Pennsylvania bowler rallies to Ruby All-Events lead at 2017 Women's Championships
July 06, 2017
By Scott Simon and Aaron Smith
USBC Communications
BATON ROUGE, La. - Making her 13th United States Bowling Congress Women's Championships appearance, Melissa Hertenberger of Langhorne, Pennsylvania, hoped her trip to the Raising Cane's River Center wouldn't be unlucky.
The 49-year-old left-hander found lady luck on her side in Baton Rouge as she edged her way into the lead in Ruby All-Events on Thursday with a 1,792 total. Stephanie Gill of Baltimore previously held the lead with 1,785.
Hertenberger rolled sets of 634 in singles, 601 in team and 557 in doubles to not only take the all-events lead, but also move into the top five in two additional events.
Hertenberger's singles effort pushed her into third place in Ruby Singles, and her performance in the team event Wednesday helped It's Us of Fords, New Jersey, into fifth place in Emerald Team with a 1,919 total.
Tashia Blue of Hamilton, Ohio, leads Ruby Singles with 653, and Triangle Rollers of Durham, North Carolina, pace Emerald Team with a 1,992 total.
Hertenberger looked ready to make her run at the all-events lead after opening singles with a 199 and 246 start, but she ran into some early trouble in Game 3 after starting with a pair of open frames.
"I really don't know why I struggled in those frames, but I just told myself to let it go," Hertenberger said. "I didn't want to dwell on what happened. I knew I needed to get back to hitting my mark and making my spares."
As she regrouped after the early miscues, Hertenberger filled frames and put herself in position to strike on the first shot of her final frame to secure the top spot. She delivered a strike, and she credited her teammates with helping her throughout her time at the River Center.
Her teammates on It's Us included Willye Lee, Jackie Orr and Cheryl Hickey.
"This is an outstanding group that I bowled with for the first time," said Herternberger, who finished second in Division 1 Team at the 2006 USBC Women's Championships in Reno, Nevada. "There was one I knew, two that I didn't, and what I take away from it is we had a great time together enjoying each other's company. That really helped me bowl well throughout the entire tournament."
Ruby All-Events and Singles includes bowlers with entering averages of 175-189, and Emerald Team consists of four-player teams with combined entering averages of 575-649.
Visit us on Facebook at the official USBC Women's Championships page.
USBC Communications
BATON ROUGE, La. - Making her 13th United States Bowling Congress Women's Championships appearance, Melissa Hertenberger of Langhorne, Pennsylvania, hoped her trip to the Raising Cane's River Center wouldn't be unlucky.
The 49-year-old left-hander found lady luck on her side in Baton Rouge as she edged her way into the lead in Ruby All-Events on Thursday with a 1,792 total. Stephanie Gill of Baltimore previously held the lead with 1,785.
Hertenberger rolled sets of 634 in singles, 601 in team and 557 in doubles to not only take the all-events lead, but also move into the top five in two additional events.
Hertenberger's singles effort pushed her into third place in Ruby Singles, and her performance in the team event Wednesday helped It's Us of Fords, New Jersey, into fifth place in Emerald Team with a 1,919 total.
Tashia Blue of Hamilton, Ohio, leads Ruby Singles with 653, and Triangle Rollers of Durham, North Carolina, pace Emerald Team with a 1,992 total.
Hertenberger looked ready to make her run at the all-events lead after opening singles with a 199 and 246 start, but she ran into some early trouble in Game 3 after starting with a pair of open frames.
"I really don't know why I struggled in those frames, but I just told myself to let it go," Hertenberger said. "I didn't want to dwell on what happened. I knew I needed to get back to hitting my mark and making my spares."
As she regrouped after the early miscues, Hertenberger filled frames and put herself in position to strike on the first shot of her final frame to secure the top spot. She delivered a strike, and she credited her teammates with helping her throughout her time at the River Center.
Her teammates on It's Us included Willye Lee, Jackie Orr and Cheryl Hickey.
"This is an outstanding group that I bowled with for the first time," said Herternberger, who finished second in Division 1 Team at the 2006 USBC Women's Championships in Reno, Nevada. "There was one I knew, two that I didn't, and what I take away from it is we had a great time together enjoying each other's company. That really helped me bowl well throughout the entire tournament."
Ruby All-Events and Singles includes bowlers with entering averages of 175-189, and Emerald Team consists of four-player teams with combined entering averages of 575-649.
Visit us on Facebook at the official USBC Women's Championships page.