2019 PWBA Tour Championship – Breakdown of Match No. 1 and No. 2
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.
The first two matches will start at noon Eastern and be broadcast live on BowlTV.com, featuring defending champion Maria José Rodriguez of Colombia taking on Stefanie Johnson of McKinney, Texas, and Jordan Richard of Tecumseh, Michigan, going up against Sweden's Sandra Andersson.
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.
(9) Maria José Rodriguez vs. (12) Stefanie Johnson
Q:What did you see from this week's 40-foot oil pattern during practice?
Rodriguez: A normal 40-foot pattern. I just tried to see which balls looked best, trying to find the shape out there. I also was figuring out the difference between the two lanes, because they always end up being different, and the approaches, trying to get comfortable out there.
Johnson: I saw a lot of friction. I feel the fronts hook here, which is going to make it a little tighter downlane. It is a best-of-five match, so it's more of a sprint. It'll be about who can get their ball to go through the pins the right way.
Q:What's your game plan?
Rodriguez: I've got a few balls I want to start with, and then some for a transition, a third transition or even a fourth transition. I seem to like to go to five games, so I've got to make sure I've got options for that.
Johnson: I plan to have a couple of balls for the transition - some pin down and some pin up. I'm just going to try and make the best shots I can and go from there.
Q:Do you give any thought into how your opponent may play the lane or break it down?
Rodriguez: I always pay attention to it, but bowling Stefanie, I'd like to say that it's in my advantage. But obviously, we don't know how the match is going to go. I'll pay attention to her equipment, if she's using surface, symmetric or asymmetric and go from there.
Johnson: Not necessarily. It's something I pay attention to. I have a feeling she will be left of where I'm going to be playing.
(5) Jordan Richard vs. (16) Sandra Andersson
Q:What did you see from this week's 40-foot oil pattern during practice/what's the game plan?
Richard: I didn't like what I saw from the bigger balls - they were just too aggressive. I'm going to try and stick with some of the mid-range balls and control the shape of the pattern a little more.
Andersson: It hooks quite early, but I feel like you shouldn't get it too far to the right. I'm planning to stay with the smoother balls in my bag and play it pretty straight - not taking the long way to the pocket.
Q:Do you give any thought into how your opponent may play the lane or break it down?
Richard: I've never been one to focus on that, so, no, not really. I thought about it a little bit, but typically Sandra will play farther right early on, so I think I'll be left of her. But, I won't focus on it too much.
Andersson: I know Jordan is going to be farther left than me, so I'm going to try and stay out of trouble. I don't move left often, so I'm going to try and stay as far right as I can.
United States Bowling Congress Hall of Famer Liz Johnson of Palatine, Illinois, receives a first-round bye as the No. 4 seed, and she'll face the winner of the Rodriguez and Stefanie Johnson match on Tuesday.
(4) Liz Johnson
Q:What did you see from this week's 40-foot oil pattern during practice/what's the game plan?
L. Johnson: A lot of friction. Some of the balls I thought would work didn't. I went to some weaker stuff, which allowed me to play straighter and have a better look. Hopefully, that will allow me to finish better than I did last year.
Q:Do you give any thought into how your opponent may play the lane or break it down?
L. Johnson: You have to watch what they're doing, unless they're left-handed. What they do and how the two of us break down the lane will dictate what ball change we make once the transition hits. I never used to pay attention to it, but now, we have to really keep an eye out for it.
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.
The first two matches will start at noon Eastern and be broadcast live on BowlTV.com, featuring defending champion Maria José Rodriguez of Colombia taking on Stefanie Johnson of McKinney, Texas, and Jordan Richard of Tecumseh, Michigan, going up against Sweden's Sandra Andersson.
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.
(9) Maria José Rodriguez vs. (12) Stefanie Johnson
Q:What did you see from this week's 40-foot oil pattern during practice?
Rodriguez: A normal 40-foot pattern. I just tried to see which balls looked best, trying to find the shape out there. I also was figuring out the difference between the two lanes, because they always end up being different, and the approaches, trying to get comfortable out there.
Johnson: I saw a lot of friction. I feel the fronts hook here, which is going to make it a little tighter downlane. It is a best-of-five match, so it's more of a sprint. It'll be about who can get their ball to go through the pins the right way.
Q:What's your game plan?
Rodriguez: I've got a few balls I want to start with, and then some for a transition, a third transition or even a fourth transition. I seem to like to go to five games, so I've got to make sure I've got options for that.
Johnson: I plan to have a couple of balls for the transition - some pin down and some pin up. I'm just going to try and make the best shots I can and go from there.
Q:Do you give any thought into how your opponent may play the lane or break it down?
Rodriguez: I always pay attention to it, but bowling Stefanie, I'd like to say that it's in my advantage. But obviously, we don't know how the match is going to go. I'll pay attention to her equipment, if she's using surface, symmetric or asymmetric and go from there.
Johnson: Not necessarily. It's something I pay attention to. I have a feeling she will be left of where I'm going to be playing.
(5) Jordan Richard vs. (16) Sandra Andersson
Q:What did you see from this week's 40-foot oil pattern during practice/what's the game plan?
Richard: I didn't like what I saw from the bigger balls - they were just too aggressive. I'm going to try and stick with some of the mid-range balls and control the shape of the pattern a little more.
Andersson: It hooks quite early, but I feel like you shouldn't get it too far to the right. I'm planning to stay with the smoother balls in my bag and play it pretty straight - not taking the long way to the pocket.
Q:Do you give any thought into how your opponent may play the lane or break it down?
Richard: I've never been one to focus on that, so, no, not really. I thought about it a little bit, but typically Sandra will play farther right early on, so I think I'll be left of her. But, I won't focus on it too much.
Andersson: I know Jordan is going to be farther left than me, so I'm going to try and stay out of trouble. I don't move left often, so I'm going to try and stay as far right as I can.
United States Bowling Congress Hall of Famer Liz Johnson of Palatine, Illinois, receives a first-round bye as the No. 4 seed, and she'll face the winner of the Rodriguez and Stefanie Johnson match on Tuesday.(4) Liz Johnson
Q:What did you see from this week's 40-foot oil pattern during practice/what's the game plan?
L. Johnson: A lot of friction. Some of the balls I thought would work didn't. I went to some weaker stuff, which allowed me to play straighter and have a better look. Hopefully, that will allow me to finish better than I did last year.
Q:Do you give any thought into how your opponent may play the lane or break it down?
L. Johnson: You have to watch what they're doing, unless they're left-handed. What they do and how the two of us break down the lane will dictate what ball change we make once the transition hits. I never used to pay attention to it, but now, we have to really keep an eye out for it.