Breeschoten leads USWO after Round 1
June 25, 2011
EULESS, Texas - Powered by a perfect game, Lisanne Breeschoten of the Netherlands took the opening round lead at the 2011 Bowling's U.S. Women's Open on Saturday by averaging better than 249 for eight games.
Breeschoten fired 300 in Game 7 en route to a 1,997 eight-game total of AMF Euless Lanes, topping a field of 290 of the top amateur and professional bowlers in the world.
"I'm pretty happy and it feels like I'm dreaming," Breeschoten said. "I was nervous when I shot the 300, but I knew I had a little room to make a mistake and still strike. I was actually more nervous before we started the first game."
Breeschoten had games of 233, 289, 247, 251, 203, 247, 300 and 227 on the opening squad of the day. Team USA's Shannon Pluhowsky of Kettering, Ohio, had a chance to snag the lead away in the final game of the day, but shot 181 and sits in second place with 1,974.
"I feel like I threw the ball really well today, but I just caught a bad pair the last game," said Pluhowsky, an 11-time Team USA member who won the 2006 United States Bowling Congress Queens. "It's still really early in the tournament, but to get off to a start like this feels great."
Team USA's Shannon O'Keefe of Arlington, Texas, sits in third place with 1,957, while April Ellis of Arlington, Texas, is fourth at 1,950.
All players will return for an additional eight games of qualifying on Sunday and eight games on Monday. The field will then be cut to the top 32 for eight final qualifying games to determine the top 16 for round robin match play starting Tuesday night. The remaining five bowlers will move on to the finals at Cowboys Stadium on Thursday night.
The finals of the U.S. Women's Open will be broadcast on Saturday, July 2 at 6 p.m. Eastern on ESPN2. If a bowler throws a 300 game in the championship match, she will win $1 million. The champion will earn $50,000.
The 2011 U.S. Women's Open has already broken one record with 290 participants, which tops the previous record of 267 set in 2003. A total of 17 countries are represented in the field.
For more information Bowling's U.S. Women's Open, visit bowlingsuswomensopen.com.
2011 BOWLING'S U.S. WOMEN'S OPEN
At AMF Euless Lanes, Euless, Texas
Saturday's Results
QUALIFYING
(Top 10; Eight games)
1, Lisanne Breeschoten, Netherlands, 1,997.
2. Shannon Pluhowsky, Kettering, Ohio, 1,974.
3. Shannon O'Keefe, Arlington, Texas, 1,957.
4, April Ellis, Arlington, Texas, 1,950.
5, Liz Johnson, Cheektowaga, N.Y., 1,919.
6, Anita Manns, Houston, 1,915.
7, Kelly Kulick, Union, N.J., 1,913.
8, Jacqui Reese, Bangor, Maine, 1,901
9, Carol Gianotti, Australia, 1,900.
10, Lynda Barnes, Double Oak, Texas, 1,899.
Breeschoten fired 300 in Game 7 en route to a 1,997 eight-game total of AMF Euless Lanes, topping a field of 290 of the top amateur and professional bowlers in the world.
"I'm pretty happy and it feels like I'm dreaming," Breeschoten said. "I was nervous when I shot the 300, but I knew I had a little room to make a mistake and still strike. I was actually more nervous before we started the first game."
Breeschoten had games of 233, 289, 247, 251, 203, 247, 300 and 227 on the opening squad of the day. Team USA's Shannon Pluhowsky of Kettering, Ohio, had a chance to snag the lead away in the final game of the day, but shot 181 and sits in second place with 1,974.
"I feel like I threw the ball really well today, but I just caught a bad pair the last game," said Pluhowsky, an 11-time Team USA member who won the 2006 United States Bowling Congress Queens. "It's still really early in the tournament, but to get off to a start like this feels great."
Team USA's Shannon O'Keefe of Arlington, Texas, sits in third place with 1,957, while April Ellis of Arlington, Texas, is fourth at 1,950.
All players will return for an additional eight games of qualifying on Sunday and eight games on Monday. The field will then be cut to the top 32 for eight final qualifying games to determine the top 16 for round robin match play starting Tuesday night. The remaining five bowlers will move on to the finals at Cowboys Stadium on Thursday night.
The finals of the U.S. Women's Open will be broadcast on Saturday, July 2 at 6 p.m. Eastern on ESPN2. If a bowler throws a 300 game in the championship match, she will win $1 million. The champion will earn $50,000.
The 2011 U.S. Women's Open has already broken one record with 290 participants, which tops the previous record of 267 set in 2003. A total of 17 countries are represented in the field.
For more information Bowling's U.S. Women's Open, visit bowlingsuswomensopen.com.
2011 BOWLING'S U.S. WOMEN'S OPEN
At AMF Euless Lanes, Euless, Texas
Saturday's Results
QUALIFYING
(Top 10; Eight games)
1, Lisanne Breeschoten, Netherlands, 1,997.
2. Shannon Pluhowsky, Kettering, Ohio, 1,974.
3. Shannon O'Keefe, Arlington, Texas, 1,957.
4, April Ellis, Arlington, Texas, 1,950.
5, Liz Johnson, Cheektowaga, N.Y., 1,919.
6, Anita Manns, Houston, 1,915.
7, Kelly Kulick, Union, N.J., 1,913.
8, Jacqui Reese, Bangor, Maine, 1,901
9, Carol Gianotti, Australia, 1,900.
10, Lynda Barnes, Double Oak, Texas, 1,899.