Now that the 2011 World Women's Championships is upon us, two Team USA members will be blogging on their experience in Hong Kong: 2009 World Champion Stefanie Nation, and 2007 World Champion Shannon O'Keefe. This year, after finishing second in the team event for the past three World Women's Championships, Team USA is determined to bring home the gold. Be sure to check back often as these players blog on their experiences on and off the lanes in Hong Kong and pursue their ultimate goal.

Shannon O'Keefe:
Today was a little rough. We are in sixth place and only 80 out of first, but it felt worse than that for me. I struggled early missing two 10 pins in the first game with two doubles for a 189. We decided as a team to throw shots up 10 to try and create a hook spot. I think the idea was okay, but for me once I moved left to start the game I don't think I ever moved far enough. Once the game started we all had the left lane hooking more. I was right on the edge of the friction and if I missed just a little right it was through the nose every time. I think Carolyn was getting the same thing as me, she threw some unbelievable shots but paid the price every time and shot 153. Fortunately for us the other three ladies, Shannon, Liz and Kelly, bowled great and we shot 1,064 our first game.

The second game was a little better. We all moved further left, but again for me as the game progressed I was starting to lose the picture of the shape I wanted to see my ball make. I shot 212 and our team shot 1,089. We didn't know what place we were in but we crossed with Germany the second game and they shot 1,262 their first game and Denmark was to our right, and they were bowling great, in fact their fifth bowler shot 300 the second game for a team total of 1,179. So we knew we were going to need a big last game to keep it close going into the second day of team on the medium where the scores have been a little lower.

We made the move into our third game and the girls all started great as I continued to struggle and see the shape I wanted. I worked with Kim a lot for a few frames to buy into what I needed to do. I later went back and watched on live stream and my angle through the front was just too open. So by frame six I finally tightened up my angles and threw some great shots. I threw the last six for 225. Our team bowled great and we ended the day with 1,185 which is exactly what we needed to put us within striking distance of the lead heading into the final 3 games tomorrow morning on the medium.

Stefanie was the sixth woman out today, but she bowled great. She said that last night she stayed up and watched our trios final and it was the best thing she could have done because she noticed a few physical things that were going on. Well, she obviously fixed it because she shot 647. Tomorrow Stefanie will be bowling with the team and I will be the 6th woman out. Even though I will not be bowling with the girls I will be with them all day, while still trying to fight my way to stay in the top 16 for Masters.

We have worked so hard for this tournament and especially this event. We are ready to come in tomorrow and fight. USA all the way!!! Wish us luck and make sure you're watching and cheering. Coverage starts at 8AM tomorrow morning so it's a little earlier for everyone back home....no excuses. ;0)

Shannon O'Keefe:
Well Stefanie, Shannon and I bowled our first three games of trios on the medium pattern. There was a lot more hook this time around for Stefanie and I on this pattern, so I was able to bump left and actually had a little hold. We shot 2,025. We bowled great but definitely gave pins away. In one of my games (can't remember now, so much has happened since then) I missed a 10 pin in the 10th frame; the approaches are slippery and I got too fast and just flat out missed it....ugh! :0( We battled hard and again I had a hard time carrying the last game.

Kelly, Liz & Carolyn came in after us and bowled incredible. Their second game they shot 760!!! They were on a roll and after the first three games were done, we were in fifth & seventh only 80 & 100 pins out of the lead. When we got back to the hotel Stefanie and I decided to just relax and grab food here like we did the night before, and then we headed to the gym for a nice workout and long stretch. The rest of the team headed down to the harbor and grabbed food down there....it is beautiful down there.

Stefanie Nation:
A lot has gone on since I last wrote! To sum it all up, Team USA has won Doubles AND Trios Gold and Bronze Medals! It has surely been quite the whirlwind these last couple of days bowling - but a FUN whirl wind nonetheless.

Bowling with Shannon O'Keefe for doubles and then again for Trios along with Shannon Pluhowsky was so much fun. The chemistry that the three of us have is great and it just works. When someone was down, the other two were right there to pick each other up - as it should be. We knew going into our block that we had to shoot some high scores to sneak into the top four and after getting off to a slow start shooting 652, we bounced back and shot 802!!! That was a huge moment for us. We gained a lot of ground on the field and we never looked back. In a perfect world both teams would have advanced to the finals, but we were fortunate enough to have advanced and got the job done.

It's fair to say that the momentum is surely flowing and we are ready to rock 'n roll for team event these next two days. I am the sixth person out so I am hoping to not be too far from the team so I can keep tabs on how they are bowling. I will keep my ears open for a few "USA" cheers! Although we are very excited and grateful to have won four medals thus far, we all know there is still a lot of work to be done these next few days and it won't be any sort of gimme. Having said that, it's time to sign off and make this short and sweet. Time for some rest and dreams of great shot making!

