Team USA pairs qualify first and third in women's doubles at IBF World Senior Championships
December 11, 2023
(From left to right: Dana Ausec, Tish Johnson, Sharon Powers and Jodi Woessner)
CALI, Colombia – Four medals will be awarded in the women’s doubles competition at the 2023 International Bowling Federation 2023 World Senior Championships, and Team USA bowlers will be taking home two of them.
That’s because Dana Ausec and Tish Johnson – both of Colorado Springs, Colorado – qualified first, and Sharon Powers of Lakewood, Colorado, and Jodi Woessner of Oregon, Ohio, placed third during Sunday’s six-game qualifying block contested at Cali’s sports complex.
Ausec and Johnson paced the 22-team field with a six-game total of 2,560 thanks to 1,290 from Ausec (242, 216, 215, 230, 205 and 182) and 1,270 from Johnson (197, 224, 199, 226, 211 and 213).
That effort allowed Ausec and Johnson to finish 22 pins ahead of Italy’s Monica Di Paolantonio and Elga Biagia Di Benedetto, who qualified second with a score of 2,538.
Team USA’s Powers and Woessner were third at 2,352, which left Italy’s Alessandra Morra and Paola Barison to claim the fourth and final spot in the semifinals thanks to a 2,288 total.
Those four duos are all guaranteed no worse than a bronze medal, but each will be gunning for gold when women’s doubles semifinal action gets underway Tuesday morning at 10 a.m. Eastern.
Both matchups will pit Team USA against Italy with Ausec and Johnson taking on Morra and Barison in one semifinal while Powers and Woessner face Di Paolantonio and Di Benedetto in the other.
The two winning squads will advance to the gold-medal match while the two teams that fall will take home bronze medals.
That means that the possibility of an all-Team USA final is still alive in women’s doubles just as it is in singles thanks to Ausec finishing third and Woessner fourth during women’s singles qualifying on Friday.
Considering the fact that Ausec and Woessner are both Team USA rookies, and the World Senior Championships is their debut tournament, some onlookers may find it somewhat surprising that both have locked up two medals in their first two events.
It doesn’t come as a surprise to Ausec, however; after all, that was the plan all along.
“It’s amazing, but this is what we all came here to do,” Ausec said. “We just evaluate our goals each step of the way. Our first one was to get to the medal round, and now that we have, we’re all going to be rooting one another on and hoping to get that all-USA final in both singles and doubles.”
Johnson will be hoping for that and that she can continue the improved execution that helped her and Ausec get to the top of the qualifying standings on Sunday.
“I played the lanes a little bit better today; I used my head instead of my feet,” Johnson jokingly said. “It feels awesome to be assured a medal. I’ve been in this position quite often, but it’s good to do it with a friend of mine and the people that we’re with.”
Powers felt the same way about securing a medal while partnered with Woessner.
“I’ve always looked up to Jodi (Woessner), so to advance to the semifinals and get a medal while bowling with her makes this experience even more special,” Powers said.
For Woessner, Sunday’s round was about controlling what she could control and helping Powers stay positive after a slow start.
“I just focused on making good shots and trying to keep Sharon (Powers) in it and her head high,” Woessner said. “I took advantage of the good pairs when I saw them, and Sharon came back from the rough start, and here we are.”
With their spots in the semifinals secured, the Team USA women will have the chance to relax and cheer on their teammates during Monday’s two rounds of men’s doubles qualifying, which will begin at 8 a.m. and 1 p.m. Eastern.
The American duos will pair together Chris Barnes of Denton, Texas, and John Janawicz of Winter Haven, Florida, and Parker Bohn III of Jackson, New Jersey, and Tom Hess of Granger, Iowa.
Hess, the reigning World Senior Championships men’s singles gold medalist, will be looking to continue the momentum that propelled him to a third-place finish and semifinal berth during men’s singles qualifying on Saturday.
The 2023 World Senior Championships started with official practice sessions on Dec. 7 and will end with the men’s and women’s team finals and a farewell dinner on Dec. 14.
Livestreaming coverage and updated standings are available by visiting worldseniors2023.com.
