LAS VEGAS – Shayna Ng of Singapore captured her first Professional Women’s Bowling Association title, winning the 2018 PWBA Las Vegas Open on Saturday night at South Point Bowling Plaza.
Ng, the No. 2 seed, defeated top seed Diana Zavjalova of Latvia, 231-211, in the championship match. The stepladder finals were streamed live on Xtra Frame, the Professional Bowlers Association’s online bowling channel.
A 28-year-old right-hander, Ng opened the championship match with strikes in the first six out of seven frames, but the match was far from decided. Zavjalova, despite beginning the match with an open frame, stayed patient with spares in frames two through four and then rolled four consecutive strikes.
Trouble struck Ng in the eighth frame, as she left the 4-6-10 split, to give Zavjalova the opportunity to shut out Ng with strikes in the ninth and 10th frames.
But, Zavjalova left the 4-6-7 split in the ninth frame and Ng produced spares in the ninth and 10th to claim her first title.
“It means a lot to me,” said Ng, who led the tournament after the first two rounds of qualifying. “I’ve been on tour for a couple of years now and I’ve made a couple of shows, but I’ve never won anything yet. So, this means a lot to me to win a title of my own and having my own little flag (champion’s banner). It really means a lot to me.”
Ng had a pair of third-place finishes – the 2016 U.S. Women’s Open and, prior to the Tour’s return in 2015, the 2013 United States Bowling Congress Queens – but now has her first victory in the United States.
“With the first two TV shows I made, it was inevitable that one gets nervous,” Ng said. “But, I kept knocking on the door and my chances are coming more and more. When we get used to the nerves, we are able to execute better. But, at the end of the day, it’s not about bowling against your opponent, it’s about bowling against yourself. So, I was just telling myself to stay in the moment. It doesn’t matter what she bowls, as long as I do my best and I execute well. That’s the most important aspect of the game today.”
The Singapore national team has been a constant presence on the PWBA Tour since 2015, with four players each winning one title. Jazreel Tan won the 2015 PWBA Lubbock Sports Open as a non-member, Cherie Tan captured the 2016 PWBA Storm Sacramento Open and 2016 PWBA Rookie of the Year New Hui Fen claimed the 2016 PWBA Tour Championship.
Ng is happy to join her teammates as PWBA champions.
“It definitely ranks near the top,” Ng said. “I’ve won a couple of international titles in Asia and in the World Championships, but I’ve never won on the PWBA. So, this definitely means a lot to me. I’ve seen their names on the flag and I’ve always wanted one myself, so this couldn’t have been better.”
Ng advanced to the title match after defeating USBC Hall of Famer and 26-time PWBA titlist Leanne Hulsenberg of Pleasant View, Utah, 193-167. Hulsenberg was searching for her first title since the relaunch of the PWBA Tour.
Hulsenberg opened the stepladder finals with a 213-202 victory over fellow USBC Hall of Famer and reigning three-time PWBA Player of the Year Liz Johnson of Palatine, Illinois.
Competition this week at the PWBA Las Vegas Open at South Point Bowling Plaza included two eight-game qualifying blocks on Friday to determine the 32 players for Saturday’s Round of 32. An additional eight-game block Saturday morning narrowed the field to 12 players, who bowled six additional games to determine the stepladder finalists.
The 2018 PWBA Tour season continues next week with the PWBA Sonoma County Open at Double Decker Lanes in Rohnert Park, California.
Qualifying and match-play rounds of PWBA Tour events are broadcast on Xtra Frame, which also will be the live-stream home for the stepladder finals of seven standard events.
Go to PWBA.com for more information about the PWBA Tour.
About the PWBA
The Professional Women’s Bowling Association (PWBA) originally was formed in 1960. The PWBA Tour has events throughout the country, offering high-level competition and top prize money for women bowlers. The PWBA is supported by the Bowling Proprietors’ Association of America (BPAA) and the United States Bowling Congress (USBC)
PWBA LAS VEGAS OPEN
At South Point Bowling Plaza, Las Vegas
SATURDAY’S RESULTS
Final standings
1, Shayna Ng, Singapore, 424 (two games), $10,000
2, Diana Zavjalova, Latvia, 211 (one game), $5,000
3, Leanne Hulsenberg, Pleasant View, Utah, 380, (two games), $3,500
4, Liz Johnson, Palatine, Ill., 202, (one game), $3,000
Stepladder results
Match No. 1 – Hulsenberg def. Johnson, 213-202
Semifinal – Ng. def. Hulsenberg, 193-167
Championship – Ng def. Zavjalova, 231-211
ROUND OF 12 (30-game totals; top 4 advance)
1, Diana Zavjalova, Latvia, 6,901. 2, Shayna Ng, Singapore, 6,778. 3, Liz Johnson, Palatine, Ill., 6,742. 4, Leanne Hulsenberg, Pleasant View, Utah, 6,697.
