Arizona bowler rolls 798 series on way to leads at 2019 Women's Championships
May 08, 2019
By Christian Seaborn and Aaron Smith
USBC Communications
WICHITA, Kan. - Beverly Gonzalez of Sierra Vista, Arizona, put together one of the best sets of her career Tuesday at Northrock Lanes on the way to taking the lead in Diamond Singles and Diamond All-Events at the 2019 United States Bowling Congress Women's Championships.
During her singles event, the 39-year-old right-hander improved by nearly 200 pins from her preceding doubles set, rolling games of 279, 243 and 276 for a 798 series. Tina Williams of Pflugerville, Texas, previously led Diamond Singles with 716.
Gonzalez's series also is the second-highest total recorded in singles competition in the 100-year history of the USBC Women's Championships.
Michelle Feldman of Auburn, New York, claimed the Classic Singles title at the 2009 event in Reno, Nevada, with an 816 series. Feldman's 816 also is tied for the highest three-game total in tournament history (Jodi Woessner of Oregon, Ohio, rolled 816 during doubles at the 2010 Women's Championships in El Paso, Texas).
In addition to the lead in singles, Gonzalez's effort in singles also pushed her to the lead in all-events with 1,996, surpassing the 1,975 score posted by Georgia Drewes of Wichita, Kansas.
Gonzalez added sets of 602 in doubles and 596 in team.
"I had no idea it was the second highest series in singles," said Gonzalez, who made her seventh Women's Championships appearance. "I think that's the most exciting thing about it."
Gonzalez's run to the top of the leaderboard in singles started at the end of her doubles set as she connected for four consecutive strikes starting in the seventh frame. She started her first game of singles with nine consecutive strikes before falling short of the first perfect game of the 2019 event.
"It really all started coming together in the final four frames of doubles," Gonzalez said. "I got everything lined up and it all just came together."
She delivered nine strikes in Game 2, and once again started with nine consecutive strikes in Game 3.
"By Game 2, I knew I was doing well," Gonzalez said. "I just wanted to keep it going - one ball at a time."
Stepping up in her final frame, Gonzalez needed to double for a chance to roll the highest series in tournament history, but she left a 3-6-9-10 combination on her first effort. She converted the spare and rolled a strike on her final delivery before being greeted by her enthusiastic teammates and friends.
News of her performance and the excitement in the team's celebration quickly made its way across social media, which shared a similar parallel to one of her friends who recently found success at the 2019 USBC Open Championships in Las Vegas.
On Saturday, Mitch Beasley of Clarksville, Tennessee, took over the Regular Singles lead at the South Point Bowling Plaza with an 812 series.
"I reached out to Mitch," Gonzalez said. "I told him how exciting it was that we were both featured this week in videos on USBC's Facebook pages."
Gonzalez does have one USBC-certified 800 series to her credit, but she knows runs like this at a national event like the Women's Championships don't happen every day. Her previous high set at the Women's Championships was a 693 series in doubles at the 2010 event.
She appreciates her current spot in the tournament's long and storied history, and now hopes her score can hold up throughout the rest of the 2019 event, which runs until June 30.
"This was more exciting than my 806 series, just because this is Nationals," Gonzalez said. "I'm still in shock and awe."
Bowlers in Diamond Singles and Diamond All-Events have entering averages of 190 and above.
Visit us on Facebook at the official USBC Women's Championships page.
USBC Communications
WICHITA, Kan. - Beverly Gonzalez of Sierra Vista, Arizona, put together one of the best sets of her career Tuesday at Northrock Lanes on the way to taking the lead in Diamond Singles and Diamond All-Events at the 2019 United States Bowling Congress Women's Championships.
During her singles event, the 39-year-old right-hander improved by nearly 200 pins from her preceding doubles set, rolling games of 279, 243 and 276 for a 798 series. Tina Williams of Pflugerville, Texas, previously led Diamond Singles with 716.
Gonzalez's series also is the second-highest total recorded in singles competition in the 100-year history of the USBC Women's Championships.
Michelle Feldman of Auburn, New York, claimed the Classic Singles title at the 2009 event in Reno, Nevada, with an 816 series. Feldman's 816 also is tied for the highest three-game total in tournament history (Jodi Woessner of Oregon, Ohio, rolled 816 during doubles at the 2010 Women's Championships in El Paso, Texas).
In addition to the lead in singles, Gonzalez's effort in singles also pushed her to the lead in all-events with 1,996, surpassing the 1,975 score posted by Georgia Drewes of Wichita, Kansas.
Gonzalez added sets of 602 in doubles and 596 in team.
"I had no idea it was the second highest series in singles," said Gonzalez, who made her seventh Women's Championships appearance. "I think that's the most exciting thing about it."
Gonzalez's run to the top of the leaderboard in singles started at the end of her doubles set as she connected for four consecutive strikes starting in the seventh frame. She started her first game of singles with nine consecutive strikes before falling short of the first perfect game of the 2019 event.
"It really all started coming together in the final four frames of doubles," Gonzalez said. "I got everything lined up and it all just came together."
She delivered nine strikes in Game 2, and once again started with nine consecutive strikes in Game 3.
"By Game 2, I knew I was doing well," Gonzalez said. "I just wanted to keep it going - one ball at a time."
Stepping up in her final frame, Gonzalez needed to double for a chance to roll the highest series in tournament history, but she left a 3-6-9-10 combination on her first effort. She converted the spare and rolled a strike on her final delivery before being greeted by her enthusiastic teammates and friends.
News of her performance and the excitement in the team's celebration quickly made its way across social media, which shared a similar parallel to one of her friends who recently found success at the 2019 USBC Open Championships in Las Vegas.
On Saturday, Mitch Beasley of Clarksville, Tennessee, took over the Regular Singles lead at the South Point Bowling Plaza with an 812 series.
"I reached out to Mitch," Gonzalez said. "I told him how exciting it was that we were both featured this week in videos on USBC's Facebook pages."
Gonzalez does have one USBC-certified 800 series to her credit, but she knows runs like this at a national event like the Women's Championships don't happen every day. Her previous high set at the Women's Championships was a 693 series in doubles at the 2010 event.
She appreciates her current spot in the tournament's long and storied history, and now hopes her score can hold up throughout the rest of the 2019 event, which runs until June 30.
"This was more exciting than my 806 series, just because this is Nationals," Gonzalez said. "I'm still in shock and awe."
Bowlers in Diamond Singles and Diamond All-Events have entering averages of 190 and above.
Visit us on Facebook at the official USBC Women's Championships page.