Win qualifies McEwan to bowl Tournament of Champions

LAS VEGAS (Oct. 23, 2015) – Competing against a strong field of U.S. and international non-champions, Danielle McEwan of Stony Point, N.Y., defeated Aaron Lorincz of Belleville, Mich., 277-236, to become the ninth woman to win a Professional Bowlers Association Regional title in the South Point PBA West Challenge at South Point Bowling Plaza Friday.

The tournament, part of the multi-event South Point Bowling Plaza PBA Fall Classic, was open to players who have never won a PBA event and drew bowlers from Colombia, Australia, Sweden, Venezuela and Canada. As a PBA West Region title winner, McEwan is now eligible to enter the 2016 FireLake PBA Tournament of Champions which will be held in Shawnee, Okla., Jan. 30-Feb. 7.

“Every time you win it’s pretty awesome, but against the guys? That’s pretty cool,” the 24-year-old former Fairleigh Dickinson collegiate All-American said.

In the semifinal round, Lorincz eliminated Colombia national team member Manuel Otalora, 212-178, while McEwan defeated eight-time European Bowling Tour titlist Martin Larsen of Sweden, 207-203.

McEwan is riding a stunning hot streak which began with her victory in the Professional Women’s Bowling Association Tour Championship in early September, concluding the first full season of women’s professional bowling since 2003. She was in the field of 16 finalists in the PBA Xtra Frame South Point Las Vegas Open singles event that ended Thursday until the final qualifying game when she dropped to 22nd place in the male-dominated field of 112. Her finish was still good enough to clinch an invitation to represent the PWBA in the DHC PBA Japan Invitational in Tokyo in January.

“I think I’m doing so well because of the women’s tour,” McEwan said. “It’s the first time we got to bowl on a regular tour, and my game got really sharp, and I’ve been able to keep it going. I’m going to ride it as long as I can.”

As a four-time member of Team USA, McEwan’s next competition will be the World Bowling Women’s World Championship Dec. 4-13 in the United Arab Emirates. Afterward, she will immediately fly to Reno, Nev., where she will represent the PBA East Region in the PWBA-PBA Women’s Regional Challenge, a head-to-head match play competition involving women’s points leaders for all eight PBA Regions, during the GEICO PBA World Series of Bowling VII.

The South Point Bowling Plaza PBA Fall Classic continues with the most high-powered five-player team competition in PBA history, the PBA Team Challenge, Saturday and Sunday. The PBA Fall Classic concludes with the PBA50 Western Open, a regional tournament for players ages 50 and older, on Monday.

The entire Fall Classic is being covered live, exclusively on PBA’s online video-streaming service, Xtra Frame. For details, visit pba.com.

SOUTH POINT PBA WEST CHALLENGE
South Point Bowling Plaza, Las Vegas, Friday

Championship
Danielle McEwan, Stony Point, N.Y. ($1,500) def. Aaron Lorincz, Belleville, Mich. ($900), 277-236.

Semifinal Round (losers earned $700)
Aaron Lorincz def. Manuel Otalora, Colombia, 212-178.
f-McEwan, Stony Point, N.Y., def. Martin Larsen, Sweden, 207-203.

Round of 8 (best of three games, losers earned $550)
Lorincz def. Jimmy Cook, Indianapolis, 2-0.
Larsen def. Francois Lavoie, Canada, 2-0.
Otalora def. Jaime Gonzalez, Colombia, 2-1.
f-McEwan def. Jakob Butturff, Chandler, Ariz., 2-1.

Round of 16 (best of five games, losers earned $450)
Gonzalez def. a-BJ Harvey, Martinsburg, W.Va., 3-0.
Otalora def. Andrew Anderson, Holly, Mich., 3-2.
Cook def. Sam Cooley, Australia, 3-2.
Lorincz def. Ronnie Sparks Jr., Ecorse, Mich., 3-1.
Larsen def. a-Matthew Schermorhorn, El Segundo, Calif., 3-1.
Lavoie def. Ari Wilson, University Park, Ill., 3-0.
Butturff def. Toby Sambueno, Saginaw, Mich., 3-1.
f-McEwan def. Daniel Miyamoto, Mililani, Hawaii, 3-2.

a-denotes amateur; f-denotes female