First-year bowler takes lead at 2017 USBC Women's Championships

By Scott Simon and Aaron Smith
USBC Communications

BATON ROUGE, La. -
Fresh off her first full season as a member of the United States Bowling Congress, Denise Guthrie of Kinsey, Alabama, decided to take a chance and compete in the 2017 USBC Women's Championships.

The 39-year-old left-hander didn't know what to expect as she headed to the Raising Cane's River Center, but she left the 44-lane venue as the Topaz All-Events leader after posting a 1,367 total for her nine games this week.

After hitting her average during team competition Friday, Guthrie's scores soared during doubles and singles, recording sets of 505 and 499, respectively, to go along with a 363 team effort. Sandra Orchard of Kaysville, Utah, previously held the lead in Topaz All-Events with 1,312.

CogginsGuthrie_250Her 499 singles effort was enough to also move Guthrie into second place in Topaz Singles, and she teamed with Jaymie Coggins of Slocomb, Alabama, to move into a tie for third place in Amethyst Doubles with a 941 combined total.

Alissa Ebneter of Belle Plaine, Minnesota, leads Topaz Singles at the 2017 Women's Championships with 518, and Mary Quintana of Price, Utah, and Lorraine Berryhill of Helper, Utah, lead Amethyst Doubles with 1,009.

Guthrie's decision to start bowling this season was motivated by looking for an activity she and her husband could do together.

"I wanted to find a positive hobby with my husband," Guthrie said. "We just said, 'let's try bowling,' and we liked it."

That same gusto led her to making her Women's Championships debut, and now Guthrie will look to continue to improve her game.

Upon heading back to Kinsey, she will be on the lookout for a USBC-certified coach, while also waiting to see if her score is enough to hold onto the top spot.

Topaz All-Events and Singles includes bowlers with entering averages of 129 and below, and Amethyst Doubles features pairs with combined entering averages of 260-289.

Visit us on Facebook at the official USBC Women's Championships page.