Junior Team USA's OBryant advances to singles semifinals at IBF World Youth Championships
July 11, 2024
WOMEN'S SINGLES MATCH PLAY
WOMEN'S SINGLES QUALIFYING I MEN'S SINGLES QUALIFYING
ARLINGTON, Texas – Junior Team USA bowler Annalise OBryant of Ball Ground, Georgia, kept herself in prime position to bring home a medal after posting a 5-2 record and surviving a roll off during match play on Thursday to advance to the women’s singles semifinals at the 2024 International Bowling Federation World Youth Championships in Incheon, Korea.
OBryant earned her berth in the match-play field by posting a six-game total of 1,210 (a 201.7 average) on Wednesday to qualify 12th in the 87-player women’s singles field – the top 16 players advanced to match play.
The talented right-hander took her game up a notch on Thursday, posting scores of 256, 187, 176, 162, 195, 233, 206 and 216 at Incheon’s Fiesta Bowling Center to finish with an eight-game mark of 1,631 (a 203.9 average).
The 216 was by far the most important score of the day for OBryant as it allowed her to finish second in a roll off against Peru’s Yumi Yuzuriha Seragaki (247) and Sweden’s Nora Johansson (190) and earn the final semifinal berth in Group A.
An extra game also was needed in Group B after Singapore’s Arianne Tay and Japan’s Kiri Watanabe each finished match play with matching records of 4-3.
Tay bested Watanabe by a score of 268-192 during the roll off, however, allowing Tay to survive and advance.
When the dust finally settled, OBryant, Seragaki, Tay and Finland’s Stella Lökfors comprised the women’s semifinal field.
Semifinal bouts will take place on Friday with the winners advancing to the gold-medal match on July 18.
OBryant would love the opportunity to capture the gold for Team USA; nevertheless, she isn’t looking ahead to the finals as, after Thursday’s round, she was still trying to come to grips with what it means to have earned a spot in the semis.
“The feeling of making it is indescribable,” OBryant said. “I have so many emotions going on, excitement, happiness, everything. I’m just so incredibly stoked to be moving on and continuing the quest for that gold medal.”
Completing that quest won’t be easy, but neither was getting this far in the first place. According to OBryant, her success up to this point has resulted largely from her determination and mental game.
“Match play started off really strong, but then I started hitting some trickier pairs here and there,” OBryant said. “But regardless of what was happening, I just kept making moves, fighting and staying patient throughout the whole process. I did that until the very end, and that was the biggest key.”
OBryant is Junior Team USA’s lone remaining medal contender in singles competition as the other seven American competitors were unable to advance out of qualifying.
On the women’s side, Jillian Martin of Stow, Ohio, finished tied for 28th with a score of 1,151 (a 191.8 average), while Gianna Brandolino of Channahon, Illinois, tallied 1,083 (a 180.5 average) to land in 52nd. Katelyn Abigania of San Diego placed 60th with 1,074 (a 179 average).
Junior Team USA suffered a pair of narrow misses on the men’s side on Thursday as Jacob Bockstie of Nottingham, Maryland, and Brandon Bohn of Jackson, New Jersey, each missed the match-play cut by less than 15 pins.
Bockstie finished 18th with a six-game total of 1,349 (a 224.8 average), and Bohn was 19th at 1,341 (a 223.5 average). Kuwait’s Hassan Qasem earned the 16th and final match-play berth in the 140-player men’s field with a score of 1,354 (a 225.7 average).
Junior Team USA’s Zach Andresen of Princeton, Minnesota (1,293), and Braden Mallasch of Waupaca, Wisconsin (1,224), finished 34th and 64th, respectively.
Singles action will resume Friday morning in Incheon with men’s match play and the men’s and women’s semifinals. Then, after a short break, the focus will shift to doubles as the first qualifying squads take place in both the men’s and women’s divisions.
Doubles qualifying and match play will run through July 14, team qualifying and match play will occur on July 15-16 and all phases of mixed team competition will happen on July 17.
The 2024 World Youth Championships, which features teams from 39 different countries, will end on July 18 with final-round action in singles, doubles and team and their accompanying medal ceremonies.
