Klemencic, Vater lead after Round 1 of qualifying at 2025 U22 Masters and U22 Queens
May 24, 2025
Erin Klemencic of Powder Springs, Georgia, shot the first perfect game in U22 history and averaged just under 232 en route to the opening-round lead at the 2025 U22 Queens, which is being contested at Thunderbowl Lanes in Allen Park, Michigan.
U22 QUEENS QUALIFYING RESULTS - ROUND 1
ALLEN PARK, Mich. – Erin Klemencic of Powder Springs, Georgia, and Robert Vater of Iola, Wisconsin, finished atop their respective leaderboards after Friday’s opening rounds of qualifying at the 2025 United States Bowling Congress U22 Masters and U22 Queens, which are being contested at Thunderbowl Lanes in Allen Park, Michigan.
Klemencic, who doubled up this year by taking home the title in both the Intercollegiate Singles Championships and Intercollegiate Team Championships (with Jacksonville State University), finished her seven-game qualifying set with games of 300, 257 and 258 (815) to lead the 82-player U22 Queens field by 65 pins after Round 1. The perfect game was the first in the history of the U22 Queens (or the U22 Masters), which is in its second year.
Klemencic had an up-and-down beginning to her qualifying round prior to the 300 game, rolling games of 226, 143, 241 and 198. It was at that point that she decided to make a change.
“I made a ball change right before I bowled the 300 game,” Klemencic said. “I went to a stronger asymmetrical pearl; I wound up having a really good look with it and stayed with it the rest of the block.”
The 19-year-old right-hander and Junior Team USA member who also won the U18 Girls title at the 2022 Junior Gold Championships in Grand Rapids, Michigan, totaled 1,623 pins during Round 1 on Friday, which was good for a 231.86 average.
“For me, it was nice to have the opportunity to get off to a good start,” Klemencic said. “It doesn’t mean everything because it’s just Day 1, but it’s nice to have some leverage going into the rest of the tournament. I just need to continue to stay patient, read my ball reaction and make the best decisions I can.”
In second place at the U22 Queens is Klemencic’s Jacksonville State teammate Annalise OBryant of Ball Ground, Georgia (1,558). OBryant, a current Team USA and Junior Team USA member, averaged 222.57 for her seven games with a high game of 268 to open the round.
While OBryant and Klemencic are teammates at both Jacksonville State and on Junior Team USA, it was Klemencic who defeated OBryant for her 2022 U18 Junior Gold Championships victory.
Two more Junior Team USA members, Melia Mitskavich of DuBois, Pennsylvania, and Sydney Bohn of Jackson, New Jersey, are third and fourth respectively. Mitskavich, the 2024 Alberta E. Crowe Star of Tomorrow Award winner, checked in a pinfall of 1,527 during the opening round while Bohn, who bowls for Vanderbilt University, finished at 1,489.
One pin behind Bohn and rounding out the opening-day top five was Carly Zuklin of Cedar Rapids, Iowa, who competes collegiately at Mount Mercy University.
Robert Vater of Iola, Wisconsin, broke 250 three times (258, 278 and 279) during his first seven games of qualifying at the 2025 U22 Masters on Friday night. That allowed the talented right-handed two-hander to finish Day 1 atop the 159-player field at this year's tournament.
U22 MASTERS QUALIFYING RESULTS - ROUND 1
Meanwhile, in U22 Masters action, Vater finished with a seven-game mark of 1,604 (a 229.14 average) thanks to scores of 258, 278, 212, 231, 279, 172 and 174.
That allowed the 21-year-old right-hand two-hander, who recently completed his junior season bowling collegiately for Mount Mercy, to finish atop the Day 1 standings in the sold out, 159-player U22 Masters field.
In addition to Vater, the U22 Masters top five after Round 1 included Chris Bald of Raleigh, North Carolina (1,548); Braden Mallasch of Waupaca, Wisconsin (1,541); Nate Trentler of Phoenix, Maryland (1,537); and Nathan Stefanski of Almont, Michigan (1,529).
