Strong finish helps New Mexico bowler to lead at 2017 Women's Championships

By Ryne Navarro and Aaron Smith
USBC Communications

BATON ROUGE, La. -
Janet Clark of Albuquerque, New Mexico, finished her singles set at the 2017 United States Bowling Congress Women's Championships with five consecutive strikes, propelling her to the top of the standings in Emerald Singles.

Clark, a 61-year-old right-hander, started singles Tuesday at the Raising Cane's River Center with games of 207 and 190, while her late string of strikes pushed her to a 226 finish for a 623 series.

Melanie Prough of Woodbine, Georgia, previously held the Emerald Singles lead with 608.

"I'm shocked," said Clark, who rolled the first 600 set of her USBC Women's Championships career. "I've never bowled this well at this tournament, so it's a good feeling."

Clark made her fifth tournament appearance this week, and she makes the trip to meet new people and see new places.

Bowling well at the world's largest participatory sporting event for women always is a bonus, too, and Clark was happy to rebound after a slower start during team and doubles competition at the River Center.

Clark added sets of 534 in team and 445 in doubles for a 1,602 all-events tally. Rhonda Acitelli of Villa Park, Illinois, leads Emerald All-Events with 1,737.

"There really wasn't a strategy," Clark said. "I started out slow, but as the day went on, I just figured it out."

Emerald Singles and Emerald All-Events consist of bowlers with entering averages of 160-174.

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