Singles qualifying reaches halfway point at 2019 Pan American Games in Peru
July 29, 2019
Standings
LIMA, Peru - The first day of singles took place Sunday at the 2019 Pan American Games, and things continued to go well for Puerto Rico's Jean Perez, who rolled a perfect game, posted a record score for the second consecutive day and paced the men's field through the first of two days of qualifying.
The left-hander averaged 253.5 for his six games at the Bowling Center of La Villa Deportiva Nacional (VIDENA) and topped the standings with a 1,521 total, the highest six game set in Pan Am Games singles competition and the second-highest six-game total in tournament history.
Team USA southpaw Jakob Butturff set and broke the overall six-game mark in consecutive days this week on the way to a doubles silver medal, and though his own pace slowed slightly in the opening round of singles, he still finished the day in second place with a 1,498 total, 23 pins behind Perez.
Canada's Dan MacLelland, who will be retiring from Team Canada after this year's Pan Am Games, closed with games of 290 and 257 to catapult into third place with a 1,486 total. Lucas Legnani of Argentina is fourth with 1,446, and Francois Lavoie of Canada is fifth with 1,410.
"This week has been big for us, and the lanes are really good on our side, so I just want to take advantage whenever I can," said Perez, who teamed with Cristian Azcona to claim this week's doubles gold medal with a record 5,816 total, a 242.3 team average. "The lanes have been getting tighter and tighter, but I was OK after some surface changes and small adjustments."
Former Team USA member Bill O'Neill previously held the six-game singles record at the Pan American Games with 1,511, rolled during the 2011 event in Guadalajara, Mexico. During doubles this week, Butturff rolled sets of 1,516 and 1,538.
Perez's 300 game Sunday was the second of the 2019 Pan Am Games and made him the first bowler in the bowling center's short history with two perfect games.
The recently built venue first was used for the 2019 Pan American Bowling Confederation Men's Championships in April, and Perez rolled one of that tournament's four 300s.
Team USA right-hander Nick Pate rolled his highest set of the week and finished the first day of singles in 10th place with a 1,361 total. He's only seven pins out of the top eight with six games left to bowl.
On the women's side Sunday, Mexico's Aseret Zetter and Iliana Lomeli maintained their momentum from doubles and finished the day first and third in the singles standings, respectively. The two were the doubles silver medalists Saturday, finishing behind Stefanie Johnson and Shannon O'Keefe of the United States.
Zetter started singles with a 258 game and averaged nearly 233 over six games. She topped the 32-player field with a 1,397 total, also a Pan Am singles record.
Longtime Team USA member and United States Bowling Congress Hall of Famer Kelly Kulick preciously held the record with 1,376, rolled in 2011. Johnson set the overall mark with a 1,409 block Saturday en route to the doubles title.
Colombia's Clara Guerrero finished the day 42 pins behind Zetter with a 1,355 total, while a 280 finale Saturday landed Lomeli in third place with 1,354. She is followed by Aruba's Thashaina Seraus (1,323) and Astrid Valiente of the Dominican Republic (1,300).
Team USA's O'Keefe is sixth with 1,280, and Johnson is 17th with 1,183.
Much like Perez described, the 41-foot World Bowling Rome oil pattern seemed different Sunday, so many players were working through ball, surface and lane play options.
That included O'Keefe and Johnson, who also made sure to be cautious about letting the emotion and adrenaline of their doubles win affect their performances in singles.
"It definitely is hard when you have an experience like we did yesterday, to regroup so quickly and get back out there to compete for another medal," O'Keefe said. "For me, I had some trouble getting comfortable and getting my footing, and my 10 minutes of warm-up wasn't the best. I just didn't have the chance to try too many things."
Despite starting with games of 175 and 199, the 15-time Team USA member battled back and finished the day inside the cut number with six games to go Monday morning.
"I got out to a slow start, and when you're not comfortable, you tend to stick with what has worked so far, which meant playing farther to the right," O'Keefe said. "It became evident quickly that the lanes had become much tighter downlane, and that wasn't going to work. I bailed as soon as I realized, but it took me another half game to pick a ball and a strategy. Then, it was chip away, chip away. That will be the goal again tomorrow."
All competitors will return to the lanes Monday for six additional games of qualifying, before their 12-game pinfall totals determine the eight women and eight men who will advance to round-robin match play. The top four bowlers after match play will advance to Tuesday's knockout-style semifinals.
The women will start their second round of singles Monday at 10 a.m. Eastern, and the men will take the lanes at 5 p.m. EDT.
The 2019 Pan American Games officially kicked off Friday night with a formal opening ceremony and will continue through Aug. 11. The bowling competition, featuring 16 men's countries and 16 women's countries, will conclude Tuesday.
This year's Pan Am Games is expected to bring more than 6,700 athletes to Lima to compete in 39 sports and 61 disciplines.
Since bowling was added to the Pan American Games in 1991, Team USA has won 22 of a possible 34 gold medals and claimed 37 medals overall, 20 more than the next-closest country.