For more information on Senior Team USA, visit BOWL.com/Team-USA/Team-USA-Senior-Bowling.
CALI, Colombia – Four medals will be awarded in the women’s doubles competition at the 2023 International Bowling Federation 2023 World Senior Championships, and Team USA bowlers will be taking home two of them.
That’s because Dana Ausec and Tish Johnson – both of Colorado Springs, Colorado – qualified first, and Sharon Powers of Lakewood, Colorado, and Jodi Woessner of Oregon, Ohio, placed third during Sunday’s six-game qualifying block contested at Cali’s sports complex.
Ausec and Johnson paced the 22-team field with a six-game total of 2,560 thanks to 1,290 from Ausec (242, 216, 215, 230, 205 and 182) and 1,270 from Johnson (197, 224, 199, 226, 211 and 213).
That effort allowed Ausec and Johnson to finish 22 pins ahead of Italy’s Monica Di Paolantonio and Elga Biagia Di Benedetto, who qualified second with a score of 2,538.
Team USA’s Powers and Woessner were third at 2,352, which left Italy’s Alessandra Morra and Paola Barison to claim the fourth and final spot in the semifinals thanks to a 2,288 total.
Those four duos are all guaranteed no worse than a bronze medal, but each will be gunning for gold when women’s doubles semifinal action gets underway Tuesday morning at 10 a.m. Eastern.
Both matchups will pit Team USA against Italy with Ausec and Johnson taking on Morra and Barison in one semifinal while Powers and Woessner face Di Paolantonio and Di Benedetto in the other.
The two winning squads will advance to the gold-medal match while the two teams that fall will take home bronze medals.
That means that the possibility of an all-Team USA final is still alive in women’s doubles just as it is in singles thanks to Ausec finishing third and Woessner fourth during women’s singles qualifying on Friday.
Considering the fact that Ausec and Woessner are both Team USA rookies, and the World Senior Championships is their debut tournament, some onlookers may find it somewhat surprising that both have locked up two medals in their first two events.
It doesn’t come as a surprise to Ausec, however; after all, that was the plan all along.
“It’s amazing, but this is what we all came here to do,” Ausec said. “We just evaluate our goals each step of the way. Our first one was to get to the medal round, and now that we have, we’re all going to be rooting one another on and hoping to get that all-USA final in both singles and doubles.”
Johnson will be hoping for that and that she can continue the improved execution that helped her and Ausec get to the top of the qualifying standings on Sunday.
“I played the lanes a little bit better today; I used my head instead of my feet,” Johnson jokingly said. “It feels awesome to be assured a medal. I’ve been in this position quite often, but it’s good to do it with a friend of mine and the people that we’re with.”
Powers felt the same way about securing a medal while partnered with Woessner.
“I’ve always looked up to Jodi (Woessner), so to advance to the semifinals and get a medal while bowling with her makes this experience even more special,” Powers said.
For Woessner, Sunday’s round was about controlling what she could control and helping Powers stay positive after a slow start.
“I just focused on making good shots and trying to keep Sharon (Powers) in it and her head high,” Woessner said. “I took advantage of the good pairs when I saw them, and Sharon came back from the rough start, and here we are.”
With their spots in the semifinals secured, the Team USA women will have the chance to relax and cheer on their teammates during Monday’s two rounds of men’s doubles qualifying, which will begin at 8 a.m. and 1 p.m. Eastern.
The American duos will pair together Chris Barnes of Denton, Texas, and John Janawicz of Winter Haven, Florida, and Parker Bohn III of Jackson, New Jersey, and Tom Hess of Granger, Iowa.
Hess, the reigning World Senior Championships men’s singles gold medalist, will be looking to continue the momentum that propelled him to a third-place finish and semifinal berth during men’s singles qualifying on Saturday.
The 2023 World Senior Championships started with official practice sessions on Dec. 7 and will end with the men’s and women’s team finals and a farewell dinner on Dec. 14.
Livestreaming coverage and updated standings are available by visiting worldseniors2023.com.
For more information on Senior Team USA, visit BOWL.com/Team-USA/Team-USA-Senior-Bowling.