Stepladder finalists determined after Day 3 at 2025 USBC Senior Queens
April 13, 2025
Bracket Results
LAS VEGAS – Only five competitors remain in the hunt for the 2025 United States Bowling Congress Senior Queens title, contested at Sam’s Town Bowling Center in Las Vegas.
Liz Johnson of Niagara Falls, New York, holds the No. 1 seed in Sunday’s stepladder finals after going 5-0 in the double-elimination match-play bracket. Johnson needs to only win one game and must be defeated twice in the title match.
Holding the No. 2 seed is Jody Scheerer of Orlando, Florida, who fell to Johnson in the final match of the Winner’s Bracket. Scheerer and Johnson were competitors during the later stages of the original Professional Women’s Bowling Association Tour and the competitive spirit this week is strong as both are making their Senior Queens debut.
“It’s been amazing because it’s been so long since we’ve seen people we used to bowl against back in the 90s,” said Scheerer. “Everybody is so friendly and happy, it’s nice to also have that adrenaline in competition.”
Joining Johnson and Scheerer in the stepladder from the final Elimination Bracket match are No. 3 seed Rina Sabo of Bennett, Colorado, No. 4 seed Jill Friis of Canada and defending champion Kathy Ledford of Boise, Idaho, as the No. 5 seed. Char Hammel of Henderson, Nevada, was the low one out in that match and ended the week in sixth place for $2,500.
This is Friis’ second straight year making the stepladder finals and will at least match her fifth-place finish from 2024 as the No. 4 seed. Sabo has improved upon her 13th place in 2024, while Hammel went from 64th in 2024 to sixth this year.
For Ledford, the prospect of being the first back-to-back winner since Robin Romeo’s three-peat from 2014-2016 has been in the back of her head but her focus is set on the opening stepladder match.
“I took the long road this year and made every match interesting,” said Ledford, who fell into the Elimination Bracket after a Round 2 loss to Lynda Barnes. “I’m okay being in the No. 5 spot, it keeps the ball in my hand the whole time and I won’t have to wait.
“It would be amazing to go back-to-back, especially in such a strong field and with Liz as the top seed. Anybody can beat anybody in a one-game match, and I showed last year that anybody can be beaten in a two-game match.”
In 2024, Ledford was the No. 3 seed in the stepladder and was able to defeat 2023 champion Dana Ausec twice as Ausec was the No. 1 seed. Now Ledford must fully climb the ladder to successfully defend her tiara. If Johnson were to win, she would be just the third bowler to hold USBC Queens and USBC Senior Queens titles, joining Sandra Postma and Anne Marie Duggan.
The stepladder finals are set to begin at 1 p.m. Eastern on Sunday and will be broadcast live on BowlTV.
For more information on the Senior Queens, visit BOWL.com/SeniorQueens.
LAS VEGAS – Only five competitors remain in the hunt for the 2025 United States Bowling Congress Senior Queens title, contested at Sam’s Town Bowling Center in Las Vegas.
Liz Johnson of Niagara Falls, New York, holds the No. 1 seed in Sunday’s stepladder finals after going 5-0 in the double-elimination match-play bracket. Johnson needs to only win one game and must be defeated twice in the title match.
Holding the No. 2 seed is Jody Scheerer of Orlando, Florida, who fell to Johnson in the final match of the Winner’s Bracket. Scheerer and Johnson were competitors during the later stages of the original Professional Women’s Bowling Association Tour and the competitive spirit this week is strong as both are making their Senior Queens debut.
“It’s been amazing because it’s been so long since we’ve seen people we used to bowl against back in the 90s,” said Scheerer. “Everybody is so friendly and happy, it’s nice to also have that adrenaline in competition.”
Joining Johnson and Scheerer in the stepladder from the final Elimination Bracket match are No. 3 seed Rina Sabo of Bennett, Colorado, No. 4 seed Jill Friis of Canada and defending champion Kathy Ledford of Boise, Idaho, as the No. 5 seed. Char Hammel of Henderson, Nevada, was the low one out in that match and ended the week in sixth place for $2,500.
This is Friis’ second straight year making the stepladder finals and will at least match her fifth-place finish from 2024 as the No. 4 seed. Sabo has improved upon her 13th place in 2024, while Hammel went from 64th in 2024 to sixth this year.
For Ledford, the prospect of being the first back-to-back winner since Robin Romeo’s three-peat from 2014-2016 has been in the back of her head but her focus is set on the opening stepladder match.
“I took the long road this year and made every match interesting,” said Ledford, who fell into the Elimination Bracket after a Round 2 loss to Lynda Barnes. “I’m okay being in the No. 5 spot, it keeps the ball in my hand the whole time and I won’t have to wait.
“It would be amazing to go back-to-back, especially in such a strong field and with Liz as the top seed. Anybody can beat anybody in a one-game match, and I showed last year that anybody can be beaten in a two-game match.”
In 2024, Ledford was the No. 3 seed in the stepladder and was able to defeat 2023 champion Dana Ausec twice as Ausec was the No. 1 seed. Now Ledford must fully climb the ladder to successfully defend her tiara. If Johnson were to win, she would be just the third bowler to hold USBC Queens and USBC Senior Queens titles, joining Sandra Postma and Anne Marie Duggan.
The stepladder finals are set to begin at 1 p.m. Eastern on Sunday and will be broadcast live on BowlTV.
For more information on the Senior Queens, visit BOWL.com/SeniorQueens.