Team USA endures ups and downs during Day 2 of Singles at 2022 IBF World Cup
November 13, 2022
RESULTS AND INFORMATION
Queensland, Australia – Once the action gets going, A.J. Johnson chomps at the bit to hit the lanes and make his mark at whatever tournament he’s bowling.
So even though he enjoyed cheering teammates Jordan Richard, Bryanna Coté, Kyle Troup and Kris Prather on during Saturday’s opening round of Singles at the 2022 International Bowling Federation World Cup, Johnson was anxious to get on the lanes for his own opening set on Sunday.
Thankfully, he didn’t have to wait very long as he was Team USA’s leadoff man during Day 2 of competition at Suncity Tenpin Bowl on the Sunshine Coast in Queensland, Australia.
Another thing Johnson didn’t have to wait for was success as he opened his 2022 IBF World Cup experience with a 253-178 victory over Malaysia’s Hakim Tun.
A tricky pair slowed Johnson down during a 195-164 loss to Puerto Rico’s Eisam Hussein in Game 2, but the negative vibes didn’t last long as Johnson bounced back and started with the front eight during Game 3.
A 10 pin ended Johnson’s run at 300, but the 278 he walked away with was more than enough to give him the victory over Ivan Tse of Hong Kong, who was only able to manage 210.
Johnson found himself in the winner’s circle again after Game 4, this time as a result of a 235-203 win over Singapore’s Nu’man Syahmi.
Another difficult pair of lanes helped Canada’s Francois Lavoie top Johnson by a score of 237-170 during Game 5, but just as he had during his earlier setback, Johnson responded in fine fashion.
He notched his second 253 of the day to defeat Nayef Equb of United Arab Emirates (253-195) in Game 6, and then he finished Game 7 with a six-bagger to defeat Sweden’s Jesper Svensson 235-233.
When all was said and done, Johnson finished with a 5-2 record, an average of 226.9 for the day and in a tie with Australia’s Jason Belmonte for first place in Group C after one round of competition.
Johnson knows the importance of getting off to a good start, so he was very happy with his ability to do that for Team USA on Day 2.
“It feels good to get the team off to a good start and kind of set the tone for the day because that makes it easier for the other guys to keep that momentum going for us,” Johnson said. “My execution was really good today. I got lost a couple of games there, but with a round under my belt, I’ll be able to do a better job recognizing that and keeping those games from spiraling like they did today.”
No bowler enjoys spiraling. Unfortunately, when you’re battling poor ball reaction, it’s a reality that is likely to rear its ugly head.
That’s what Jakob Butturff encountered when he took to the lanes for his block on Sunday afternoon.
Despite his best efforts and well-established talent, Butturff struggled to find consistent ball reaction from the left side of the lane throughout his seven-game block.
Nevertheless, Butturff stayed determined, fighting until the end to grind out three match victories, including a 244-204 win over Hussain Alsuwaidi of United Arab Emirates.
Those victories gave Team USA some valuable points that will definitely come in handy in the days to come.
Butturff, meanwhile, will have Monday off as Group A and Group B return to the lanes for their second round of Singles. He plans to use that time to regroup in the hopes of authoring a stronger performance when his turn comes up again on Tuesday.
“We had six lefties on our squad, so we had a lot more traffic on that side of the lane, and all of us had trouble putting together two good games in a row,” Butturff said. “Between now and Tuesday, I’m going to sit down with Coach Bryan (O’Keefe) to come up with a different plan that will get me more comfortable. I’m still in the fight; we just need to work together to get it figured out.”
But sometimes even when you have it figured out, the pins refuse to fall for you even though they are consistently falling for the opposition.
That was the unenviable position that Danielle McEwan found herself in during her first Singles set on Sunday.
McEwan found the pocket on the majority of her shots during the five-game set. Unfortunately, a large percentage of those shots resulted in nine counts, not strikes.
To make matters worse, McEwan’s opponents failed to experience the same issue, at least not while bowling her.
McEwan’s adversaries averaged 226.4 against her on Sunday, a number made all the more striking when considering that her last opponent, Mades Arles of the Philippines, only managed a 169 during their matchup.
McEwan broke 200 during three of her five matches (205, 227 and 237) and finished the day with a 206.8 average, which was third-best in Group C.
Unfortunately, what she didn’t finish with was the number of match-game victories and total points she was hoping for when the day began; however, despite her understandable frustration, McEwan kept things in perspective when discussing Sunday’s block and the games still left to come.
“It was a very frustrating day, but I learned a lot,” McEwan said. “I think that I’m close, so I’m going to continue gathering information while watching my teammates tomorrow and come up with a new game plan. There’s still a lot of games left.”