LIMA, Peru - The first day of singles took place Sunday at the 2019 Pan American Games, and things continued to go well for Puerto Rico's Jean Perez, who rolled a perfect game, posted a record score for the second consecutive day and paced the men's field through the first of two days of qualifying.
The left-hander averaged 253.5 for his six games at the Bowling Center of La Villa Deportiva Nacional (VIDENA) and topped the standings with a 1,521 total, the highest six game set in Pan Am Games singles competition and the second-highest six-game total in tournament history.
Team USA southpaw Jakob Butturff set and broke the overall six-game mark in consecutive days this week on the way to a doubles silver medal, and though his own pace slowed slightly in the opening round of singles, he still finished the day in second place with a 1,498 total, 23 pins behind Perez.
Canada's Dan MacLelland, who will be retiring from Team Canada after this year's Pan Am Games, closed with games of 290 and 257 to catapult into third place with a 1,486 total. Lucas Legnani of Argentina is fourth with 1,446, and Francois Lavoie of Canada is fifth with 1,410.
"This week has been big for us, and the lanes are really good on our side, so I just want to take advantage whenever I can," said Perez, who teamed with Cristian Azcona to claim this week's doubles gold medal with a record 5,816 total, a 242.3 team average. "The lanes have been getting tighter and tighter, but I was OK after some surface changes and small adjustments."
Former Team USA member Bill O'Neill previously held the six-game singles record at the Pan American Games with 1,511, rolled during the 2011 event in Guadalajara, Mexico. During doubles this week, Butturff rolled sets of 1,516 and 1,538.
Perez's 300 game Sunday was the second of the 2019 Pan Am Games and made him the first bowler in the bowling center's short history with two perfect games.
The recently built venue first was used for the 2019 Pan American Bowling Confederation Men's Championships in April, and Perez rolled one of that tournament's four 300s.
Team USA right-hander Nick Pate rolled his highest set of the week and finished the first day of singles in 10th place with a 1,361 total. He's only seven pins out of the top eight with six games left to bowl.
On the women's side Sunday, Mexico's Aseret Zetter and Iliana Lomeli maintained their momentum from doubles and finished the day first and third in the singles standings, respectively. The two were the doubles silver medalists Saturday, finishing behind Stefanie Johnson and Shannon O'Keefe of the United States.Zetter started singles with a 258 game and averaged nearly 233 over six games. She topped the 32-player field with a 1,397 total, also a Pan Am singles record.
Longtime Team USA member and United States Bowling Congress Hall of Famer Kelly Kulick preciously held the record with 1,376, rolled in 2011. Johnson set the overall mark with a 1,409 block Saturday en route to the doubles title.
Colombia's Clara Guerrero finished the day 42 pins behind Zetter with a 1,355 total, while a 280 finale Saturday landed Lomeli in third place with 1,354. She is followed by Aruba's Thashaina Seraus (1,323) and Astrid Valiente of the Dominican Republic (1,300).
Team USA's O'Keefe is sixth with 1,280, and Johnson is 17th with 1,183.
Much like Perez described, the 41-foot World Bowling Rome oil pattern seemed different Sunday, so many players were working through ball, surface and lane play options.
That included O'Keefe and Johnson, who also made sure to be cautious about letting the emotion and adrenaline of their doubles win affect their performances in singles.
"It definitely is hard when you have an experience like we did yesterday, to regroup so quickly and get back out there to compete for another medal," O'Keefe said. "For me, I had some trouble getting comfortable and getting my footing, and my 10 minutes of warm-up wasn't the best. I just didn't have the chance to try too many things."
Despite starting with games of 175 and 199, the 15-time Team USA member battled back and finished the day inside the cut number with six games to go Monday morning.
"I got out to a slow start, and when you're not comfortable, you tend to stick with what has worked so far, which meant playing farther to the right," O'Keefe said. "It became evident quickly that the lanes had become much tighter downlane, and that wasn't going to work. I bailed as soon as I realized, but it took me another half game to pick a ball and a strategy. Then, it was chip away, chip away. That will be the goal again tomorrow."
All competitors will return to the lanes Monday for six additional games of qualifying, before their 12-game pinfall totals determine the eight women and eight men who will advance to round-robin match play. The top four bowlers after match play will advance to Tuesday's knockout-style semifinals.
The women will start their second round of singles Monday at 10 a.m. Eastern, and the men will take the lanes at 5 p.m. EDT.
The 2019 Pan American Games officially kicked off Friday night with a formal opening ceremony and will continue through Aug. 11. The bowling competition, featuring 16 men's countries and 16 women's countries, will conclude Tuesday.
This year's Pan Am Games is expected to bring more than 6,700 athletes to Lima to compete in 39 sports and 61 disciplines.
Since bowling was added to the Pan American Games in 1991, Team USA has won 22 of a possible 34 gold medals and claimed 37 medals overall, 20 more than the next-closest country.