DID NOT ADVANCE
5, Erin McCarthy, Omaha, Neb., 6,666, $2,000. 6, Kayla Bandy, Salisbury, Md., 6,648, $1,950. 7, Shannon O’Keefe, O’Fallon, Ill., 6,639, $1,925. 8, Danielle McEwan, Stony Point, N.Y., 6,627, $1,875. 9, Maria Jose Rodriguez, Colombia, 6,591, $1,800. 10, Daphne Tan, Singapore, 6,535, $1,700. 11, Daria Kovalova, Ukraine, 6,532, $1,650. 12, Joey Yeo, Singapore, 6,531, $1,600.
ROUND OF 32 (24-game totals; top 12 advance)
1, Diana Zavjalova, Latvia, 5,502. 2, Liz Johnson, Palatine, Ill., 5,424. 3, Shayna Ng, Singapore, 5,403. 4, Leanne Hulsenberg, Pleasant View, Utah, 5,364. 5, Shannon O’Keefe, O’Fallon, Ill., 5,352. 6, Kayla Bandy, Salisbury, Md., 5,336.
7, Maria Jose Rodriguez, Colombia, 5,301. 8, Erin McCarthy, Omaha, Neb., 5,282. 9, Daria Kovalova, Ukraine, 5,280. 10, Daphne Tan, Singapore, 5,245. 11, Danielle McEwan, Stony Point, N.Y., 5,238. 12, Joey Yeo, Singapore, 5,236.
DID NOT ADVANCE
13, Bryanna Cote, Red Rock, Ariz., 5,219, $1,300. 14, Jenny Wegner, Sweden, 5,198, $1,300. 15, Liz Kuhlkin, Schenectady, N.Y., 5,158, $1,300. 16, Verity Crawley, England, 5,156, $1,300. 17, Kelly Kulick, Union, N.J., 5,152, $1,250. 18, Bernice Lim, Singapore, 5,138, $1,250.
19, Summer Jasmin, Beckley, W. Va., 5,133, $1,250. 20, T’nia Moore, Greensburg, Pa., 5,114, $1,250. 21, Daria Pajak, Poland, 5,108, $1,200. 22, Brenda Padilla, Mansfield, Texas, 5,090, $1,200. 23, Nina Flack, Sweden, 5,083, $1,200. 24, Shannon Pluhowsky, Dayton, Ohio, 5,070, $1,200.
25, Sarah Germano, Rochester, N.Y., 5,061, $1,150. 26, Rocio Restrepo, Louisville, Ohio, 5,058, $1,150. 27, Karen Marcano, Venezuela, 5,056, $1,150. 28, Josie Barnes, Nashville, Tenn., 5,054, $1,150. 29, Geraldine Ng (n), Singapore, 5,037, $1,100. 30, Cassandra Leuthold, Lincoln, Neb., 4,990, $1,100.
31, Cherie Tan, Singapore, 4,933, $1,100. 32, Tina Williams (n), Phoenix, Ariz., 4,859, $1,100.
FRIDAY’S RESULTS
QUALIFYING (16-game totals; top 32 advance)
1, Shayna Ng, Singapore, 3,640. 2, Diana Zavjalova, Latvia, 3,619. 3, Liz Johnson, Palatine, Ill., 3,585. 4, Leanne Hulsenberg, Pleasant View, Utah, 3,575. 5, Shannon O’Keefe, O’Fallon, Ill., 3,514. 6, Erin McCarthy, Omaha, Neb., 3,507.
7, Bryanna Cote, Red Rock, Ariz., 3,494. 8, Liz Kuhlkin, Schenectady, N.Y., 3,484. 9, Maria Jose Rodriguez, Colombia, 3,483. 10, Karen Marcano, Venezuela, 3,468. 11, Verity Crawley, England, 3,455. 12(tie), Danielle McEwan, Stony Point, N.Y., and Kayla Bandy, Salisbury, Md., 3,446.
14, Geraldine Ng (n), Singapore, 3,445. 15, Rocio Restrepo, Louisville, Ohio, 3,443. 16, Summer Jasmin, Beckley, W. Va., 3,441. 17, Daphne Tan, Singapore, 3,433. 18, Bernice Lim, Singapore, 3,429.
19, Cassandra Leuthold, Lincoln, Neb., 3,428. 20, Brenda Padilla, Mansfield, Texas, 3,416. 21(tie), Daria Kovalova, Ukraine, and Kelly Kulick, Union, N.J., 3,403. 23, Sarah Germano, Rochester, N.Y., 3,399. 24, Joey Yeo, Singapore, 3,383.
25, T’nia Moore, Greensburg, Pa., 3,376. 26, Nina Flack, Sweden, 3,373. 27, Josie Barnes, Nashville, Tenn., 3,372. 28, Daria Pajak, Poland, 3,370. 29, Shannon Pluhowsky, Dayton, Ohio, 3,367. 30, Jenny Wegner, Sweden, 3,362.
31, Cherie Tan, Singapore, 3,353. 32, Tina Williams (n), Phoenix, 3,337.
