CHERIE TAN WINS 2022 PWBA BOWLTV CLASSIC
By Emil Williams Jr.
ROCKVILLE CENTRE, N.Y. – Singapore’s Cherie Tan parlayed a dominant match-play performance into her third career Professional Women’s Bowling Association Tour title on Friday night.
The 34-year-old left-hander defeated Colombia’s Clara Guerrero, 237-213, to win the PWBA BowlTV Classic at Maple Lanes.
Tan collected the $10,000 top prize for her first win of the 2022 PWBA Tour season. The BowlTV Classic was broadcast live on BowlTV.com.
In the title match, Tan, the No. 1 seed, began with three consecutive strikes against Guerrero and looked much like she did during the earlier match-play rounds. Guerrero opened with a strike and followed with two consecutive eight-count spares before striking again in the fourth frame. She remained clean but would not strike again until the eighth frame and posted her first double of the game in the eighth and ninth frames.
Tan added a double in fifth and sixth frame, followed by a 7 pin she converted in the seventh frame for a 34-pin advantage. She tossed another double in the eighth and the ninth, which forced Guerrero to strike out in the 10th to keep her chances of winning alive. Guerrero notched the first strike in the 10th but couldn’t strike on the second shot to give Tan the victory.
“It’s great to win and be back in the winner’s circle,” said Tan, who won for the third time as the top seed. “I’ve been feeling pretty good about my game, so I think this is validation that I’m going in the right direction.”
Tan entered this morning’s match play rounds in 11th but flipped the script once match play began. She made the biggest jump in the standings after dominating her way to an 11-1 record, on the strength of two six-game sets of 1,398 and 1,404, an average of 233.5.
“I think it was more of getting comfortable with the shape and the reaction,” Tan said. “And, fine tuning the surfaces on my equipment to match up to the pattern, because I had 12 games to slowly figure it out. My teammates and my coach also suggested I try a different area during practice, and it looked really good, so I carried on with it.”
Tan, along with her Team Singapore teammates, are in the United States to compete in this week’s Classic Series and next week’s U.S. Women’s Open in South Glens Falls, New York. Tan was the runner-up to Josie Barnes of Hermitage, Tennessee, at last year’s event, in which Barnes earned $100,000 for the win, the richest prize in women’s bowling history. The team includes Shayna Ng, New Hui Fen and her sister, Daphne Tan.
Guerrero advanced to the title match by defeating Shannon O’Keefe of Shiloh, Illinois, 216-204. Both players were clean throughout the match, but O’Keefe could not apply pressure in the 10th frame, allowing Guerrero to advance. Guerrero was making her second championship-round appearance while O’Keefe was making her third.
In Match 2, Guerrero defeated Daphne Tan, 217-173. Guerrero proved to be too much throughout the match, and an open in the 10th frame by Daphne sealed her fate.
In the opening match, Daphne defeated Julia Bond of Aurora, Illinois, 228-226. The two players traded four-baggers early, but Daphne had the lead after a missed 2-4-5 spare conversion in the first frame. The match came down to the 10th frame when Bond needed to strike on her first shot to advance, but she left a 10 pin on her first shot.
Both Bond and Daphne were making their first championship-round appearances.
The Long Island Classic Series features three events — the Long Island Classic, BowlTV Classic and BVL Classic.
The Long Island Classic and BowlTV Classic featured the same format. Each event featured 12 games of qualifying to determine the top 12 players for round-robin match play. At the conclusion of match play, the top five athletes, based on total pinfall and bonus pins, advanced to the stepladder finals.
Liz Kuhlkin of Schenectady, New York, won her third career title at the Long Island Classic, defeating Bryanna Coté of Tucson, Arizona, in the title match, 192-190.
The top 24 athletes based on their combined qualifying totals for the Long Island Classic and BowlTV Classic (24 games) determined the advancers to the BVL Classic.
