May 2017 -
7
SERVING THE BOWLING INDUSTRY SINCE 1967
Liz Johnson Top Seed At 2017
USBC Queens
By Aaron Smith
BATON ROUGE, La.
– United States Bowling Con-
gress Hall of Famer Liz Johnson of Deerfield, Illinois,
went undefeated in match play at the 2017 USBC
Queens to earn the top seed for Tuesday’s champion-
ship round.
The stepladder finals will air on CBS Sports Network
on Tuesday at 10 p.m. Eastern, and the winner will take
home the coveted tiara and top prize of $20,000. The
USBC Queens is the first major of the 2017 Profes-
sional Women’s Bowling Association Tour season.
Johnson, a two-time Queens champion, put together a
near-historic run through the double-elimination bracket
at the Raising Cane’s River Center, averaging more
than 237 through her six matches, including a 663-612
win against 2013 Queens winner Diana Zavjalova of
Latvia in the winners bracket final to earn the No. 1
spot. Zavjalova will be the No. 2 seed for the finals.
―I made really good ball choices to start and ball
changes when I needed them throughout my matches,‖
said Johnson, the 2015 and 2016 Professional
Women’s Bowling Association Player of the Year.
―Mentally, I felt really good, and the physical game
came together as well.‖
Johnson is one win away from adding another historic
accomplishment to her storied career. With a victory,
she would become the third bowler to win the Queens
for a third time, joining fellow hall of famers Mildred
Ignizio (1967, 1970, 1971) and Wendy Macpherson
(1988, 2000, 2003).
―It’s going to be tough no matter who I face,‖ said
Johnson, who also rolled the tournament’s only 300
game in her opening-round victory against England’s
Verity Crawley. ―I always go into a match thinking I’m
up against the best bowler in the world, no matter who
it is. That’s always been my mindset, so I’m going to
bowl the best game I can, since that’s all I can do.‖
Singapore’s Jazreel Tan and Cherie Tan and Marissa
Thomas of Louisville, Kentucky, are the No. 3, No. 4
and No. 5 seeds for the stepladder, respectively, after
advancing through a final shootout round Monday.
Jazreel Tan led the round with a 671 series to earn
the third spot. Cherie Tan took the fourth spot with a
611 set, and Thomas edged out Singapore’s Shayna
Ng for the final spot in a dramatic finish, 587-578.
Finishing first, Ng struck on her first delivery of the
10th frame for a double and converted a 7 pin, forcing
Thomas to mark to advance. Thomas left a 3-10 split
on her first offering and covered it to secure the fifth
spot.
A total of 162 bowlers competed in three five-game
blocks of qualifying over three days this week to deter-
mine the 63 competitors who joined defending cham-
pion Bernice Lim of Singapore in the double-elimination
match-play bracket. Lim lost her first two matches Sun-
day and finished in a tie for 49th place.
Each bracket match leading up to the stepladder in-
cluded three games, with total pinfall determining which
player advanced. The televised portion of the event will
be one-game matches.
2017 USBC QUEENS
At Raising Cane’s River Center, Baton Rouge, La.
Monday's Results
MATCH PLAY
Double elimination, three-game matches decided
by total pinfall
ROUND 3 - WINNERS BRACKET
(16) Danielle McEwan, Stony Point, N.Y., def. (64) Jen-
nifer King, Irmo, S.C., 698-595
(57) Marissa Thomas, Louisville, Ky., def. (9) Jamie
Martin, Omaha, Neb., 643-485
(12) Liz Johnson, Deerfield, Ill., def. (5) Liz Kuhlkin,
Schenectady, N.Y., 729-499
(29) Stephanie Schwartz, Racine, Wis., def. (20) Shan-
non O’Keefe, O’Fallon, Ill., 638-542
(19) Daria Kovalova, Wichita, Kan., def. (3) Josie Ear-
nest-Barnes, Nashville, Tenn., 687-661
(54) Diana Zavjalova, Latvia, def. (27) Amanda Fry,
Antelope, Calif., 674-662
(7) Shannon Pluhowsky, Dayton, Ohio, def. (10)
Juliana Franco, Colombia, 697-577
(18) Shayna Ng, Singapore, def. (63) Rocio Restrepo,
Louisville, Ohio, 661-561
ROUND 4 - ELIMINATION BRACKET
(Losers eliminated, earn $1,500)
(51) Daria Pajak, Poland, def. (8) Tish Johnson, Colo-
rado Springs, Colo., 648-568
(49) Jazreel Tan, Singapore, def. (59) Nicole Bower,
Camp Hill, Pa., 680-562
(42) Elysia Current, Ephrata, Pa., def. (61) Aumi
Guerra, Dominican Republic, 594-569
(34) Brittany Smith, Johnston, Iowa, def. (53) Verity
Crawley, England, 643-590
(6) Cherie Tan, Singapore, def. (17) Melissa Van Dyke,
Parma, Ohio, 718-562
(22) Karen Marcano, Venezuela, def. (32) Karen Boyd,
Fort Lauderdale, Fla., 608-541
(52) Clara Guerrero, Pflugerville, Texas, def. (58) New
Hui Fen, Singapore, 650-552
(4) Missy Parkin, Laguna Hills, Calif., def. (37) Jessica
Mellott, Lauderhill, Fla., 700-656
ROUND 4 - WINNERS BRACKET
Thomas def. McEwan, 594-576
Johnson def. Schwartz, 716-688
Zavjalova def. Kovalova, 770-670
Ng def. Pluhowsky, 614-609
ROUND 5 - ELIMINATION BRACKET
(Losers eliminated, earn $1,700)
Kuhlkin def. Pajak, 691-617
J. Tan def. O’Keefe, 652-650
King def. Current, 664-651
Martin def. Smith, 725-611
C. Tan def. Restrepo, 663-616
Marcano def. Franco, 630-508
Guerrero def. Fry, 651-606
Parkin def. Earnest-Barnes, 716-690
ROUND 5 - WINNERS BRACKET
Johnson def. Thomas, 716-545
Zavjalova def. Ng, 681-587
ROUND 6 - ELIMINATION BRACKET
(Losers eliminated, earn $2,000)
J. Tan def. Kuhlkin, 648-562
Martin def. King, 633-581
C. Tan def. Marcano, 680-589
Parkin def. Guerrero, 718-643
ROUND 6 - WINNERS BRACKET
(Winner earns No. 1 seed for Tuesday's CBS Sports
Network finals; loser is No. 2 seed)
Johnson def. Zavjalova, 663-612
ROUND 7 - ELIMINATION BRACKET
(Losers eliminated, earn $2,500)
J. Tan def. Pluhowsky, 692-640
Martin def. Kovalova, 710-606
C. Tan def. Schwartz, 607-514
Parkin def. McEwan, 693-657
ROUND 8 - ELIMINATION BRACKET
(Losers eliminated, earn $2,800)
J. Tan def. Martin, 625-616
C. Tan def. Parkin, 649-603
ROUND 9 - ELIMINATION BRACKET
(Three highest scores advance to CBS Sports Net-
work finals, high score is No. 3 seed, second high
is No. 4, third high is No. 5, lowest score is elimi-
nated, earns $3,000).
J. Tan 671, C. Tan 611, Thomas 587, Ng 578
(L/R) Liz Johnson, Diana Zavjalova, Jazreel Tan,
Cherie Tan and Marissa Thomas
