Doyle, McEwan lead Team USA Trials heading into final round
January 06, 2015
LAS VEGAS - With just one round remaining, Kamron Doyle of Brentwood, Tennessee, and Danielle McEwan of Stony Point, New York, lead the field at the 2015 United States Bowling Congress Team USA Trials.
Doyle moved into the top spot with 35 points, while McEwan led for the fourth consecutive round and now has 25 points at The Orleans Bowling Center.
The players in the field earn points based on their finishing position in each round. After five rounds, the top three men and top three women with the least amount of points will advance to the stepladder finals Wednesday at 10 p.m. Eastern live on BowlTV.
Doyle is actually tied in the points race with Devin Bidwell of Wichita, Kansas, but the total pins tie-breaker gives the edge to Doyle. He leads Bidwell by just 13 pins after four rounds.
If Doyle and Bidwell each finish among the top 21 players in the final round, they are guaranteed a spot in the stepladder finals regardless how anyone else finishes.
"It's going to be hard to just get through into the stepladder with so many good bowlers in the field," said Doyle, a 16-year-old who has been a Junior Team USA member four times. "I just have to make the right ball choices. Tomorrow should be a little bit lower scoring, so I just have to stay out of trouble."
Marshall Kent of Yakima, Washington, and Sean Rash of Montgomery, Illinois, are also tied with 56 points, but Kent gets the edge and sits in third as he leads Rash by just three pins. AJ Chapman of Wichita, Kansas, is fifth with 60 points.
Rash topped the Round 4 standings on the 41-foot Montreal pattern Tuesday with a six-game total of 1,501. A pair of 300 games were also bowled in the fourth round with Justin Dunn of Deland, Florida, and Andrew Diley of Conway, South Carolina, tossing perfect games.
In the women's division, McEwan has put herself in good position heading into the final round. She will need to finish in the top 20 in the final round to secure a spot in the semifinals regardless of how the other bowlers finish.
"I have to stay on top of my game tomorrow and not get myself into trouble," said McEwan, a two-time Team USA Trials champion. "The last game today could have been way worse, and I know how one bad game can really hurt you if you hit a bad pair and lose your line."
Bryanna Caldwell of Red Rock, Arizona, jumped into second place with 42 points, while Liz Johnson of Cheektowaga, New York, is third with 43 points. Shannon Pluhowsky of Dayton, Ohio, is fourth with 45 points, and Missy Parkin of Laguna Hills, California, is fifth with 46 points.
Pluhowsky put up the best women's total of the day Tuesday in the fourth round, finishing with a six-game total of 1,404.
Action shifts to the final round of the event, which will be contested on the 45-foot Mexico City pattern Wednesday. All rounds of the Team USA Trials are being broadcast live on BOWL.com's BowlTV.
The top three men and top three women after five rounds of qualifying will be guaranteed spots on Team USA in 2015 and will bowl in the stepladder finals for the right to be declared champion, a spot in the prestigious QubicaAMF World Cup and prize money.
Two more men and two more women from the event will be selected to join Team USA, while five men and five women will be selected from a pool of eligible bowlers based on their bowling resumes and Trials performance if they competed.
A total of eight Junior Team USA spots - four boys and four girls - also are available. The top two boys and top two girls in the final points standings will earn automatic spots, while two boys and two girls spots will be at-large selections taken from either the Team USA Trials field or the finals field from the Junior Gold Championships held in July 2014. All bowlers 20 and under as of Jan. 1, 2015 are eligible for Junior Team USA.
For more information on the Team USA Trials, including live streaming, live scoring and complete standings, visit BOWL.com/TeamUSATrials.
Doyle moved into the top spot with 35 points, while McEwan led for the fourth consecutive round and now has 25 points at The Orleans Bowling Center.
The players in the field earn points based on their finishing position in each round. After five rounds, the top three men and top three women with the least amount of points will advance to the stepladder finals Wednesday at 10 p.m. Eastern live on BowlTV.
Doyle is actually tied in the points race with Devin Bidwell of Wichita, Kansas, but the total pins tie-breaker gives the edge to Doyle. He leads Bidwell by just 13 pins after four rounds.
If Doyle and Bidwell each finish among the top 21 players in the final round, they are guaranteed a spot in the stepladder finals regardless how anyone else finishes.
"It's going to be hard to just get through into the stepladder with so many good bowlers in the field," said Doyle, a 16-year-old who has been a Junior Team USA member four times. "I just have to make the right ball choices. Tomorrow should be a little bit lower scoring, so I just have to stay out of trouble."
Marshall Kent of Yakima, Washington, and Sean Rash of Montgomery, Illinois, are also tied with 56 points, but Kent gets the edge and sits in third as he leads Rash by just three pins. AJ Chapman of Wichita, Kansas, is fifth with 60 points.
Rash topped the Round 4 standings on the 41-foot Montreal pattern Tuesday with a six-game total of 1,501. A pair of 300 games were also bowled in the fourth round with Justin Dunn of Deland, Florida, and Andrew Diley of Conway, South Carolina, tossing perfect games.
In the women's division, McEwan has put herself in good position heading into the final round. She will need to finish in the top 20 in the final round to secure a spot in the semifinals regardless of how the other bowlers finish.
"I have to stay on top of my game tomorrow and not get myself into trouble," said McEwan, a two-time Team USA Trials champion. "The last game today could have been way worse, and I know how one bad game can really hurt you if you hit a bad pair and lose your line."
Bryanna Caldwell of Red Rock, Arizona, jumped into second place with 42 points, while Liz Johnson of Cheektowaga, New York, is third with 43 points. Shannon Pluhowsky of Dayton, Ohio, is fourth with 45 points, and Missy Parkin of Laguna Hills, California, is fifth with 46 points.
Pluhowsky put up the best women's total of the day Tuesday in the fourth round, finishing with a six-game total of 1,404.
Action shifts to the final round of the event, which will be contested on the 45-foot Mexico City pattern Wednesday. All rounds of the Team USA Trials are being broadcast live on BOWL.com's BowlTV.
The top three men and top three women after five rounds of qualifying will be guaranteed spots on Team USA in 2015 and will bowl in the stepladder finals for the right to be declared champion, a spot in the prestigious QubicaAMF World Cup and prize money.
Two more men and two more women from the event will be selected to join Team USA, while five men and five women will be selected from a pool of eligible bowlers based on their bowling resumes and Trials performance if they competed.
A total of eight Junior Team USA spots - four boys and four girls - also are available. The top two boys and top two girls in the final points standings will earn automatic spots, while two boys and two girls spots will be at-large selections taken from either the Team USA Trials field or the finals field from the Junior Gold Championships held in July 2014. All bowlers 20 and under as of Jan. 1, 2015 are eligible for Junior Team USA.
For more information on the Team USA Trials, including live streaming, live scoring and complete standings, visit BOWL.com/TeamUSATrials.