By Jef Goodger

Houston—EJ Tackett and Danielle McEwan took the early advantage in the Storm PBA/PWBA Striking Against Breast Cancer Mixed Doubles by leading A Squad qualifying, then held onto the lead all the way through the rest of qualifying, the semifinals and ultimately the finals to win the tournament. The victory is Tackett’s 14th PBA Tour title and McEwan’s sixth PWBA Tour title.

With 20 games bowled by each player in the event, Tackett and McEwan accumulated a +1,279 score over 40 total games to secure a 212-pin margin over second-place François Lavoie and Tannya Roumimper.

This is the second win for Tackett in the Striking Against Breast Cancer Mixed Doubles, also claiming the title in 2018 with Liz Johnson. In 2019, Tackett also competed alongside Johnson while McEwan teamed with Anthony Simonsen. Johnson and Simonsen were set to compete together in 2020 due to Tackett and McEwan having a conflicting event, but both events were canceled. This year, the foursome opted to stick with the new lineups and claimed two of the top three spots, with Johnson and Simonsen finishing third.

Also making the top eight were Wes Malott and Verity Crawley, Tommy Jones and Shannon Pluhowsky, Chris Via and Bryanna Coté, Jakob Butturff and Stefanie Johnson, and Richie Teece and Liz Kuhlkin.

The win moves Tackett into the lead in the PBA Summer Tour points race through two events. At the conclusion of all five Summer Tour events, the player with the most competition points will receive $20,000 from the $40,000 bonus prize fund. The top 10 players will get a share, depending on their final position, of the prize fund.

The PBA Summer Tour continues this weekend with the PBA Jonesboro Open from Jonesboro, Ark. with qualifying beginning Saturday at 10 a.m. ET on FloBowling. To subscribe, visit FloBowling.com.

PBA/PWBA STRIKING AGAINST BREAST CANCER MIXED DOUBLES FINAL STANDINGS

Copperfield Bowl – Houston

1. Danielle McEwan and EJ Tackett, +1,279
2. Tannya Roumimper and François Lavoie, +1,067
3. Liz Johnson and Anthony Simonsen, +1,026
4. Verity Crawley and Wes Malott, +934
5. Shannon Pluhowsky and Tommy Jones, +924
6. Bryanna Coté and Chris Via, +851
7. Stefanie Johnson and Jakob Butturff, +851
8. Liz Kuhlkin and Richie Teece, +602