Shannon O'Keefe:
Well Stefanie and I got a two-day break before we got to bowl doubles. However, it was incredible to watch our teammates rock them!! Shannon and Liz led the first squad and then Kelly and Carolyn came in the very next squad and ran them over. They bowled amazing and were sitting in first after two rounds. Shannon and Liz were tied for second but were third due to the tie. The tie breaker is whoever had the high last game, and that went to Singapore.

So Finally after two days of watching it was time for Stefanie and I to dust our shoes off and attack. Our goal was for one team to break into the top four and that was us. We started off well, I shot 254 with a split in the third frame, Stefanie struggled with an open in the ninth and 10th but still shot 190 something. After that we struggled with carry all day. I think my next high game was 216, my low was 193. It was about game four and we were crossing next to Denmark who at this point was 300+, they were playing around 5 so Stefanie and I jumped right. It looked close but still not right. I moved all over the place and threw every ball I had with me. After it was all said and done I struggled to go 70+ today. We learned a lot and I guess if this was going to happen I prefer it to happen when we had two doubles teams already in the top four.

Denmark ended up finishing not so strong, so our girls qualified first and fourth place. You can look at this two ways. Yes, it was a bummer because it would be nice for USA to have both teams bowling for the gold. However, if both teams lost in the semifinals then we would only walk away with two Bronzes. So I look at it as good because USA is guaranteed to be in the GOLD medal match!!!!

So we were off, Carolyn and Kelly lost to Shannon and Liz, while Denmark lost to Singapore. How fitting to have the two teams that tied each other bowling for the Gold! Well, thankfully, Shannon and Liz bowled incredible and USA walked away World Champions in doubles.

CONGRATULATIONS to my teammates Liz and Shannon P. These were their first Gold medals in a World Championship. Can you believe that?!Carolyn and Kelly brought home a Bronze and now we are gearing up for Trios.

Stefanie, Shannon and I will be bowling the first squad of Trios in the morning; we will bowl three games on the medium, and then Kelly, Liz and Carolyn will bowl in the afternoon. I will be making some surface changes in the morning to try and match up a little better on this medium pattern. Kelly said after their match they weren't close to how they were yesterday, so we will attack tomorrow with the knowledge we have learned so far, but still keep an open mind. Make sure you tune into BOWL.com to watch. We will be the ones in RED WHITE & BLUE!!!!! :)

More to come later!! :)

Stefanie Nation:
I can't believe we have already been here a WEEK! We have been busy this entire time between working a clinic with some of the Hong Kong kids, practicing, shopping and now officially starting the competition.

Singles championships has completed and we did not make the top four. The scores are extremely high so we are hoping to bring our extra striking shoes with us for the next days to come! I was low on our team averaging 221. Normally I would take that any other day, but it appears I was about 20-30 pins below the scoring pace! I will have to pick up my 'slack' :-)

Our tour guide Peng took us to another market this evening that was two stops away from our hotel via Subway. It surely wasn't as nice as the first one we went to, but we all managed to buy something anyway (shocker). And again, I'm sure that will not be the end of our shopping since it's just so much fun and everything is up for bargaining! This has been the most I have ever ridden on a Subway since that is the main way of commuting here. Not too many people here have cars so they either take the Subway or the bus everywhere. We are very privileged to own cars and be able to up and go whenever we like.

Monday starts our Doubles event - Shannon Pluhowsky/Liz Johnson, Carolyn Dorin-Ballard/Kelly Kulick and Shannon O'Keefe and myself. Tomorrow I get to be a cheerleader again since we do not bowl until Tuesday morning. Send lots of carry to the USA!!!! Goodnight!

Shannon O'Keefe:
Hello from Hong Kong!!!

Well after a very long trip and not the best sleep on a plane we made it to Hong Kong safely . . . minus Kelly Kulick. We have Hurricane Irene to thank for that. Our hotel is very nice. I don't think anyone had trouble falling asleep; however I think we all wake up between 5 and 6 every morning.

The first two days that we were here we did two exhibitions/clinics for Hong Kong Special Olympics and a local school. It was great to do something like this for another country, the kids were very cute and some spoke English fairly well.

We have a guide that has taken us to some really amazing places, and must sees if you're ever in Hong Kong. Her name is Paeng and she is an Olympic Gold medalist in Volleyball from the 2004 Olympics in Athens. She is VERY funny and thinks we all just like to shop all the time.

