2019 PWBA Tour Championship - Breakdown of Match No. 5 and No. 6
September 16, 2019
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. 5 and No. 6 will start at 6 p.m. Eastern and be broadcast live on BowlTV.com, featuring Liz Kuhlkin of Schenectady, New York, against Singapore's Cherie Tan, and Shannon Pluhowsky of Dayton, Ohio, taking on Bryanna Coté of Red Rock, Arizona.
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.
(8) Liz Kuhlkin vs. (13) Cherie Tan
Q: What did you see from this week's 40-foot oil pattern during practice?
Kuhlkin: They looked pretty similar to last year. I think there are two ways to play the lanes - you can either play the friction to the right and go up it. Someone like myself, I'm able to play farther left. I'll throw some symmetrical balls that roll through the front.
Tan: The lanes were rather different - left to right and pair to pair - so it' a matter of adapting.
Q: What's your game plan?
Kuhlkin: I have four balls I feel pretty good with. I'm drilling two new ones to fill some gaps in the bag, and it might be a bit of an overload, but it's the last tournament of the year. You have one match to win. It's better to be safe than sorry.
Tan: I tried quite a few balls, and I think urethane looked really good. So, I'll start off with it Monday and see if it plays the same. If not, I'll switch back to my reactive equipment.
(10) Shannon Pluhowsky vs. (11) Bryanna Coté
Q: What did you see from this week's 40-foot oil pattern during practice/what's your game plan?
Pluhowsky: My thoughts on the oil pattern after practice was that there is potential for high games, and then as they transition you have to make moves quickly. Spares will be key. My game plan entering is trying a couple of urethane balls to see how they roll, and if they're different from yesterday, throw some of the more aggressive ones to smooth out the transition.
Coté: I definitely saw that they are a little bit flatter than last year. I think last year, overall, just hooked more. I remember the whole lane just hooking, and spare balls were flying. I think you're going to want something to control the pocket and keep it in front of you, then migrate from there depending on who you're bowling.
Ukraine's Dasha Kovalova is the No. 3 seed this week at Richmond Raceway and received a first-round bye. She'll face the winner of the Pluhowsky/Coté match on Tuesday.
(3) Dasha Kovalova
Q: What did you see from this week's 40-foot oil pattern during practice?
Kovalova: It hooks down the lane more, but the farther we go, it's going to get tighter in the middle as it starts to hook early.
Q: Do you give any thought into how your opponent may play the lane or break it down?
Kovalova: I'll watch the matches Monday to get an idea of what the lanes are doing. I pay attention to my opponents, yes, but I'm mostly paying attention to how many boards I can miss on the lane and where I can miss on the lane.
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. 5 and No. 6 will start at 6 p.m. Eastern and be broadcast live on BowlTV.com, featuring Liz Kuhlkin of Schenectady, New York, against Singapore's Cherie Tan, and Shannon Pluhowsky of Dayton, Ohio, taking on Bryanna Coté of Red Rock, Arizona.
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.
(8) Liz Kuhlkin vs. (13) Cherie Tan
Q: What did you see from this week's 40-foot oil pattern during practice?
Kuhlkin: They looked pretty similar to last year. I think there are two ways to play the lanes - you can either play the friction to the right and go up it. Someone like myself, I'm able to play farther left. I'll throw some symmetrical balls that roll through the front.
Tan: The lanes were rather different - left to right and pair to pair - so it' a matter of adapting.
Q: What's your game plan?
Kuhlkin: I have four balls I feel pretty good with. I'm drilling two new ones to fill some gaps in the bag, and it might be a bit of an overload, but it's the last tournament of the year. You have one match to win. It's better to be safe than sorry.
Tan: I tried quite a few balls, and I think urethane looked really good. So, I'll start off with it Monday and see if it plays the same. If not, I'll switch back to my reactive equipment.
(10) Shannon Pluhowsky vs. (11) Bryanna Coté
Q: What did you see from this week's 40-foot oil pattern during practice/what's your game plan?
Pluhowsky: My thoughts on the oil pattern after practice was that there is potential for high games, and then as they transition you have to make moves quickly. Spares will be key. My game plan entering is trying a couple of urethane balls to see how they roll, and if they're different from yesterday, throw some of the more aggressive ones to smooth out the transition.
Coté: I definitely saw that they are a little bit flatter than last year. I think last year, overall, just hooked more. I remember the whole lane just hooking, and spare balls were flying. I think you're going to want something to control the pocket and keep it in front of you, then migrate from there depending on who you're bowling.
Ukraine's Dasha Kovalova is the No. 3 seed this week at Richmond Raceway and received a first-round bye. She'll face the winner of the Pluhowsky/Coté match on Tuesday.
(3) Dasha KovalovaQ: What did you see from this week's 40-foot oil pattern during practice?
Kovalova: It hooks down the lane more, but the farther we go, it's going to get tighter in the middle as it starts to hook early.
Q: Do you give any thought into how your opponent may play the lane or break it down?
Kovalova: I'll watch the matches Monday to get an idea of what the lanes are doing. I pay attention to my opponents, yes, but I'm mostly paying attention to how many boards I can miss on the lane and where I can miss on the lane.