Defending U22 Masters champion Brandon Bohn of Jackson, New Jersey, a three-time Junior Gold champion, current Junior Team USA member and former member of Team USA, finished Round 1 in 13th place in the U22 Masters field with a seven-game total of 1,455.
As for Vater, he didn’t come to Thunderbowl Lanes on Friday looking to grab the overall lead; he simply wanted to author a solid opening-round performance. After not only meeting but also exceeding that goal, Vater was very pleased with his Round 1 effort and the position it put him in heading into Saturday’s final seven-game qualifying block.
“I just wanted to put up a good number today so that I’d feel comfortable heading into my round on the fresh tomorrow,” Vater said. “It’s cool leading, and it definitely makes me more confident and comfortable knowing that I have a few pins to spare.”
Vater wasn’t referring to the 56-pin lead he established over Bald for first place; he was referring to the 242-pin cushion he put between himself and Kyle Dunne of Hinckley, Ohio; Carter Wescott of Green Bay, Wisconsin; and Dylan Murray of Greenville, Tennessee.
That’s because each member of that trio put up an opening-day total of 1,362 to tie for 32nd place, which is lowest position any U22 Masters competitor can find himself in at the conclusion of Saturday’s second and final seven-game qualifying block in order to advance to match play.
Vater made a solid run through the match-play bracket at last year’s inaugural U22 Masters; nevertheless, he’s hoping to go even further this time around.
“I bowled last year and ended up finishing fifth, so I’d love to improve on that finish this year.”
That being said, Vater isn’t looking ahead to match play just yet; he has another qualifying block to bowl on Saturday, and he plans to attack it just as he would have had he finished 100th on Friday as opposed to first.
“I’m going to play the lanes just as I would have had I scored 200 pins less today,” Vater said. “Since it will be on the fresh, I’m going to use a much stronger ball, start further right, stick to my process and try to throw good shots.”
If Friday’s opening-round results are any indication of what’s to come, good shots will certainly be needed as the 44-foot U22 Masters oil pattern played much more difficult on the fresh as opposed to the burn on Friday with the top 14 overall scores coming from bowlers who bowled on the burn.
Things were a bit more balanced on the U22 Queens side with six of the opening-day top 15 having bowled on the fresh version of the 45-foot U22 Queens oil pattern and eight having taken on the burn.
All competitors at both the U22 Masters and U22 Queens will return to Thunderbowl Lanes for seven more games of qualifying on Saturday morning.
Bowlers who battled the burn Friday night will start off Saturday’s action on the fresh starting at 10 a.m. Eastern while athletes who bowled on the fresh during Round 1 will take on the burn in Round 2. Saturday’s burn squads are scheduled to begin at 4 p.m. Eastern.
At the conclusion of Saturday’s final qualifying blocks, the fields for both tournaments will be cut down to the top 32 for match play.
U22 Masters match play will begin Sunday morning at 8 a.m. Eastern with U22 Queens bracket competition following at noon Eastern.
All matches in both tournaments will be two games with total pinfall determining the winner. A player will be eliminated from the competition upon losing his or her second match.
Five rounds of matches will be contested in each tournament on Sunday with just the top eight players in each event surviving and advancing to the final day of competition on Monday.
Three additional rounds of matches will take place Monday morning beginning at 9 a.m. Eastern, after which just three players in each field will remain in contention for the 2025 U22 Masters and U22 Queens titles.
Those bowlers will advance to the finals, which will be contested at Strobl Arena inside Thunderbowl Lanes and streamed live on BowlTV on Memorial Day starting at 2 p.m. Eastern.
In addition to the first-place trophies, prize money and distinction of becoming just the second champions in each tournament’s history, a total of eight spots on Junior Team USA also will be awarded to the top finishers at the 2025 U22 Masters and U22 Queens.
Those berths on will go to the top three age-eligible finishers after the qualifying rounds at both the U22 Masters and U22 Queens and to each tournament’s champion.
If the champion has already acquired a spot or is not age eligible, the fourth and final Junior Team USA position up for grabs at each event will be given to the next-highest age-eligible finisher after the qualifying rounds.
Age-eligible athletes will be those who have not reached their 21st birthday by Jan. 1, 2026.
