Henderson, Oliver lead as inaugural USBC U22 Masters and Queens head to match play
May 26, 2024
FULL STANDINGS
DETROIT – Dannielle Henderson of Jacksonville, Alabama, and Bryce Oliver of Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio, finished at the top of their leaderboards Saturday as qualifying concluded at the inaugural United States Bowling Congress U22 Masters and Queens.
Henderson and Oliver will lead their respective fields into the double-elimination match play portion of the event on Sunday morning. Only 32 players in each field advanced to match play, which will feature two-game total-pinfall matches.
Henderson, who led the U22 Queens after Round 1 on Friday, managed to hold on to that lead despite a slow start at Thunderbowl Lanes in Allen Park on Saturday morning.
She started with games of 171 and 162 but finished strong with a 268 on her way to a 14-game pinfall of 3,090 (a 220.71 average).
Oliver, who was sixth after Round 1, was just the opposite of Henderson as he started quickly with a 269 game at Super Bowl in Canton on Saturday. His remaining six games during Round 2 were all between 181 and 227, and that allowed him to finish atop the 151-player field during U22 Masters qualifying with a total pinfall of 2,985 (a 213.21 average).
Brooke Salzman of Inver Grove Heights, Minnesota, and Morgan Brunner of Gobles, Michigan, tied for second place on the U22 Queens side with 3,053. They were followed by Cassidy Anschutz of Webster, New York, in fourth (2,914) and Jenna Stretch of Auburn Hills, Ohio, in fifth (2,910).
In addition to Oliver, the men’s top five included Costa Gastouniotis of Goleta, California (2,951); Cayleb Carey of Hobart, Indiana (2,907); and Brandon Bohn of Jackson, New Jersey, and Brandon Leavitt of Novi, Michigan, who tied for fourth (2,861).
The 32nd and final spots for match play were taken by Paige Hubert of Grass Lake, Michigan (2,631), for the U22 Queens and Jarin Kurashige of Mililani, Hawaii (2,687), for the U22 Masters.
Not only did qualifying in the top five put Henderson, Salzman, and Brunner in great position heading into U22 Queens match play, but it also earned each one a guaranteed spot on Junior Team USA 2025 as spots were awarded to the top three age-eligible finishers after 14 games of qualifying.
Bohn, Leavitt and Michael Anderson II of Olathe, Kansas, secured the Junior Team USA spots up for grabs during U22 Masters qualifying.
For Henderson, a 19-year-old two-hander who just completed her freshman season at Jacksonville State University, starting Day 2 as the tournament leader might have weighed on her just a bit.
“When you bowl well and lead on the first day, going into the second day, you kind of feel a little bit of pressure from the expectations you have,” Henderson admitted. “I feel like that’s okay and that’s not a bad feeling to have, but you also have to control all of that and hone in on the process and not the results.”
Focusing on her process helped Henderson weather the storm early during Round 2 and set her up for a strong finish.
“The lanes started to come to me at the end of the round,” Henderson said. “I’ve noticed that, typically, the later it gets in a round, the better I tend to bowl. The lanes usually transition to where I can get in my own zone and play left like I prefer to do.”
With the 76-person U22 Queens field reduced to the final 32 for match play, Henderson isn’t about to change what’s been working for her.
“Just like I said yesterday, it’s all about patience and confidence,” Henderson said. “Just make sure that I don’t get ahead of myself and concentrate on throwing good shots. Keep it simple.”
Match play for U22 Queens competitors begins on Sunday at Thunderbowl Lanes at 10 a.m. Eastern and will continue through the day until the field is reduced to the final three players.
The same format and schedule will be followed during U22 Masters match play at Super Bowl in Canton on Sunday.
Oliver was pleased with how he controlled the lanes and his mindset during his two qualifying blocks, so he doesn’t plan on making any major adjustments heading into match play.
“The first two days have been really, really good for me, especially since this is my first major singles event in a while,” Oliver said. “I made good shots, stayed level-headed, made my spares and didn’t lose my cool even if the ball did something weird. Going into tomorrow, my strategy is going to be the same.”
Oliver is really hoping that strategy pays off since this is his first and last time bowling the U22 Masters.
“As a 22-year-old, this will be the only time I get to compete in this event, so bowling well and leading is really an honor,” Oliver said. “It would be really cool to keep it going and keep bowling good the rest of the week.”
The finals for both the U22 Masters and U22 Queens will conclude at Strobl Arena at Thunderbowl Lanes on Memorial Day at noon Eastern when the final three athletes in each event will participate in the stepladder finals.
All rounds of competition at the U22 Masters and U22 Queens, including the stepladder finals, will be streamed live exclusively on BowlTV.
