Montana bowler ties Sapphire lead at USBC Women's Championships
April 28, 2016
LAS VEGAS - Few things in the sport of bowling are more exciting than rolling your highest series, and Theresa Sroczyk of East Helena, Montana, was able to feel that excitement Wednesday at the 2016 United States Bowling Congress Women's Championships as she moved into a tie for first place in Sapphire Singles.
The 51-year-old left-hander rolled games of 221, 210 and 140 to match the 571 effort posted by Denise Caldwell of Ostrander, Minnesota.
After her strong start, Sroczyk was hoping to record her first 600 set. She ran into some struggles early in her final game as the nerves crept in, but she converted the 4-7 combination in her final frame to give herself the opportunity to tie Caldwell's score with a strike on her fill ball, and she delivered.
"I have never thrown that many strikes before," said Sroczyk, who regularly bowls at Helena's Sleeping Giant Lanes. "I was picking up my spares, too. Then I started thinking about getting my first 600, and the wheels kind of fell off. I was in complete shock to find out I tied for the lead. I didn't think that was possible."
Sroczyk bowled in her first USBC Women's Championships at the 2003 event in Reno, Nevada, but moved from Nebraska back to Montana and did not return to the world's largest participatory sporting event for women until last year.
She was asked to join a group that featured eight teams from Helena in 2015 and six in 2016, and Sroczyk was excited to be able to share the moment with her teammates and friends in her third tournament appearance.
"We just come out to have a good time," Sroczyk said. "There's about 25 of us from Helena who came down to make it weekend. There are some really good bowlers in our group, so to have them come up and congratulate me is great. It'd be amazing if it was enough to win."
Sapphire Singles features bowlers with entering averages of 145-159.
Visit us on Facebook at the official USBC Open/Women's Championships page.
The 51-year-old left-hander rolled games of 221, 210 and 140 to match the 571 effort posted by Denise Caldwell of Ostrander, Minnesota.
After her strong start, Sroczyk was hoping to record her first 600 set. She ran into some struggles early in her final game as the nerves crept in, but she converted the 4-7 combination in her final frame to give herself the opportunity to tie Caldwell's score with a strike on her fill ball, and she delivered.
"I have never thrown that many strikes before," said Sroczyk, who regularly bowls at Helena's Sleeping Giant Lanes. "I was picking up my spares, too. Then I started thinking about getting my first 600, and the wheels kind of fell off. I was in complete shock to find out I tied for the lead. I didn't think that was possible."
Sroczyk bowled in her first USBC Women's Championships at the 2003 event in Reno, Nevada, but moved from Nebraska back to Montana and did not return to the world's largest participatory sporting event for women until last year.
She was asked to join a group that featured eight teams from Helena in 2015 and six in 2016, and Sroczyk was excited to be able to share the moment with her teammates and friends in her third tournament appearance.
"We just come out to have a good time," Sroczyk said. "There's about 25 of us from Helena who came down to make it weekend. There are some really good bowlers in our group, so to have them come up and congratulate me is great. It'd be amazing if it was enough to win."
Sapphire Singles features bowlers with entering averages of 145-159.
Visit us on Facebook at the official USBC Open/Women's Championships page.