For Stefanie Johnson, there aren’t all that many games left. That isn’t because she’ll be bowling any less than her teammates throughout the rest of this event; it’s because due to her impending retirement from international competition, every shot she throws brings her one step closer to the end of the line.
As such, Stefanie came into the 2022 IBF World Cup hoping to enjoy her farewell experience by bowling well and contributing as much as possible to Team USA’s march toward the podium.
She took the first step toward turning those hopes into reality by stepping up and playing stopper during an up-and-down day for the American squad.
After A.J Johnson started the day off by going 5-2, Team USA bowlers went just 4-8 during the next 12 matches leading up to Stefanie’s squad.
It appeared as if the unfortunate slide was destined to continue after Stefanie fell to Germany’s Saskia Malz 201-190 during Game 1 and then to Josefin Hermansson of Sweden (199-185) in Game 2.
But that’s when Stefanie dug in and showed her veteran moxie.
She fought hard to grind out a 201-190 win over Singapore’s Colleen Pee during Game 3, and then she went big, rattling off a 244 to top Krizziah Macatula of the Philippines (244-211) in Game 4.
Not content to let the momentum stop there, Stefanie finished strong, putting up 233 during Game 5 to easily take down Australia’s Bek Martin, who could only muster 184.
By winning those last three games, not only did Stefanie move herself into second place in Group D, but she also stopped Team USA’s Day-2 slide and gave the team a positive note to take into Monday’s second round of Singles play.
“I was proud of myself for how I handled everything and for helping to end the day on a high note for the team,” Stefanie said. “It wasn’t easy waiting around for almost two full days before getting to bowl because you always want to be the one out there throwing the ball. Still, once I settled in and started seeing the picture a bit better, I was able to repeat.”
Although there has been plenty of good to watch during his team’s first two days on the lanes, Team USA Head Coach Bryan O’Keefe isn’t focused on repeating those performances; instead, he wants to keep his team focused on what’s still to come.
“We had a little bit of everything today,” O’Keefe said. “Danielle (McEwan) was the tough-luck customer of the day with all of the matches and how people bowled against her, Jakob (Butturff) had the tough luck with ball reaction and then Stefanie (Johnson) was sort of the comeback story, so we kind of saw it all out there.
“I really think sometimes bowling can be a verb, and we sort of got “bowlinged” out there today. But tomorrow is a new day with different people, so we’re just going to take the things that we’ve learned over these first two days, use them and gather more information to help us throughout the rest of this tournament.”
Queensland, Australia – Once the action gets going, A.J. Johnson chomps at the bit to hit the lanes and make his mark at whatever tournament he’s bowling.
So even though he enjoyed cheering teammates Jordan Richard, Bryanna Coté, Kyle Troup and Kris Prather on during Saturday’s opening round of Singles at the 2022 International Bowling Federation World Cup, Johnson was anxious to get on the lanes for his own opening set on Sunday.
Thankfully, he didn’t have to wait very long as he was Team USA’s leadoff man during Day 2 of competition at Suncity Tenpin Bowl on the Sunshine Coast in Queensland, Australia.
Another thing Johnson didn’t have to wait for was success as he opened his 2022 IBF World Cup experience with a 253-178 victory over Malaysia’s Hakim Tun.
A tricky pair slowed Johnson down during a 195-164 loss to Puerto Rico’s Eisam Hussein in Game 2, but the negative vibes didn’t last long as Johnson bounced back and started with the front eight during Game 3.
A 10 pin ended Johnson’s run at 300, but the 278 he walked away with was more than enough to give him the victory over Ivan Tse of Hong Kong, who was only able to manage 210.
Johnson found himself in the winner’s circle again after Game 4, this time as a result of a 235-203 win over Singapore’s Nu’man Syahmi.
Another difficult pair of lanes helped Canada’s Francois Lavoie top Johnson by a score of 237-170 during Game 5, but just as he had during his earlier setback, Johnson responded in fine fashion.
He notched his second 253 of the day to defeat Nayef Equb of United Arab Emirates (253-195) in Game 6, and then he finished Game 7 with a six-bagger to defeat Sweden’s Jesper Svensson 235-233.
When all was said and done, Johnson finished with a 5-2 record, an average of 226.9 for the day and in a tie with Australia’s Jason Belmonte for first place in Group C after one round of competition.
Johnson knows the importance of getting off to a good start, so he was very happy with his ability to do that for Team USA on Day 2.
“It feels good to get the team off to a good start and kind of set the tone for the day because that makes it easier for the other guys to keep that momentum going for us,” Johnson said. “My execution was really good today. I got lost a couple of games there, but with a round under my belt, I’ll be able to do a better job recognizing that and keeping those games from spiraling like they did today.”
