McKendree’s Clemmer takes 2019 Intercollegiate Singles Championships women’s title
April 23, 2019
DAYTON, Ohio – After qualifying for the Intercollegiate Singles Championships television finals, McKendree junior Breanna Clemmer said making the show was one item on her list of goals.
Winning the title also was on that list and Clemmer was able to check off both items, as she captured the title at Poelking Lanes South. The semifinals and title match of the event were televised on CBS Sports Network on Tuesday.
“My family came in and surprised me the other day and it was amazing having them here and my girls here,” Clemmer said, talking about her McKendree teammates. “I’ve been able to check everything off my list so far besides PWBA things, but I still have one more year (at McKendree). It just feels so amazing.”
Clemmer, the 2019 United States Amateur champion, struck on five of her first six shots to open the title match and kept Vanderbilt’s Jordan Newham at bay the rest of the way in taking a 226-194 victory.
Newham had an open frame in the fifth, when she could not convert the 2-4-10, allowing Clemmer to build a 30-pin lead through seven frames. Both players stayed clean the final three frames, each going spare-strike-spare.
“Just telling myself to be brave and know that I can do it, it really helped me to push through those moments of being anxious and being nervous,” Clemmer said.
The ISC title was the third national collegiate title for Clemmer, a member of the Bearcats’ teams that won both the Intercollegiate Team Championships and the NCAA Women’s Bowling Championship in 2017.
In the opening semifinal match, Clemmer slipped past Wichita State senior and Dayton native Sierra Kanemoto in a back-and-forth match. A missed 4-pin spare attempt by Kanemoto in the seventh frame allowed Clemmer to take the lead, but Kanemoto struck in the ninth and Clemmer could only watch as Kanemoto stepped up in the final frame needing a strike-9-spare to advance.
Kanemoto rolled the needed strike, but got seven on her second shot and Clemmer advanced with a 204-202 victory.
“It was really hard; she was throwing it great the whole match,” Clemmer said of Kanemoto. “She’s one of my closest friends and I adore her, so it was hard seeing that happen to her. But, at the same time, I had to focus on the next task at hand.”
In the second semifinal, Newham strung together strikes in the third, fourth and fifth frames to take a 20-pin lead over Karsyn Lukosius of Fairleigh Dickinson. Lukosius then had back-to-back 2-10 splits in the seventh and eighth frames, and could not covert either, as Newham took a 214-183 victory to reach the final.
The 24 women in the 2019 ISC field qualified through one of four sectional events held throughout the country in March. Competition at the national event consisted of six qualifying games to determine seeding for the single-elimination match-play bracket. Bracket matches were three games, with total pinfall determining the winner, until the final rounds, which were one-game matches.
CBS Sports Network will televise the ISC men’s championship rounds on April 30 at 8 p.m. Eastern. The championship matches of the Intercollegiate Team Championships also will be on CBS Sports Network, with the women’s final on May 7 at 8 p.m. Eastern and the men’s final airing May 14 at 8 p.m. Eastern.
BowlTV.com provided live coverage of the events leading up to the televised finals.
Visit BOWL.com/ISC for more information on the Intercollegiate Singles Championships.
2019 INTERCOLLEGIATE SINGLES CHAMPIONSHIPS
At Poelking Lanes South, Dayton, Ohio
WOMEN’S SEMIFINALS
Breanna Clemmer, McKendree def. Sierra Kanemoto, Wichita State, 204-202
Jordan Newham, Vanderbilt def. Karsyn Lukosius, Fairleigh Dickinson, 214-183
WOMEN’S FINAL
Clemmer def. Newham, 226-194
Winning the title also was on that list and Clemmer was able to check off both items, as she captured the title at Poelking Lanes South. The semifinals and title match of the event were televised on CBS Sports Network on Tuesday.
“My family came in and surprised me the other day and it was amazing having them here and my girls here,” Clemmer said, talking about her McKendree teammates. “I’ve been able to check everything off my list so far besides PWBA things, but I still have one more year (at McKendree). It just feels so amazing.”
Clemmer, the 2019 United States Amateur champion, struck on five of her first six shots to open the title match and kept Vanderbilt’s Jordan Newham at bay the rest of the way in taking a 226-194 victory.
Newham had an open frame in the fifth, when she could not convert the 2-4-10, allowing Clemmer to build a 30-pin lead through seven frames. Both players stayed clean the final three frames, each going spare-strike-spare.
“Just telling myself to be brave and know that I can do it, it really helped me to push through those moments of being anxious and being nervous,” Clemmer said.
The ISC title was the third national collegiate title for Clemmer, a member of the Bearcats’ teams that won both the Intercollegiate Team Championships and the NCAA Women’s Bowling Championship in 2017.
In the opening semifinal match, Clemmer slipped past Wichita State senior and Dayton native Sierra Kanemoto in a back-and-forth match. A missed 4-pin spare attempt by Kanemoto in the seventh frame allowed Clemmer to take the lead, but Kanemoto struck in the ninth and Clemmer could only watch as Kanemoto stepped up in the final frame needing a strike-9-spare to advance.
Kanemoto rolled the needed strike, but got seven on her second shot and Clemmer advanced with a 204-202 victory.
“It was really hard; she was throwing it great the whole match,” Clemmer said of Kanemoto. “She’s one of my closest friends and I adore her, so it was hard seeing that happen to her. But, at the same time, I had to focus on the next task at hand.”
In the second semifinal, Newham strung together strikes in the third, fourth and fifth frames to take a 20-pin lead over Karsyn Lukosius of Fairleigh Dickinson. Lukosius then had back-to-back 2-10 splits in the seventh and eighth frames, and could not covert either, as Newham took a 214-183 victory to reach the final.
The 24 women in the 2019 ISC field qualified through one of four sectional events held throughout the country in March. Competition at the national event consisted of six qualifying games to determine seeding for the single-elimination match-play bracket. Bracket matches were three games, with total pinfall determining the winner, until the final rounds, which were one-game matches.
CBS Sports Network will televise the ISC men’s championship rounds on April 30 at 8 p.m. Eastern. The championship matches of the Intercollegiate Team Championships also will be on CBS Sports Network, with the women’s final on May 7 at 8 p.m. Eastern and the men’s final airing May 14 at 8 p.m. Eastern.
BowlTV.com provided live coverage of the events leading up to the televised finals.
Visit BOWL.com/ISC for more information on the Intercollegiate Singles Championships.
2019 INTERCOLLEGIATE SINGLES CHAMPIONSHIPS
At Poelking Lanes South, Dayton, Ohio
WOMEN’S SEMIFINALS
Breanna Clemmer, McKendree def. Sierra Kanemoto, Wichita State, 204-202
Jordan Newham, Vanderbilt def. Karsyn Lukosius, Fairleigh Dickinson, 214-183
WOMEN’S FINAL
Clemmer def. Newham, 226-194