Pinfall will drop at the beginning of the BVL Classic, with all advancers bowling three eight-game blocks of round-robin match play Saturday and Sunday. The top five competitors, based on total pinfall and bonus pins, will advance to the stepladder finals.
The finals of the BVL Classic will be broadcast Sunday at 5 p.m. Eastern on CBS Sports Network, with the winner earning a $10,000 top prize.Bond, Guerrero, O’Keefe and Daphne Tan qualified for the BVL Classic.
For more information on the PWBA, visit PWBA.com.
2022 PWBA Long Island Classic
At Maple Lanes
Rockville Centre, N.Y.
Friday’s results
FINAL STANDINGS
1, Cherie Tan, Singapore, 237 (one game), $10,000.
2, Clara Guerrero, Colombia, 646 (three games), $5,000.
3, Shannon O’Keefe, Shiloh, Ill., 204 (one game), $3,500.
4, Daphne Tan, Singapore, 401 (two games), $2,500.
5, Julia Bond, Aurora, Ill., 226 (one game), $2,000.
STEPLADDER RESULTS
Match No. 1 – D. Tan def. Bond, 228-226.
Match No. 2 – Guerrero def. D. Tan, 217-173.
Semifinal – Guerrero def. O’Keefe, 216-204.
Championship – C. Tan def. Guerrero, 237-213.
MATCH PLAY
(24 games, 30 bonus pins for a win, 15 bonus pins for a tie)
1, Cherie Tan, Singapore, 11-1-0, 5,624. 2, Shannon O’Keefe, Shiloh, Ill., 9-3-0, 5,481. 3, Clara Guerrero, Colombia, 7-5-0, 5,397. 4, Julia Bond, Aurora, Ill., 7-5-0, 5,286. 5, Daphne Tan, Singapore, 7-4-1, 5,284.
DID NOT ADVANCE
6, Lauren Pate, Ballwin, Mo., 6-5-1, 5,225, $1,750. 7, Lindsay Boomershine, Brigham City, Utah, 5-7-0, 5,084, $1,650. 8, Liz Johnson, Niagara Falls, N.Y., 5-7-0, 5,073, $1,600. 9, Josie Barnes, Hermitage, Tenn., 5-7-0, 5,070, $1,550. 10, Dasha Kovalova, Ukraine, 4-8-0, 4,977, $1,500. 11, Verity Crawley, England, 3-9-0, 4,903, $1,450. 12, Marcia Kloempken (n), Pleasant View, Utah, 3-9-0, 4,741, $1,400.
O’KEEFE IN CONTROL AFTER FIRST DAYOF 2022 PWBA BOWLTV CLASSIC
By Emil Williams Jr.
ROCKVILLE CENTRE, N.Y. – Shannon O’Keefe of Shiloh, Illinois, grabbed the overall lead after two rounds of qualifying and will lead the field into match play at the 2022 Professional Women’s Bowling Association BowlTV Classic.
O’Keefe was excellent throughout the day and used a pair of steady six-game blocks to average more than 226 to help surpass Colombia’s Clara Guerrero, who held the lead after this morning’s opening round.
O’Keefe finished with a 2,719 total and was followed by Guerrero (2,669), Lauren Pate of Ballwin, Missouri (2,581), Liz Johnson of Niagara Falls, New York (2,568), and Josie Barnes of Hermitage, Tennessee (2,561).
The top 12 players after Thursday’s second round advanced to Friday’s match-play rounds, with Marcia Kloempken of Pleasant View, Utah, claiming the final spot with a total of 2,511, an average of 209.25.
The BowlTV Classic presented a different challenge on the lanes with a 50-foot lane condition across the house at Maple Lanes. The pattern seemed to produce some additional friction, which O’Keefe had to migrate to find the right combination.
