North Carolina bowler leads Emerald All-Events at 2016 WC
May 09, 2016
LAS VEGAS - Kathi Finley of New Bern, North Carolina, celebrated Mother's Day by calling her sons to let them know she moved into the lead in Emerald All-Events at the 2016 United States Bowling Congress Women's Championships.
The 56-year-old right-hander averaged nearly 210 during her doubles and singles competition Sunday to coast into the lead with a 1,788 nine-game total. Rexiene Smith of Tampa, Florida, previously held the lead with 1,690.
Finley rolled sets of 635 in doubles, 624 in singles and 529 in team to reach her leading total at the South Point Bowling Plaza. She struck on 16 of 19 attempts as she finished doubles and transitioned into singles, resulting in games of 265 and 245, which also helped her into the top three in Emerald Doubles and Emerald Singles.
Finley paired with Amy Miller of Newport, North Carolina, to move into second in doubles with 1,135, and her singles effort helped her into third place.
Kitty Cody of Citrus Heights, California, and Chris Mahana of Eagle, Idaho, lead Emerald Doubles with 1,167, while Patsy Northey of Cambridge, Wisconsin, set the bar in Emerald Singles with 631.
"This was so exciting," said Finley, who made her second USBC Women's Championships appearance. "My teammates tried to keep me calm and just kept talking to me, so I wouldn't think about all of the strikes."
Even more exciting for Finley was getting to call her sons, Shawn and Aaron, after she finished on the championship lanes to let them know the good news.
"They're both really good bowlers who have 300 rings and average more than 200," Finley said. "They texted me this morning, since they knew I was getting ready to bowl, and they were really excited for me."
Sunday's performance also tells Finley her game is heading in the right direction after having shoulder surgery in November.
Although the recovery has taken time, she now gets to experience a different kind of wait as she hopes her score is enough to stay at the top of the leaderboard until the 2016 Women's Championships concludes July 11.
"I really didn't start bowling again until March, and it's been difficult," Finley said. "The doctor said I would be a lot better with time, and I guess I proved it today. I never thought I'd be doing this or bowling this well, so it's very exciting. I hope the score sticks."
Emerald All-Events features bowlers with entering averages of 160-174.
Visit us on Facebook at the official USBC Open/Women's Championships page.
The 56-year-old right-hander averaged nearly 210 during her doubles and singles competition Sunday to coast into the lead with a 1,788 nine-game total. Rexiene Smith of Tampa, Florida, previously held the lead with 1,690.
Finley rolled sets of 635 in doubles, 624 in singles and 529 in team to reach her leading total at the South Point Bowling Plaza. She struck on 16 of 19 attempts as she finished doubles and transitioned into singles, resulting in games of 265 and 245, which also helped her into the top three in Emerald Doubles and Emerald Singles.
Finley paired with Amy Miller of Newport, North Carolina, to move into second in doubles with 1,135, and her singles effort helped her into third place.
Kitty Cody of Citrus Heights, California, and Chris Mahana of Eagle, Idaho, lead Emerald Doubles with 1,167, while Patsy Northey of Cambridge, Wisconsin, set the bar in Emerald Singles with 631.
"This was so exciting," said Finley, who made her second USBC Women's Championships appearance. "My teammates tried to keep me calm and just kept talking to me, so I wouldn't think about all of the strikes."
Even more exciting for Finley was getting to call her sons, Shawn and Aaron, after she finished on the championship lanes to let them know the good news.
"They're both really good bowlers who have 300 rings and average more than 200," Finley said. "They texted me this morning, since they knew I was getting ready to bowl, and they were really excited for me."
Sunday's performance also tells Finley her game is heading in the right direction after having shoulder surgery in November.
Although the recovery has taken time, she now gets to experience a different kind of wait as she hopes her score is enough to stay at the top of the leaderboard until the 2016 Women's Championships concludes July 11.
"I really didn't start bowling again until March, and it's been difficult," Finley said. "The doctor said I would be a lot better with time, and I guess I proved it today. I never thought I'd be doing this or bowling this well, so it's very exciting. I hope the score sticks."
Emerald All-Events features bowlers with entering averages of 160-174.
Visit us on Facebook at the official USBC Open/Women's Championships page.