, so she was
able to get into her comfort zone and play deeper on
the 39-foot oil pattern.
"I tried to follow the transition while I was practicing
and while I was watching on the TV," said Rodriguez,
who helped UMES to three national championships
from 2008-2011. "I knew I would be able to play my A-
game, and that was important. You never know with
Kelly, though. She's a great bowler. She was having
trouble carrying the 10 pin, but it could've gone either
way at the end."
With the win, Rodriguez became the second consecu-
tive foreign-born player to wear the Queens tiara. Last
year, Diana Zavjalova of Latvia became the first foreign
player since 1989 to win.
Kulick, who was looking to join USBC Hall of Famers
Millie Ignizio and Wendy Macpherson as the only three-
time Queens winners, averaged 257 in her first three
matches, but was unable to strike in her final six
frames. She also finished second at the Queens in
2001 and 2009. This time, she earned $10,000 as the
runner-up.
In the semifinal, three consecutive splits in the first
four frames left second-seeded Tannya Roumimper of
Indonesia 55 pins behind and unable to recover as Ku-
lick cruised to a 248-137 victory.
Kulick advanced to the semifinal with a 268-209 win
against Jennifer Higgins of Westerville, Ohio. Kulick
started the match with seven consecutive strikes before
a 2 pin ended her run and her shot at an additional
$10,000 from Storm Bowling Products. Higgins strug-
gled with carry throughout the game and finished fourth
for the second year in a row.
In the day's opening match, Kulick and Missy Parkin of
Laguna Hills, Calif., were even halfway through the
game, but Kulick pulled away, posting strikes in seven
of the first eight frames on the way to a 255-220 win
over the 2011 Queens champion.
The Queens is open to all female USBC members,
and this year's event featured 178 players from 11
countries, vying for the major title and top prize from the
more than $91,000 prize fund, which included a
$20,000 contribution by presenting sponsor Storm.
2014 USBC QUEENS
At National Bowling Stadium Reno, Nev.
Thursday's results
CHAMPIONSHIP ROUND
Match 1
Kelly Kulick, Union, N.J., def. Missy Parkin, Laguna
Hills, Calif., 255-220 (Parkin finishes fifth, earns $3,000)
Match 2
Kulick def. Jennifer Higgins, Westerville, Ohio, 268-209
(Higgins finishes fourth, earns $4,000)
Match 3
Kulick def. Tannya Roumimper, Indonesia, 248-137
(Roumimper finishes third, earns $6,000)
Match 4
Maria Jose Rodriguez, Colombia, def. Kulick, 190-189
(Kulick finishes second, earns $10,000; Rodriguez fin-
ishes first, earns $20,000)
Higgins and Parkin both found their way back into the
spotlight through a shootout round that included the last
four players in the elimination bracket. All four bowled
three games on the same pair of lanes, and total pinfall
determined the three who would advance to the step-
ladder.
Higgins, who is making her second consecutive
Queens TV show, led the way with a 736 series and
was followed by two-time Queens winner Kelly Kulick of
Union, N.J., (703) and Parkin (689). The fourth bowler
in the shootout was 2009 Queens champion Liz John-
son of Cheektowaga, N.Y., who shot 589 and was
eliminated, giving her a sixth-place finish.
The 2014 Queens featured 178 players vying for the
major title and top prize from the more than $91,000
prize fund, which includes a $20,000 contribution by
presenting sponsor Storm.
The 24-year-old right-hander entered the final five
games of qualifying Monday with a 49-pin advantage
over the 178-player field and posted games of 204,
260, 190, 268 and 236 for a 1,158 third-round effort.
She finished qualifying with a 15-game total of 3,484, a
232.27 average.
Team USA's
Brittni Hamilton
of Wood Ridge,
N.J
High
Qualifier.
Robin Romeo wins 2014
USBC Senior Queens
By Matt Cannizzaro & Aaron Smith
RENO, Nev. -
United States Bowling Congress Hall
of Famer Robin Romeo of Newhall, Calif., made her
way through the stepladder finals to capture the cov-
eted tiara at the 2014 USBC Senior Queens presented
by Storm on Thursday.
The 57-year-old right-hander defeated fellow hall of
famer and top seed Tish Johnson of Colorado Springs,
Colo., 241-188, to take home the $3,500 top prize at
the National Bowling Stadium. It was her first victory in
more than 30 years of USBC Queens and Senior
Queens competition.
Romeo opened Thursday's stepladder finals with a
217-191 victory over USBC Hall of Famer and defend-
ing champion Lucy Sandelin of Tampa, Fla. She then
bested 2011 Senior Queens champion Paula Vidad of
Sun City, Calif., 234-191, to set up the meeting with
Johnson, who was the No. 1 seed for the second con-
secutive year.
"I knew I had a pretty good shot and was comfortable
with where I was playing," said Romeo, who finished
third at the 1980 Queens. "Sometimes, when you have
to win a few matches to make it to the title match, you
have to treat each match separate. Once I got through
the first one, I calmed down and felt pretty good after
that."
The final match was tightly-contested until the sev-
enth frame, when Johnson left the 4-6-10 split and was
unable to convert it. As she stepped up for her final
frame, Johnson still had the chance to put pressure on
Romeo, but a 7-10 split gave Romeo the win and
Johnson her second runner-up finish in her three Sen-
ior Queens appearances. Johnson earned $2,000 for
the effort.
"I knew Tish was going to give it her all in the ninth
and 10th frames," said Romeo, who won the 2012
Bowling's U.S. Senior Women's Open, also at the
NBS. "I was prepared to have to strike out to win. It
was a very emotional moment. I've been bowling for a
long time, and there are certain titles you really work
hard for. It's pretty awesome, and it makes me feel
good."
Romeo nearly didn't participate in the Senior Queens
after having surgery on her left thumb, but she was
able to start practicing at the beginning of June. Prior
to the Senior Queens, she stopped at the nearby Reno
-Sparks Convention Center to compete at the 2014
USBC Women's Championships and teamed with fel-
low hall of famer Jeanne Naccarato of Tacoma, Wash.,
to take the lead in Division 1 Doubles.
"I had surgery on my left thumb, and it was a six-
month recovery," Romeo said. "Even though it's my left
hand, I wasn't able to hold the ball because it hadn't
healed. I only had a couple of weeks to practice and
was planning on going home after Nationals, but I felt
good and was bowling well, and everyone back home
told me to stay and bowl."
(Continued on page 9)