“I was trying to be really soft-handed with it at the bottom, so when it would see the friction, it wouldn’t want to just check off of it,” said O’Keefe, who owns 15 career PWBA Tour titles. “My moves all day were just to keep it in front of me and feel like I’m rolling it over my left toe. Where I actually got into trouble was down on the low end. We got quite a bit farther left much quicker tonight, which is normal, but I did not bring my eyes with me as quickly as I needed to. So, my angles just got a little bit too open for a few frames. Fortunately, I was able to dial it in and bail out 190. But, it was a great day.”
Friday’s match-play rounds will consist of six games starting at 9 a.m. Eastern, and an additional six games of match play at 2 p.m. Eastern. Players will earn 30 bonus pins for each win, 15 bonus pins for a tie and zero bonus pins for a loss. The top five players, based on total pinfall for 24 games and bonus pins, will advance to the stepladder finals.
The stepladder will take place at 7 p.m. Eastern and be broadcast live at BowlTV.com. The champion will earn $10,000.
O’Keefe’s performance this week also allowed her to secure the top spot in the upcoming PWBA BVL Classic. The top 24 athletes based on their combined qualifying totals for the Long Island Classic and BowlTV Classic (24 games) determined the advancers to the BVL Classic.
O’Keefe’s BVL Classic qualifying total was 5,217, which was 183 pins higher than second place. She averaged 217.38 for 24 games.
Sydney Brummett of Fort Wayne, Indiana, was next with 5,034, while Guerrero (5,022), Ukraine’s Dasha Kovalova (5,017) and Singapore’s New Hui Fen (4,977) round out the top five.
Mexico’s Sandra Gongora fired games of 267 and 279 during her final two games of qualifying Thursday at the BowlTV Classic to earn the final spot in the BVL Classic. She finished with a 24-game total of 4,769, an average of 198.71.
Pinfall will drop at the beginning of the BVL Classic, with all advancers bowling three eight-game blocks of round-robin match play Saturday and Sunday. The top five competitors, based on total pinfall and bonus pins for each victory, will advance to Sunday’s stepladder finals.
The finals of the BVL Classic will be broadcast Sunday at 5 p.m. Eastern on CBS Sports Network, with the winner earning a $10,000 top prize.
For more information on the PWBA, visit PWBA.com.
2022 PWBA BowlTV Classic
At Maple Lanes
Rockville Centre, N.Y.
Thursday’s results
QUALIFYING
(12 games)
1, Shannon O’Keefe, Shiloh, Ill., 2,719. 2, Clara Guerrero, Colombia, 2,669. 3, Lauren Pate, Ballwin, Mo., 2,581. 4, Liz Johnson, Niagara Falls, N.Y., 2,568. 5, Josie Barnes, Hermitage, Tenn., 2,561. 6, Dasha Kovalova, Ukraine, 2,545.
7, Daphne Tan, Singapore, 2,535. 8, Lindsay Boomershine, Brigham City, Utah, 2,531. 9, Julia Bond, Aurora, Ill., 2,524. 10, Verity Crawley, England, 2,514. 11, Cherie Tan, Singapore, 2,512. 12, Marcia Kloempken (n), Pleasant View, Utah, 2,511.
DID NOT ADVANCE
13, New Hui Fen, Singapore, 2,505, $1,200. 14, Sandra Gongora, Mexico, 2,486, $1,200. 15, Sydney Brummett, Fort Wayne, Ind., 2,478, $1,200. 16, Shalin Zulkifli, Malaysia, 2,475, $1,200. 17, Jordan Richard, Maumee, Ohio, 2,474, $1,200. 18, Shayna Ng, Singapore, 2,469, $1,200.
19, Bryanna Coté, Tucson, Ariz., 2,440, $1,200. 20, Missy Parkin, San Clemente, Calif., 2,436, $1,200. 21, Danielle McEwan, Stony Point, N.Y., 2,432, $1,200. 22, Kerry Smith, Lititz, Pa., 2,428, $1,200. 23, Maria Bulanova, Russia, 2,425, $1,200. 24, Maria José Rodriguez, Colombia, 2,416, $1,200.