For more information on Junior Team USA, visit BOWL.com/JuniorTeamUSA.
WOMEN'S SINGLES QUALIFYING I MEN'S SINGLES QUALIFYING
ARLINGTON, Texas – Junior Team USA bowler Annalise OBryant of Ball Ground, Georgia, kept herself in prime position to bring home a medal after posting a 5-2 record and surviving a roll off during match play on Thursday to advance to the women’s singles semifinals at the 2024 International Bowling Federation World Youth Championships in Incheon, Korea.
OBryant earned her berth in the match-play field by posting a six-game total of 1,210 (a 201.7 average) on Wednesday to qualify 12th in the 87-player women’s singles field – the top 16 players advanced to match play.
The talented right-hander took her game up a notch on Thursday, posting scores of 256, 187, 176, 162, 195, 233, 206 and 216 at Incheon’s Fiesta Bowling Center to finish with an eight-game mark of 1,631 (a 203.9 average).
The 216 was by far the most important score of the day for OBryant as it allowed her to finish second in a roll off against Peru’s Yumi Yuzuriha Seragaki (247) and Sweden’s Nora Johansson (190) and earn the final semifinal berth in Group A.
An extra game also was needed in Group B after Singapore’s Arianne Tay and Japan’s Kiri Watanabe each finished match play with matching records of 4-3.
Tay bested Watanabe by a score of 268-192 during the roll off, however, allowing Tay to survive and advance.
When the dust finally settled, OBryant, Seragaki, Tay and Finland’s Stella Lökfors comprised the women’s semifinal field.
Semifinal bouts will take place on Friday with the winners advancing to the gold-medal match on July 18.
OBryant would love the opportunity to capture the gold for Team USA; nevertheless, she isn’t looking ahead to the finals as, after Thursday’s round, she was still trying to come to grips with what it means to have earned a spot in the semis.
“The feeling of making it is indescribable,” OBryant said. “I have so many emotions going on, excitement, happiness, everything. I’m just so incredibly stoked to be moving on and continuing the quest for that gold medal.”
Completing that quest won’t be easy, but neither was getting this far in the first place. According to OBryant, her success up to this point has resulted largely from her determination and mental game.
“Match play started off really strong, but then I started hitting some trickier pairs here and there,” OBryant said. “But regardless of what was happening, I just kept making moves, fighting and staying patient throughout the whole process. I did that until the very end, and that was the biggest key.”
OBryant is Junior Team USA’s lone remaining medal contender in singles competition as the other seven American competitors were unable to advance out of qualifying.
On the women’s side, Jillian Martin of Stow, Ohio, finished tied for 28th with a score of 1,151 (a 191.8 average), while Gianna Brandolino of Channahon, Illinois, tallied 1,083 (a 180.5 average) to land in 52nd. Katelyn Abigania of San Diego placed 60th with 1,074 (a 179 average).
Junior Team USA suffered a pair of narrow misses on the men’s side on Thursday as Jacob Bockstie of Nottingham, Maryland, and Brandon Bohn of Jackson, New Jersey, each missed the match-play cut by less than 15 pins.
Bockstie finished 18th with a six-game total of 1,349 (a 224.8 average), and Bohn was 19th at 1,341 (a 223.5 average). Kuwait’s Hassan Qasem earned the 16th and final match-play berth in the 140-player men’s field with a score of 1,354 (a 225.7 average).
Junior Team USA’s Zach Andresen of Princeton, Minnesota (1,293), and Braden Mallasch of Waupaca, Wisconsin (1,224), finished 34th and 64th, respectively.
Singles action will resume Friday morning in Incheon with men’s match play and the men’s and women’s semifinals. Then, after a short break, the focus will shift to doubles as the first qualifying squads take place in both the men’s and women’s divisions.
Doubles qualifying and match play will run through July 14, team qualifying and match play will occur on July 15-16 and all phases of mixed team competition will happen on July 17.
The 2024 World Youth Championships, which features teams from 39 different countries, will end on July 18 with final-round action in singles, doubles and team and their accompanying medal ceremonies.
For more information on Junior Team USA, visit BOWL.com/JuniorTeamUSA.