All rounds of competition at the U22 Masters and U22 Queens will be streamed live exclusively on BowlTV.
For more information on the 2025 U22 Masters and U22 Queens, CLICK HERE.
U22 QUEENS QUALIFYING RESULTS - ROUND 1
ALLEN PARK, Mich. – Erin Klemencic of Powder Springs, Georgia, and Robert Vater of Iola, Wisconsin, finished atop their respective leaderboards after Friday’s opening rounds of qualifying at the 2025 United States Bowling Congress U22 Masters and U22 Queens, which are being contested at Thunderbowl Lanes in Allen Park, Michigan.
Klemencic, who doubled up this year by taking home the title in both the Intercollegiate Singles Championships and Intercollegiate Team Championships (with Jacksonville State University), finished her seven-game qualifying set with games of 300, 257 and 258 (815) to lead the 82-player U22 Queens field by 65 pins after Round 1. The perfect game was the first in the history of the U22 Queens (or the U22 Masters), which is in its second year.
Klemencic had an up-and-down beginning to her qualifying round prior to the 300 game, rolling games of 226, 143, 241 and 198. It was at that point that she decided to make a change.
“I made a ball change right before I bowled the 300 game,” Klemencic said. “I went to a stronger asymmetrical pearl; I wound up having a really good look with it and stayed with it the rest of the block.”
The 19-year-old right-hander and Junior Team USA member who also won the U18 Girls title at the 2022 Junior Gold Championships in Grand Rapids, Michigan, totaled 1,623 pins during Round 1 on Friday, which was good for a 231.86 average.
“For me, it was nice to have the opportunity to get off to a good start,” Klemencic said. “It doesn’t mean everything because it’s just Day 1, but it’s nice to have some leverage going into the rest of the tournament. I just need to continue to stay patient, read my ball reaction and make the best decisions I can.”
In second place at the U22 Queens is Klemencic’s Jacksonville State teammate Annalise OBryant of Ball Ground, Georgia (1,558). OBryant, a current Team USA and Junior Team USA member, averaged 222.57 for her seven games with a high game of 268 to open the round.
While OBryant and Klemencic are teammates at both Jacksonville State and on Junior Team USA, it was Klemencic who defeated OBryant for her 2022 U18 Junior Gold Championships victory.
Two more Junior Team USA members, Melia Mitskavich of DuBois, Pennsylvania, and Sydney Bohn of Jackson, New Jersey, are third and fourth respectively. Mitskavich, the 2024 Alberta E. Crowe Star of Tomorrow Award winner, checked in a pinfall of 1,527 during the opening round while Bohn, who bowls for Vanderbilt University, finished at 1,489.
One pin behind Bohn and rounding out the opening-day top five was Carly Zuklin of Cedar Rapids, Iowa, who competes collegiately at Mount Mercy University.
Robert Vater of Iola, Wisconsin, broke 250 three times (258, 278 and 279) during his first seven games of qualifying at the 2025 U22 Masters on Friday night. That allowed the talented right-handed two-hander to finish Day 1 atop the 159-player field at this year's tournament.
U22 MASTERS QUALIFYING RESULTS - ROUND 1
Meanwhile, in U22 Masters action, Vater finished with a seven-game mark of 1,604 (a 229.14 average) thanks to scores of 258, 278, 212, 231, 279, 172 and 174.
That allowed the 21-year-old right-hand two-hander, who recently completed his junior season bowling collegiately for Mount Mercy, to finish atop the Day 1 standings in the sold out, 159-player U22 Masters field.
In addition to Vater, the U22 Masters top five after Round 1 included Chris Bald of Raleigh, North Carolina (1,548); Braden Mallasch of Waupaca, Wisconsin (1,541); Nate Trentler of Phoenix, Maryland (1,537); and Nathan Stefanski of Almont, Michigan (1,529).
Defending U22 Masters champion Brandon Bohn of Jackson, New Jersey, a three-time Junior Gold champion, current Junior Team USA member and former member of Team USA, finished Round 1 in 13th place in the U22 Masters field with a seven-game total of 1,455.