25, Cajsa Wegner, Sweden, 2,400, $1,200. 26, Shannon Pluhowsky, Dayton, Ohio, 2,386, $1,000. 27, Ashly Galante, Palm Harbor, Fla., 2,385, $1,000. 28(tie), Birgit Noreiks, Germany, and Stefanie Johnson, McKinney, Texas, 2,377. 30, Rocio Restrepo, Uniontown, Ohio, 2,373.
31, Jen Higgins, Lewis Center, Ohio, 2,371. 32, Gazmine Mason, Cranston, R.I., 2,366. 33, Taylor Bailey, Jonesboro, Ark., 2,362. 34, Diana Zavjalova, Latvia, 2,355. 35, Stephanie Zavala, Downey, Calif., 2,352. 36, Stephanie Schwartz, Racine, Wis., 2,340.
37, Olivia Farwell, Elizabethtown, Pa., 2,339. 38, Elysia Current, Middletown, Del., 2,328. 39, Breanna Clemmer, Clover, S.C., 2,326. 40, Alexis Neuer, Milton, Pa., 2,320. 41, Kasey Eaton (n), Wyoming, Mich., 2,318. 42, Anneli Blomqvist, Sweden, 2,308.
43, Daria Pajak, Poland, 2,303. 44, Felicia Wong, Canada, 2,294. 45, Josefin Hermansson (n), Sweden, 2,291. 46, Kristen Derr (n), Sunbury, Pa., 2,287. 47(tie), Danielle Merino (n), College Point, N.Y., and Mallory Clark, Auburn, Maine, 2,278.
49, Courtney Ermisch, Big Bend, Wis., 2,272. 50, Liz Kuhlkin, Schenectady, N.Y., 2,258. 51, Jennifer Russo, Monmouth Junction, N.J., 2,256. 52, Jenny Wegner, Sweden, 2,253. 53, Kayla Bandy, Wichita, Kan., 2,251. 54, Stephanie Casey (n), Yonkers, N.Y., 2,236.
55, Jenna Rapach (n), Hazleton, Pa., 2,232. 56, Wendy Bartaire-Jimenez, France, 2,227. 57, Chelsey Klingler, Grand Rapids, Mich., 2,213. 58, Sarah Klassen, Canada, 2,206. 59, Anna Andersson (n), Sweden, 2,187. 60, Elizabeth John (n), Astoria, N.Y., 2,186.
61, Hayley Connelly (n), Hazlet, N.J., 2,184. 62, Melanie McDaniel, Joliet, Ill., 2,180. 63(tie), Jennifer Hocurscak, Orange, Conn., and Marissa Allison, Sylvania, Ohio, 2,178. 65(tie), Brooke Allen, Potosi, Wis., and Summer Jasmin, Beckley, W.Va., 2,162.
67, Kayla Crawford, Silvis, Ill., 2,157. 68, Brianna Andrew, Grand Rapids, Mich., 2,155. 69, Kaylene Bishop, Medical Lake, Wash., 2,143. 70, Samantha Morlack (n), Amityville, N.Y., 2,139. 71, Estefania Cobo, Puerto Rico, 2,122. 72, Justyne Vukovich, New Stanton, Pa., 2,121.
73, Lisa Timm, Auburn, Ill., 2,086. 74, Heather D’Errico, Rochester, N.Y., 2,084. 75, Victoria Johansson, Sweden, 2,077. 76, Mattie Brandos (n), Brookfield, Wis., 2,072. 77, Hayley Dann, Dayton, Ohio, 2,056. 78, Melissa Kammerer, Staten Island, N.Y., 2,048.
79, Sandra Maresca (n), Mamaroneck, N.Y., 2,012. 80, Genese Cowart-Headen, Yonkers, N.Y., 1,990. 81, Erica Gershkowitz (n), Oceanside, N.Y., 1,906.
