Team USA bowlers in medal hunt heading into final day of competition at Champion of Champions
October 09, 2024
(From left to right: Bryanna Coté, Crystal Elliott, Matt Russo and Chris Via)
FULL RESULTS
LIMA, Peru – Team USA bowlers Bryanna Coté of Tucson, Arizona; Crystal Elliott of Palm Bay, Florida; Matt Russo of Ballwin, Missouri, and Chris Via of Springfield, Ohio, all authored strong performances during the opening round of singles on Tuesday to place themselves in the thick of the medal hunt heading into Wednesday’s final day of competition at the 2024 PANAM Bowling Champion of Champions, which is being contested at the VIDENA Bowling Center of La Villa Deportiva Nacional (VIDENA) in Lima, Peru
Fresh off their silver-medal performance in men’s doubles on Monday night, Russo and Via were the first to hit the lanes for Team USA on Tuesday as the eight-game opening block of men’s singles was first on the day’s agenda.
Via got the best of things once the action got going, putting up an eight-game total of 1,727 (a 215.88 average) on games of 158, 213, 236, 235, 268, 206, 199 and 212 to finish atop the 34-player men’s field after the opening round of singles.
Russo wasn’t far behind, placing fifth on the day with a steady mark of 1,677 (a 209.63 average) thanks to scores of 236, 213, 193, 217, 209, 214, 215 and 180.
Canada’s Francois Lavoie (1,710), Bermuda’s David Maycock (1,693) and Colombia’s Jaime Gonzalez (1,693) secured spots two, three and four, respectively, in the Day 1 men’s singles standings.
With eight more games to come on Wednesday and 13 players within 150 pins of third place, the fight for men’s singles medals is likely to be an entertaining one.
The men’s all-events race is a bit more top heavy, but that doesn’t mean it will be any less exciting.
Canada’s Mitch Hupe, who teamed up with Lavoie to secure men’s doubles gold on Monday, leads the men’s all-events field with a 16-game total of 3,322 (a 207.63 average).
Russo and Via are close behind, however, with Russo sitting in second place at 3,300 (a 206.25 average) with eight games remaining and Via holding down third with 3,236 (a 202.25 average).
Via was very encouraged by his and Russo’s ability to turn in another strong effort on Tuesday while battling the very challenging 39-foot 2024 Champion of Champions oil pattern.
He knows that they’ll have to keep it up if they hope to find the podium again when the action wraps up on Wednesday night.
“The lanes are hard, so anything can happen,” Via said. “Matt (Russo) and I will both have to stay on top of it and keep fighting tomorrow. Both of us need to stay open minded as we have seen two very different ways of the lanes breaking down. As long as we execute, we will give ourselves a good chance.”
Speaking of good chances, Coté and Elliott will certainly have one of their own as their strong performances during Tuesday evening’s opening eight-game block of women’s singles has them in prime position to challenge for medals on Wednesday as well.
Coté led the American women’s effort on Tuesday with an eight-game total of 1,613 (a 201.63 average) thanks to games of 148, 207, 180, 200, 196, 212, 235 and 235. That mark was good enough to secure Coté second place on the day in the 29-player women’s field.
Elliott wasn’t far behind, however, finishing the day in third place with a block total of 1,600 (a 200 average) courtesy of scores of 245, 202, 171, 163, 201, 201, 225 and 192.
Aruba’s Kamilah Dammers led the opening round of women’s singles action with an eight-game total of 1,625 (a 203.13 average) on Tuesday. Colombia’s Juliana Franco (1,587) and Cost Rica’s Sylvia Villalobos (1,540) secured the remaining spots in the Day 1 women’s singles top five, finishing in fourth and fifth place, respectively.
Dammers, Coté and Elliott also found themselves occupying the top three spots in the women’s all-events standings at the end of Tuesday’s action with Dammers leading the way with a 16-game tally of 3,274 (a 204.63 average) and Coté and Elliott at 3,190 and 3,119, respectively.
Although singles and all-events are individual competitions, Coté remarked on the necessity for her and Elliott to continue working together if they hope to reach the podium on Wednesday.
“Crystal (Elliott) and I need to keep doing what we’ve been doing, which is being a team,” Coté said. “We are all in this together whether its doubles or singles. That’s what makes us better in the end. We celebrate the breaks and sometimes spares, enjoy the moment of representing Team USA and push each other to be great.”
Greatness is what each of the four Team USA bowlers will be striving for during Wednesday’s final day of competition at the 2024 Champion of Champions. The final eight games of women’s singles will kick things off at 10 a.m. Eastern with the men wrapping things up with their own eight-game block starting at 4 p.m. Eastern.