As for Vater, he didn’t come to Thunderbowl Lanes on Friday looking to grab the overall lead; he simply wanted to author a solid opening-round performance. After not only meeting but also exceeding that goal, Vater was very pleased with his Round 1 effort and the position it put him in heading into Saturday’s final seven-game qualifying block.
“I just wanted to put up a good number today so that I’d feel comfortable heading into my round on the fresh tomorrow,” Vater said. “It’s cool leading, and it definitely makes me more confident and comfortable knowing that I have a few pins to spare.”
Vater wasn’t referring to the 56-pin lead he established over Bald for first place; he was referring to the 242-pin cushion he put between himself and Kyle Dunne of Hinckley, Ohio; Carter Wescott of Green Bay, Wisconsin; and Dylan Murray of Greenville, Tennessee.
That’s because each member of that trio put up an opening-day total of 1,362 to tie for 32nd place, which is lowest position any U22 Masters competitor can find himself in at the conclusion of Saturday’s second and final seven-game qualifying block in order to advance to match play.
Vater made a solid run through the match-play bracket at last year’s inaugural U22 Masters; nevertheless, he’s hoping to go even further this time around.
“I bowled last year and ended up finishing fifth, so I’d love to improve on that finish this year.”
That being said, Vater isn’t looking ahead to match play just yet; he has another qualifying block to bowl on Saturday, and he plans to attack it just as he would have had he finished 100th on Friday as opposed to first.
“I’m going to play the lanes just as I would have had I scored 200 pins less today,” Vater said. “Since it will be on the fresh, I’m going to use a much stronger ball, start further right, stick to my process and try to throw good shots.”
If Friday’s opening-round results are any indication of what’s to come, good shots will certainly be needed as the 44-foot U22 Masters oil pattern played much more difficult on the fresh as opposed to the burn on Friday with the top 14 overall scores coming from bowlers who bowled on the burn.
Things were a bit more balanced on the U22 Queens side with six of the opening-day top 15 having bowled on the fresh version of the 45-foot U22 Queens oil pattern and eight having taken on the burn.
All competitors at both the U22 Masters and U22 Queens will return to Thunderbowl Lanes for seven more games of qualifying on Saturday morning.
Bowlers who battled the burn Friday night will start off Saturday’s action on the fresh starting at 10 a.m. Eastern while athletes who bowled on the fresh during Round 1 will take on the burn in Round 2. Saturday’s burn squads are scheduled to begin at 4 p.m. Eastern.
At the conclusion of Saturday’s final qualifying blocks, the fields for both tournaments will be cut down to the top 32 for match play.
U22 Masters match play will begin Sunday morning at 8 a.m. Eastern with U22 Queens bracket competition following at noon Eastern.
All matches in both tournaments will be two games with total pinfall determining the winner. A player will be eliminated from the competition upon losing his or her second match.
Five rounds of matches will be contested in each tournament on Sunday with just the top eight players in each event surviving and advancing to the final day of competition on Monday.
Three additional rounds of matches will take place Monday morning beginning at 9 a.m. Eastern, after which just three players in each field will remain in contention for the 2025 U22 Masters and U22 Queens titles.
Those bowlers will advance to the finals, which will be contested at Strobl Arena inside Thunderbowl Lanes and streamed live on BowlTV on Memorial Day starting at 2 p.m. Eastern.
In addition to the first-place trophies, prize money and distinction of becoming just the second champions in each tournament’s history, a total of eight spots on Junior Team USA also will be awarded to the top finishers at the 2025 U22 Masters and U22 Queens.
Those berths on will go to the top three age-eligible finishers after the qualifying rounds at both the U22 Masters and U22 Queens and to each tournament’s champion.
If the champion has already acquired a spot or is not age eligible, the fourth and final Junior Team USA position up for grabs at each event will be given to the next-highest age-eligible finisher after the qualifying rounds.
Age-eligible athletes will be those who have not reached their 21st birthday by Jan. 1, 2026.
All rounds of competition at the U22 Masters and U22 Queens will be streamed live exclusively on BowlTV.
For more information on the 2025 U22 Masters and U22 Queens, CLICK HERE.