New Mexico bowler rolls into Diamond Singles lead at USBC Women's Championships
May 26, 2010
EL PASO, Texas - Shauna Shannon of Albuquerque, N.M., drew on her experience from the recent 2010 USBC Queens to help her on the lanes at the Women's Championships on Tuesday morning.
The 31-year-old right-hander rolled games of 243, 276 and 245 for a 764 scratch series, and an additional 11 pins of handicap per game helped her into the Diamond Singles lead with 797. Kim Wirth of Hopkins, Minn., previously held the lead with 785.
Shannon's scratch singles score also helped her crack the top three in the scratch portion of the event. Tennelle Milligan of Arlington, Texas, leads with 779.
A 683 doubles effort and 681 series in team helped Shannon move up the all-events leaderboard as well. Her 2,227 handicap score is second in Diamond All-Events behind Jodi Woessner of Oregon, Ohio, who leads both scratch and Diamond All-Events with a record 2,330 total.
By competing at the Queens in April, Shannon already was familiar with the atmosphere at the El Paso Convention and Performing Arts Center, and she feels that provided a confidence boost when she hit the tournament lanes for her Women's Championships appearance.
"I think I came in a little more confident," said Shannon, who bowls at Leisure Bowl in Albuquerque and made her second Women's Championships appearance. "The shot was different, and I still had to make the right adjustments and make good shots, but the familiarity with the lanes helped. I just tried to stay steady, keep things slow and focus on what I was doing."
She qualified 11th at the Queens, before falling in her first two matches in the double-elimination match-play format.
Two pocket 7-10 splits nearly ended Shannon's run at the singles lead Tuesday, but she was able to put those shots behind her and continue to strike. She followed the second one, which came in the third game, with six consecutive strikes to put herself in position to take home her first Women's Championships title.
"After the second 7-10, I thought, 'oh my gosh, that's twice,'" Shannon said. "I just had to let it go, and I made the right adjustment to start striking again."
As she was finishing her set, Shannon tried not to focus on the number she had to reach, but now that she's there, all eyes will be on her score. There are still 39 days of competition left before the tournament concludes on July 4.
"It's really hard to say if it will hold up, but I'm hoping it does," Shannon said. "If someone does beat it, I'll be the first to congratulate her. This tournament was great, though. The ladies we bowled with were great. It's just a great tournament."
The Diamond Division is made up of bowlers with averages of 180 and above, with handicap based on 100 percent of 220.
Along with the three handicap divisions (Diamond, Ruby and Sapphire), the highest scratch scores in team, doubles, singles and all-events will be recognized as overall tournament champions. An additional prize fund of $8,000 will be distributed among the top three scratch scores in each event.
Presenting sponsors for the 2010 USBC Women's Championships are Nationwide Insurance; Kegel, official lane maintenance provider; US Steltronic, official scoring system; Brunswick; Storm Bowling Products Inc.; and the El Paso Convention and Visitors Bureau.
The 31-year-old right-hander rolled games of 243, 276 and 245 for a 764 scratch series, and an additional 11 pins of handicap per game helped her into the Diamond Singles lead with 797. Kim Wirth of Hopkins, Minn., previously held the lead with 785.
Shannon's scratch singles score also helped her crack the top three in the scratch portion of the event. Tennelle Milligan of Arlington, Texas, leads with 779.
A 683 doubles effort and 681 series in team helped Shannon move up the all-events leaderboard as well. Her 2,227 handicap score is second in Diamond All-Events behind Jodi Woessner of Oregon, Ohio, who leads both scratch and Diamond All-Events with a record 2,330 total.
By competing at the Queens in April, Shannon already was familiar with the atmosphere at the El Paso Convention and Performing Arts Center, and she feels that provided a confidence boost when she hit the tournament lanes for her Women's Championships appearance.
"I think I came in a little more confident," said Shannon, who bowls at Leisure Bowl in Albuquerque and made her second Women's Championships appearance. "The shot was different, and I still had to make the right adjustments and make good shots, but the familiarity with the lanes helped. I just tried to stay steady, keep things slow and focus on what I was doing."
She qualified 11th at the Queens, before falling in her first two matches in the double-elimination match-play format.
Two pocket 7-10 splits nearly ended Shannon's run at the singles lead Tuesday, but she was able to put those shots behind her and continue to strike. She followed the second one, which came in the third game, with six consecutive strikes to put herself in position to take home her first Women's Championships title.
"After the second 7-10, I thought, 'oh my gosh, that's twice,'" Shannon said. "I just had to let it go, and I made the right adjustment to start striking again."
As she was finishing her set, Shannon tried not to focus on the number she had to reach, but now that she's there, all eyes will be on her score. There are still 39 days of competition left before the tournament concludes on July 4.
"It's really hard to say if it will hold up, but I'm hoping it does," Shannon said. "If someone does beat it, I'll be the first to congratulate her. This tournament was great, though. The ladies we bowled with were great. It's just a great tournament."
The Diamond Division is made up of bowlers with averages of 180 and above, with handicap based on 100 percent of 220.
Along with the three handicap divisions (Diamond, Ruby and Sapphire), the highest scratch scores in team, doubles, singles and all-events will be recognized as overall tournament champions. An additional prize fund of $8,000 will be distributed among the top three scratch scores in each event.
Presenting sponsors for the 2010 USBC Women's Championships are Nationwide Insurance; Kegel, official lane maintenance provider; US Steltronic, official scoring system; Brunswick; Storm Bowling Products Inc.; and the El Paso Convention and Visitors Bureau.