No bowler enjoys spiraling. Unfortunately, when you’re battling poor ball reaction, it’s a reality that is likely to rear its ugly head.
That’s what Jakob Butturff encountered when he took to the lanes for his block on Sunday afternoon.
Despite his best efforts and well-established talent, Butturff struggled to find consistent ball reaction from the left side of the lane throughout his seven-game block.
Nevertheless, Butturff stayed determined, fighting until the end to grind out three match victories, including a 244-204 win over Hussain Alsuwaidi of United Arab Emirates.
Those victories gave Team USA some valuable points that will definitely come in handy in the days to come.
Butturff, meanwhile, will have Monday off as Group A and Group B return to the lanes for their second round of Singles. He plans to use that time to regroup in the hopes of authoring a stronger performance when his turn comes up again on Tuesday.
“We had six lefties on our squad, so we had a lot more traffic on that side of the lane, and all of us had trouble putting together two good games in a row,” Butturff said. “Between now and Tuesday, I’m going to sit down with Coach Bryan (O’Keefe) to come up with a different plan that will get me more comfortable. I’m still in the fight; we just need to work together to get it figured out.”
But sometimes even when you have it figured out, the pins refuse to fall for you even though they are consistently falling for the opposition.
That was the unenviable position that Danielle McEwan found herself in during her first Singles set on Sunday.
McEwan found the pocket on the majority of her shots during the five-game set. Unfortunately, a large percentage of those shots resulted in nine counts, not strikes.
To make matters worse, McEwan’s opponents failed to experience the same issue, at least not while bowling her.
McEwan’s adversaries averaged 226.4 against her on Sunday, a number made all the more striking when considering that her last opponent, Mades Arles of the Philippines, only managed a 169 during their matchup.
McEwan broke 200 during three of her five matches (205, 227 and 237) and finished the day with a 206.8 average, which was third-best in Group C.
Unfortunately, what she didn’t finish with was the number of match-game victories and total points she was hoping for when the day began; however, despite her understandable frustration, McEwan kept things in perspective when discussing Sunday’s block and the games still left to come.
“It was a very frustrating day, but I learned a lot,” McEwan said. “I think that I’m close, so I’m going to continue gathering information while watching my teammates tomorrow and come up with a new game plan. There’s still a lot of games left.”
For Stefanie Johnson, there aren’t all that many games left. That isn’t because she’ll be bowling any less than her teammates throughout the rest of this event; it’s because due to her impending retirement from international competition, every shot she throws brings her one step closer to the end of the line.
As such, Stefanie came into the 2022 IBF World Cup hoping to enjoy her farewell experience by bowling well and contributing as much as possible to Team USA’s march toward the podium.
She took the first step toward turning those hopes into reality by stepping up and playing stopper during an up-and-down day for the American squad.
After A.J Johnson started the day off by going 5-2, Team USA bowlers went just 4-8 during the next 12 matches leading up to Stefanie’s squad.
It appeared as if the unfortunate slide was destined to continue after Stefanie fell to Germany’s Saskia Malz 201-190 during Game 1 and then to Josefin Hermansson of Sweden (199-185) in Game 2.
But that’s when Stefanie dug in and showed her veteran moxie.
She fought hard to grind out a 201-190 win over Singapore’s Colleen Pee during Game 3, and then she went big, rattling off a 244 to top Krizziah Macatula of the Philippines (244-211) in Game 4.
Not content to let the momentum stop there, Stefanie finished strong, putting up 233 during Game 5 to easily take down Australia’s Bek Martin, who could only muster 184.
By winning those last three games, not only did Stefanie move herself into second place in Group D, but she also stopped Team USA’s Day-2 slide and gave the team a positive note to take into Monday’s second round of Singles play.
“I was proud of myself for how I handled everything and for helping to end the day on a high note for the team,” Stefanie said. “It wasn’t easy waiting around for almost two full days before getting to bowl because you always want to be the one out there throwing the ball. Still, once I settled in and started seeing the picture a bit better, I was able to repeat.”
Although there has been plenty of good to watch during his team’s first two days on the lanes, Team USA Head Coach Bryan O’Keefe isn’t focused on repeating those performances; instead, he wants to keep his team focused on what’s still to come.
“We had a little bit of everything today,” O’Keefe said. “Danielle (McEwan) was the tough-luck customer of the day with all of the matches and how people bowled against her, Jakob (Butturff) had the tough luck with ball reaction and then Stefanie (Johnson) was sort of the comeback story, so we kind of saw it all out there.
“I really think sometimes bowling can be a verb, and we sort of got “bowlinged” out there today. But tomorrow is a new day with different people, so we’re just going to take the things that we’ve learned over these first two days, use them and gather more information to help us throughout the rest of this tournament.”