2019 PWBA Tour Championship - Breakdown of Match No. 3 and No. 4

By Daniel Farish and Aaron Smith
USBC Communications

RICHMOND, Va.
- The Professional Women's Bowling Association Tour Championship is underway inside the Old Dominion Building at Richmond Raceway, with six first-round matches taking place Monday.

Matches No. 3 and No. 4 will start at 3 p.m. Eastern and be broadcast live on BowlTV.com, featuring Colombia's Clara Guerrero against Josie Barnes of Nashville, Tennessee, and Missy Parkin of Laguna Hills, California, taking on Singapore's Shayna Ng.

The best-of-five format will determine which players advance to Tuesday's second round, while the losers will be eliminated from the fourth and final major of the 2019 PWBA Tour season.

We talked to each player after they completed their practice session at the Old Dominion Building on Sunday to get their thoughts moving into competition.

JosieAndClara_637 
(7) Clara Guerrero vs. (14) Josie Barnes
Q:
What did you see from this week's 40-foot oil pattern during practice?
Guerrero: In the beginning, I encountered a lot of friction. Most likely, I'm expecting to see that tomorrow, but maybe less and less as the week goes on with the lanes being brand new. I was able to play out with firmer speed, and then as I moved left, I had to use stronger equipment and go more around it to try to get the ball to be cleaner through the fronts. Overall, I was able to play them from different angles, so I'm expecting good scores tomorrow.

Barnes: I saw quite a bit of friction, which is OK. A lot of my symmetric balls looked good. Practice (before the match) will be really important, because the second practice session will tighten the lanes up a little bit so we shouldn't see as much friction during the match.

Q: What's your game plan?
Guerrero: I'm hoping to start farther right, maybe around 11-12. I had a couple of shots go farther right than that, like 8-9, but I don't think that would hold very long. As I migrate left, it's going to be more about changing my hand. That's my plan for right now.

Barnes: A lot of it, for me, is what my body tells me to do. My ball speed has been down, with everything going on, so I'll have to see what I'm putting out there and what my body is giving me and adjust accordingly.

Q: Do you give any thought into how your opponent may play the lane or break it down?
Guerrero: Josie is having to throw the ball a little slower, so she'll probably be starting a little bit left of me. She goes around the ball very well, and her A release looked amazing here. She had a good look during practice. I might have to migrate quicker to the left, just because she's going to be left of me. I don't think I'm going to be able to get on top of her line from the beginning, because she's going to be slower and farther to the left, but we'll see how it plays out. But, I have it in my mind that I'm going to have to jump left quicker than I want to.

Barnes: Not a ton, because it's just the two of us. We shouldn't be adding friction, with surface, since there already is a lot of it out there. I'll just pay attention to what my ball is telling me I'm sure I'll be a little farther left than Clara, so I just have to keep on top of my moves.

NgAndParkin_637 
(6) Missy Parkin vs. (11) Shayna Ng
Q: What did you see from this week's 40-foot oil pattern during practice?
Parkin: They are definitely hooking, which is kind of what I expected bowling here the last two years with the same surface. They're scoreable, so it's just a matter of trying to figure out what the scoring pace actually is going to be in match play and go from there with ball selection.

Ng: It got a bit tricky with carry, so I was just looking for the right match up with my bowling balls and the right area to play.

Q: What's your game plan?
Parkin: I have good options, so it depends on what I'm seeing.

Ng: I have about three or four balls in the bag right now as options for tomorrow.

Q: Do you give any thought into how your opponent may play the lane or break it down?
Parkin: I didn't watch her today, but I will be paying attention to what she's doing during the match - where she's breaking them down, what ball she's using and those kind of things.

Ng: I think Missy and I have two different games. She has more turn and tilt, where I'm more forward with roll. I'm guessing she probably has a different game plan than I do. She looked great at practice today, but I think ultimately in bowling, your only opponent is yourself. So I'm just going to come in here and do my own thing, make good shots and pick up my spares.

Shannon O'Keefe of Shiloh, Illinois, and Danielle McEwan of Stony Point, New York, already are seeded into the semifinals, which will take place Wednesday at Richmond Raceway and be broadcast live on CBS Sports Network at 8 p.m. Eastern.

Both O'Keefe and McEwan took part in the official practice session on Sunday.

Shannon100x100(1) Shannon O'Keefe
Q:
What did you see from this week's 40-foot oil pattern during practice?
O'Keefe: I only bowled on 1-2, since that's the TV pair. With this being the first time the pattern has been laid out, the backends were really fresh. I decided to try some stronger stuff to try and smooth out the motion. The heads went away pretty quick, so ball changes may need to happen quicker rather than later.

Danielle100x100(2) Danielle McEwan
Q: What did you see from this week's 40-foot oil pattern during practice?
McEwan: Just like last year, the first practice was flying. It was hooking a lot more than I expected. I'm interested to see if the next practice session helps the lanes settle down a bit. I'm just trying to get a picture of where the oil is out on the lane and keep an open mind moving forward.