Opening ceremony kicks off 2018 PABCON Women's Championships

SANTO DOMINGO, Dominican Republic - Competitors, coaches, supporters and bowling fans gathered Monday at Sebelen Bowling Center for the official start of the 2018 Pan American Bowling Confederation Women's Championships.

The festivities included the traditional march of teams into the 22-lane venue, kind words from PABCON dignitaries, the player oath and authentic Dominican entertainment.

2018PABCONWomensTeamsForWeb250x140The field this week will feature 51 competitors representing nine countries - Bahamas, Brazil, Canada, Colombia, Costa Rica, Dominican Republic, Guatemala, Puerto Rico and the United States.

Competition officially starts Tuesday with six games of singles, and medals also will be awarded in doubles, trios, team, all-events and Masters match play.

The Team USA squad includes Sydney Brummett of Fort Wayne, Indiana; Liz Kuhlkin of Schenectady, New York; Missy Parkin of Laguna Hills, California; Shannon Pluhowsky of Dayton, Ohio; Jordan Richard of Tecumseh, Michigan; and Shannon O'Keefe of Shiloh, Illinois.

Team USA (men and women combined) has been dominant at past PABCON events, winning 275 total medals, 164 more than Mexico, which is second on the medal table with 111.

At the 2016 PABCON Adult Championships, which brought both the men's and women's teams to Cali, Colombia, the Team USA women came away with nine medals, including gold medals in singles (Parkin), trios (O'Keefe, Pluhowsky and Josie Barnes) and Masters (Pluhowsky).2018PABCONWomensTeamUSAForWeb465x262

Colombia is the defending champion in the team event, and the team's roster will include 2018 PWBA Tour Championship winner Maria Jose Rodriquez, Juliana Franco, Laura Plazas and PWBA standouts Clara Guerrero, Anggie Ramirez Perea and Rocio Restrepo. Guerrero and Restrepo also are the reigning doubles champions.

For more information, or to follow the scores from the PABCON Women's Championships, visit PABCON.org.