She took us to a market called the "ladies Market." This is where you can buy every thing cheapy Cheapy . . . we have been back several times. :p I'm pretty sure the locals in the market think we are cheap because we offer them at least half of what they want us to pay. This one lady got so mad at Stefanie and I because we tried on all these shirts and then didn't want to pay her price so we started to walk away . . . she crouched down and started yelling in Chinese. We asked Paeng if she was mad and she just smiled and shook her head. Oh well, we walked away. It obviously was enough because she chased me down, grabbed my arm and said "OK, OK it's a secret." So Stefanie and I both bought our shirts . . . haha.

The next day Paeng took us to a place called The Peak on Hong Kong Island. We had to take this trolley up a very steep mountain but once we got there the view was incredible, and of course there were more shops. We are not sure how Carolyn Dorin-Ballard will get all of her stuff home. :p

The following day Paeng took us on the subway to find "Giant Buddha." Once we got off the subway we took a 25-minute ride up a glass bottom cable car to the top of this mountain. It was beautiful and a little scary at first. Once we got off the cable car we still had to walk at least a mile and up a bazillion stairs to get to "Giant Buddha," but it was worth it. It was a once-in-a-lifetime experience.

We have been able to bowl everyday we have been here, which has been nice. I mean that is the reason we are here, right?!?! Finally after all the anticipation of Hong Kong and the World Championships . . . official practice session. It was very hot and very quick. We were given two pattern to bowl on: the Paris pattern, which is 47 feet long, and the Seoul pattern, which is 39 feet long. Every 10 minutes the whistle would blow and we would have to move pairs. I felt like the lanes played very similar to what we were able to create in the International Training and Research Center in Arlington, Texas over the past six weeks. We found out that the surface in Hong Kong would be more friction, so for the last six weeks in the ITRC we have been bowling on all the patters with 20% less volume. I think it was a very smart call by our coaching staff.

So Singles started today. Stefanie and I had the first squad at 9 a.m., Liz Johnson and Shannon Pluhowsky were on the second squad today at 1:30 and Carolyn and Kelly will bowl tomorrow on the third squad. Singles is on Paris. Both Stefanie and I started very well. We were both on a 250 pace going into the 10th and we both left 10 pins so we both shot 230. I started with my Prodigy around 16-17 with my eyes, trying to keep the ball tight through the heads. As the lanes broke down I made parallel moves left. I had a great reaction and felt like the pins were falling my way. The last game I felt like I got lost in the transition, but I think I now know what I will do when I see that again. I had no idea how anyone else was bowling. I was just focusing on Stefanie and myself and after our squad I was in second place with a 240 average. Not a bad place to be in.

Stef and I went off to lunch with Kelly and Carolyn, and when we came back . . . OMG the scores were HUGE. It then became shockingly obvious that my 240 average will probably not be enough to make the top four. After each event they will cut to the top four--first vs. fourth and second vs. third, with winners bowling for the Gold and losers earning Bronze. Well, the second squad scores seemed to drop off the last two games and I'm somehow still in the top four. There is still one squad to go. I'm just hoping for Kelly, Carolyn or I to be in the top four. Let's start this tournament off on the right foot!

More to come later!

Stefanie Nation:
Our journey to the World Women's Championships began on Saturday in the states and ended Sunday night here in Hong Kong. Our flight was 17 hours total and because of the timing, we never saw night until we actually landed. Needless to say, the shades were mostly closed throughout the entire flight so people could rest.

Fast forward a few days, we are now completely adjusted to the time here in Hong Kong and it's been wonderful. We have a personal tour guide (at least for a few more days) that has been showing us all of the hot spots here in the area. Her name is Peng and we came to find out she was on the volleyball team that competed in the 2004 Athens Olympics where they won gold! She is super funny and finally opening up to us more and more each day.

Up until this point (Friday) our days have consisted of going to the bowling center for unofficial practice and then having the rest of the days to break free and explore. We have visited the ladies market which is about a 10 minute walk from our hotel where we have gone crazy bargaining with people for our souvenirs. It's so much fun! There are a lot of neat things to buy here and I am certain that our shopping is far from over with.

We have visited the big Buddha as well where we had to take a 25 minute tram right to get to. We opted to take the glass-bottom tram where we could see down the entire time (a little bizarre) but it was exciting since we were going over water and mountains. Of course we took plenty of pictures and yes, bought more souvenirs!

The weather here has been warm which is nothing different than back in the states. Our tour guide Peng was so adamant that I put on sunscreen (she singled me out) so I did just to make her happy. :0) I suppose she doesn't realize we aren't allergic to the sun!

Today we have official practice and then opening ceremonies following right after. We are bowling on Paris (47') and Seoul (39') so we are hoping to get a good look on these patterns before we start singles tomorrow. This is more short and sweet synopsis of what has gone on up until today so there will be more to come!