DID NOT ADVANCE
33, Giselle Poss, Nashville, Tenn., 3,332. 34, Clara Guerrero, Colombia, 3,320. 35, Robyn Renslow, Brentwood, Calif., 3,316. 36, Hui Fen New, Singapore, 3,310. 37, Sydney Brummett, Wichita, Kan., 3,306. 38, Jazreel Tan, Singapore, 3,304. 39, Correen Lieber (n), Issaquah, Wash., 3,302. 40, Urara Himeji (n), Osaka, Japan, 3,288. 41, Missy Parkin, Laguna Hills, Calif., 3,287. 42, Keli Callahan (n), Las Vegas, Nev., 3,282.
43, Tannya Lopez, Monterrey, Mexico, 3,276. 44, Megan Kelly, Dayton, Ohio, 3,271. 45, Taylor Bulthuis (n), Coral Springs, Fla., 3,269. 46, Stefanie Johnson, McKinney, Texas, 3,268. 47, Natalie Cortese, Hoffman Estates, Ill., 3,260. 48(tie), Birgit Poppler, Germany, and Celina Broderick, Wallingford, Conn., 3,259.
50, Sandra Andersson, Sweden, 3,254. 51, Laura Plazas, Columbia, 3,251. 52, Jen Higgins, Westerville, Ohio, 3,248. 53, Lindsay Boomershine, Perry, Utah, 3,247. 54, Jennifer King, Cold Spring, Ky., 3,235.
55, Tracy See (n), Singapore, 3,233. 56, Kerry Smith, New Holland, Pa., 3,228. 57, Lilia Robles, Mexico, 3,227. 58, Paola Limon Trasvina (n), Mexico, 3,224. 59, Ida Andersson, Sweden, 3,222. 60(tie), Jasmine Snell (n), Papillion, Neb., and Pamela Alvarez, San Diego, Calif., 3,216.
62, Tish Johnson, Colorado Springs, Colo., 3,201. 63, Kaleena Henning-Shannon (n), Omaha, Neb., 3,199. 64, Jodi Woessner, Oregon, Ohio, 3,195. 65, Jennifer Sylvia, Tacoma, Wash., 3,189. 66, Rina Sabo (a), Bennett, Colo., 3,187.
67, Katie Zwiefelhofer, Racine, Wis., 3,185. 68, Elysia Current, Ephrata, Pa., 3,182. 69, Elise Bolton, Merritt Island, Fla., 3,181. 70, Bree Macpherson, Australia, 3,177. 71, Shawna Strause (n), Tucson, Ariz., 3,173. 72(tie), Anggie Ramirez-Perea, Austin, Texas, and Brittany Himmelreich, Cressona, Pa., 3,152. 74(tie), Stephanie Casey (n), Yonkers, N.Y., and Jennifer Russo (n), Monmouth Jct., N.J., 3,124. 76, Christina Kinney (n), Las Vegas, Nev., 3,112. 77, Samantha Schaden, Baltimore, Md., 3,099. 78, Sandra Gongora, Mexico, 3,084.
79, Angela Dato (n), Parke, Colo., 3,083. 80, Debbie Ayers, La Mesa, Calif., 3,076. 81, Felicia Wong, Canada, 3,073. 82, Adrianne Barela (n), Las Vegas, 3,063. 83(tie), Kayla Pashina, Minnetonka, Minn., and Ashly Galante, Palm Harbor, Fla., 3,058.
85, Roberta Vann (n), Downey, Calif., 3,032. 86, Jennifer Medon (n), Darien, Ill., 3,029. 87, Caycee Landers, Brockport, N.Y., 3,017. 88, Jill Creamer, Folsom, Calif., 3,011. 89, Stacie Hartsfield (n), San Antonio, Texas, 3,009. 90, Erin Czuprynski, Tinley Park, Ill., 3,002.
91, Amanda Fry, Antelope, Calif., 2,991. 92, Suzette Draper (n), Dumont, N.J., 2,962. 93, Allison Jones, Roseville, Calif., 2,961. 94, Amanda Falk (n), Tucson, Ariz., 2,958. 95, Nichole DePaul-Miller, Baytown, Texas, 2,941. 96, Robin Romeo (n), Newhall, Calif., 2,937.
97, Brandi Calderon (n), Mesa, Ariz., 2,931. 98, Danaka Heekin, Woodinville, Wash., 2,923. 99, Beate Jaeger (n), Germany, 2,922. 100, Virginia Young (n), Vista, Calif., 2,912. 101, Brandy Adams (n), Henderson, Nev., 2,907. 102, Gabby Mayfield, Lake Isabella, Calif., 2,900.
103, Brooke Carroll (n), Scottsdale, Ariz., 2,872. 104, Chelsea Gilliam, Austintown, Ohio, 2,861. 105, Stephani Cooksey (n), Reno, Nev., 2,841. 106, Deanna Carrillo (n), Montebello, Calif., 2,803. 107, Gloria Blair (n), Albuquerque, N.M., 2,777. 108, Cynthia Poletski, West Richland, Wash., 2,769.
109, Madison Cowen (n), Spring Hill, Fla., 2,726. 110, Jenny Scott (n), Sacramento, Calif., 2,716. 111, Andrea Petraglia (n), Las Vegas, 2,619 (WD). 112, Jackie Carbonetto, Clarksville, Tenn., 2,183 (WD).