CLICK HERE for more information on Team USA.
FULL RESULTS
LIMA, Peru – Team USA bowlers Bryanna Coté of Tucson, Arizona; Crystal Elliott of Palm Bay, Florida; Matt Russo of Ballwin, Missouri, and Chris Via of Springfield, Ohio, all authored strong performances during the opening round of singles on Tuesday to place themselves in the thick of the medal hunt heading into Wednesday’s final day of competition at the 2024 PANAM Bowling Champion of Champions, which is being contested at the VIDENA Bowling Center of La Villa Deportiva Nacional (VIDENA) in Lima, Peru
Fresh off their silver-medal performance in men’s doubles on Monday night, Russo and Via were the first to hit the lanes for Team USA on Tuesday as the eight-game opening block of men’s singles was first on the day’s agenda.
Via got the best of things once the action got going, putting up an eight-game total of 1,727 (a 215.88 average) on games of 158, 213, 236, 235, 268, 206, 199 and 212 to finish atop the 34-player men’s field after the opening round of singles.
Russo wasn’t far behind, placing fifth on the day with a steady mark of 1,677 (a 209.63 average) thanks to scores of 236, 213, 193, 217, 209, 214, 215 and 180.
Canada’s Francois Lavoie (1,710), Bermuda’s David Maycock (1,693) and Colombia’s Jaime Gonzalez (1,693) secured spots two, three and four, respectively, in the Day 1 men’s singles standings.
With eight more games to come on Wednesday and 13 players within 150 pins of third place, the fight for men’s singles medals is likely to be an entertaining one.
The men’s all-events race is a bit more top heavy, but that doesn’t mean it will be any less exciting.
Canada’s Mitch Hupe, who teamed up with Lavoie to secure men’s doubles gold on Monday, leads the men’s all-events field with a 16-game total of 3,322 (a 207.63 average).
Russo and Via are close behind, however, with Russo sitting in second place at 3,300 (a 206.25 average) with eight games remaining and Via holding down third with 3,236 (a 202.25 average).
Via was very encouraged by his and Russo’s ability to turn in another strong effort on Tuesday while battling the very challenging 39-foot 2024 Champion of Champions oil pattern.
He knows that they’ll have to keep it up if they hope to find the podium again when the action wraps up on Wednesday night.
“The lanes are hard, so anything can happen,” Via said. “Matt (Russo) and I will both have to stay on top of it and keep fighting tomorrow. Both of us need to stay open minded as we have seen two very different ways of the lanes breaking down. As long as we execute, we will give ourselves a good chance.”
Speaking of good chances, Coté and Elliott will certainly have one of their own as their strong performances during Tuesday evening’s opening eight-game block of women’s singles has them in prime position to challenge for medals on Wednesday as well.
Coté led the American women’s effort on Tuesday with an eight-game total of 1,613 (a 201.63 average) thanks to games of 148, 207, 180, 200, 196, 212, 235 and 235. That mark was good enough to secure Coté second place on the day in the 29-player women’s field.
Elliott wasn’t far behind, however, finishing the day in third place with a block total of 1,600 (a 200 average) courtesy of scores of 245, 202, 171, 163, 201, 201, 225 and 192.
Aruba’s Kamilah Dammers led the opening round of women’s singles action with an eight-game total of 1,625 (a 203.13 average) on Tuesday. Colombia’s Juliana Franco (1,587) and Cost Rica’s Sylvia Villalobos (1,540) secured the remaining spots in the Day 1 women’s singles top five, finishing in fourth and fifth place, respectively.
Dammers, Coté and Elliott also found themselves occupying the top three spots in the women’s all-events standings at the end of Tuesday’s action with Dammers leading the way with a 16-game tally of 3,274 (a 204.63 average) and Coté and Elliott at 3,190 and 3,119, respectively.
Although singles and all-events are individual competitions, Coté remarked on the necessity for her and Elliott to continue working together if they hope to reach the podium on Wednesday.
“Crystal (Elliott) and I need to keep doing what we’ve been doing, which is being a team,” Coté said. “We are all in this together whether its doubles or singles. That’s what makes us better in the end. We celebrate the breaks and sometimes spares, enjoy the moment of representing Team USA and push each other to be great.”
Greatness is what each of the four Team USA bowlers will be striving for during Wednesday’s final day of competition at the 2024 Champion of Champions. The final eight games of women’s singles will kick things off at 10 a.m. Eastern with the men wrapping things up with their own eight-game block starting at 4 p.m. Eastern.
CLICK HERE for more information on Team USA.