For more information on the 2024 U22 Masters and Queens, visit BOWL.com/U22.
DETROIT – Dannielle Henderson of Jacksonville, Alabama, and Bryce Oliver of Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio, finished at the top of their leaderboards Saturday as qualifying concluded at the inaugural United States Bowling Congress U22 Masters and Queens.
Henderson and Oliver will lead their respective fields into the double-elimination match play portion of the event on Sunday morning. Only 32 players in each field advanced to match play, which will feature two-game total-pinfall matches.
Henderson, who led the U22 Queens after Round 1 on Friday, managed to hold on to that lead despite a slow start at Thunderbowl Lanes in Allen Park on Saturday morning.
She started with games of 171 and 162 but finished strong with a 268 on her way to a 14-game pinfall of 3,090 (a 220.71 average).
Oliver, who was sixth after Round 1, was just the opposite of Henderson as he started quickly with a 269 game at Super Bowl in Canton on Saturday. His remaining six games during Round 2 were all between 181 and 227, and that allowed him to finish atop the 151-player field during U22 Masters qualifying with a total pinfall of 2,985 (a 213.21 average).
Brooke Salzman of Inver Grove Heights, Minnesota, and Morgan Brunner of Gobles, Michigan, tied for second place on the U22 Queens side with 3,053. They were followed by Cassidy Anschutz of Webster, New York, in fourth (2,914) and Jenna Stretch of Auburn Hills, Ohio, in fifth (2,910).
In addition to Oliver, the men’s top five included Costa Gastouniotis of Goleta, California (2,951); Cayleb Carey of Hobart, Indiana (2,907); and Brandon Bohn of Jackson, New Jersey, and Brandon Leavitt of Novi, Michigan, who tied for fourth (2,861).
The 32nd and final spots for match play were taken by Paige Hubert of Grass Lake, Michigan (2,631), for the U22 Queens and Jarin Kurashige of Mililani, Hawaii (2,687), for the U22 Masters.
Not only did qualifying in the top five put Henderson, Salzman, and Brunner in great position heading into U22 Queens match play, but it also earned each one a guaranteed spot on Junior Team USA 2025 as spots were awarded to the top three age-eligible finishers after 14 games of qualifying.
Bohn, Leavitt and Michael Anderson II of Olathe, Kansas, secured the Junior Team USA spots up for grabs during U22 Masters qualifying.
For Henderson, a 19-year-old two-hander who just completed her freshman season at Jacksonville State University, starting Day 2 as the tournament leader might have weighed on her just a bit.
“When you bowl well and lead on the first day, going into the second day, you kind of feel a little bit of pressure from the expectations you have,” Henderson admitted. “I feel like that’s okay and that’s not a bad feeling to have, but you also have to control all of that and hone in on the process and not the results.”
Focusing on her process helped Henderson weather the storm early during Round 2 and set her up for a strong finish.
“The lanes started to come to me at the end of the round,” Henderson said. “I’ve noticed that, typically, the later it gets in a round, the better I tend to bowl. The lanes usually transition to where I can get in my own zone and play left like I prefer to do.”
With the 76-person U22 Queens field reduced to the final 32 for match play, Henderson isn’t about to change what’s been working for her.
“Just like I said yesterday, it’s all about patience and confidence,” Henderson said. “Just make sure that I don’t get ahead of myself and concentrate on throwing good shots. Keep it simple.”
Match play for U22 Queens competitors begins on Sunday at Thunderbowl Lanes at 10 a.m. Eastern and will continue through the day until the field is reduced to the final three players.
The same format and schedule will be followed during U22 Masters match play at Super Bowl in Canton on Sunday.
Oliver was pleased with how he controlled the lanes and his mindset during his two qualifying blocks, so he doesn’t plan on making any major adjustments heading into match play.
“The first two days have been really, really good for me, especially since this is my first major singles event in a while,” Oliver said. “I made good shots, stayed level-headed, made my spares and didn’t lose my cool even if the ball did something weird. Going into tomorrow, my strategy is going to be the same.”
Oliver is really hoping that strategy pays off since this is his first and last time bowling the U22 Masters.
“As a 22-year-old, this will be the only time I get to compete in this event, so bowling well and leading is really an honor,” Oliver said. “It would be really cool to keep it going and keep bowling good the rest of the week.”
The finals for both the U22 Masters and U22 Queens will conclude at Strobl Arena at Thunderbowl Lanes on Memorial Day at noon Eastern when the final three athletes in each event will participate in the stepladder finals.
All rounds of competition at the U22 Masters and U22 Queens, including the stepladder finals, will be streamed live exclusively on BowlTV.
For more information on the 2024 U22 Masters and Queens, visit BOWL.com/U22.