Team USA headed to 2010 TOA
July 30, 2010
A handful of Team USA members will have their first taste of international competition when they take part in the Lee Evans Tournament of The Americas.
The week-long competition starts Monday, Aug. 2, at Boardwalk Bowl in Orlando, Fla., and the tournament features Adult, Senior (ages 50-plus), Junior A (ages 16-19) and Junior B (ages 12-15) divisions.
Chris Bardol of Brockport, N.Y., Mike Conn of Crestwood, Ky., Kyle King of Glendale, Ariz., and Elise Bolton of Merritt Island, Fla., each will make their first appearances as part of the 16-member USA team. While all four are Junior Team USA members, Bardol will compete in the Adult division.
"Being able to bowl for Team USA is something every bowler dreams of," said Bardol, the 2010 Intercollegiate Singles Championships winner. "It was a pretty incredible feeling getting a call asking to represent my country. Team USA has been very successful at this tournament, and hopefully we can keep the streak alive and I can contribute to the success."
Joining Bardol in the Adult division will be 2009 Team USA Trials champion Cassidy Schaub of Mansfield, Texas, Kendra Gaines of Orlando, Fla., and Emily Maier of Wichita, Kan. Gaines and Maier finished second and third, respectively, at the 2010 Team USA trials.
In the Junior A division, Conn is joined by King, Bolton and two-time Junior Team USA member Kim Yioulos of Rochester, N.Y.
"It feels like the greatest honor I could have as a bowler, bowling for your country," said Conn, the 2009 USBC Junior Gold Championships winner. "Not many people can say they have done that. Of course, my expectations are to win the gold for the U.S. in all of the events. We have a good group going and I don't see why we can't."
Representing the U.S. in the Junior B division are Makayla Douglas of Vancouver, Wash., Melissa Perez of Miami, Greg Young of Viera, Fla., and Michael Coffey of Melbourne, Fla. Last year, Coffey, at age 14 the youngest bowler on the American team, picked up six titles in the Junior B division.
The senior team will consist of Ed Roberts of Braintree, Mass., Phil Prieto of El Paso, Texas, Lucy Sandelin of Tampa, Fla., and Carol Teel of The Villages, Fla. In 2009 in all-events, Teel took home the gold and Roberts claimed silver.
Team USA assistant coach Bryan O'Keefe will lead the team in Florida.
"It might be their first time competing for Team USA, but each of these bowlers has competed in major, high-pressure competition," O'Keefe said. "I expect they will do well once they get on the lanes."
The Lee Evans Tournament of The Americas is the oldest annual international tournament in the American Zone. The invitational competition for countries of PABCON (Pan American Bowling Confederation - the American Zone of World Tenpin Bowling Association) has four divisions for men and women.
In each division, one team comprised of two men and two women compete in singles, doubles, mixed doubles and team event throughout the week-long tournament. After 36 games, individual all-events and national all-events champions are recognized. Team USA had a very successful tournament in 2009, taking gold in all-events in six of the eight divisions and winning the title in three of the four divisions of the team competition.
The week-long competition starts Monday, Aug. 2, at Boardwalk Bowl in Orlando, Fla., and the tournament features Adult, Senior (ages 50-plus), Junior A (ages 16-19) and Junior B (ages 12-15) divisions.
Chris Bardol of Brockport, N.Y., Mike Conn of Crestwood, Ky., Kyle King of Glendale, Ariz., and Elise Bolton of Merritt Island, Fla., each will make their first appearances as part of the 16-member USA team. While all four are Junior Team USA members, Bardol will compete in the Adult division.
"Being able to bowl for Team USA is something every bowler dreams of," said Bardol, the 2010 Intercollegiate Singles Championships winner. "It was a pretty incredible feeling getting a call asking to represent my country. Team USA has been very successful at this tournament, and hopefully we can keep the streak alive and I can contribute to the success."
Joining Bardol in the Adult division will be 2009 Team USA Trials champion Cassidy Schaub of Mansfield, Texas, Kendra Gaines of Orlando, Fla., and Emily Maier of Wichita, Kan. Gaines and Maier finished second and third, respectively, at the 2010 Team USA trials.
In the Junior A division, Conn is joined by King, Bolton and two-time Junior Team USA member Kim Yioulos of Rochester, N.Y.
"It feels like the greatest honor I could have as a bowler, bowling for your country," said Conn, the 2009 USBC Junior Gold Championships winner. "Not many people can say they have done that. Of course, my expectations are to win the gold for the U.S. in all of the events. We have a good group going and I don't see why we can't."
Representing the U.S. in the Junior B division are Makayla Douglas of Vancouver, Wash., Melissa Perez of Miami, Greg Young of Viera, Fla., and Michael Coffey of Melbourne, Fla. Last year, Coffey, at age 14 the youngest bowler on the American team, picked up six titles in the Junior B division.
The senior team will consist of Ed Roberts of Braintree, Mass., Phil Prieto of El Paso, Texas, Lucy Sandelin of Tampa, Fla., and Carol Teel of The Villages, Fla. In 2009 in all-events, Teel took home the gold and Roberts claimed silver.
Team USA assistant coach Bryan O'Keefe will lead the team in Florida.
"It might be their first time competing for Team USA, but each of these bowlers has competed in major, high-pressure competition," O'Keefe said. "I expect they will do well once they get on the lanes."
The Lee Evans Tournament of The Americas is the oldest annual international tournament in the American Zone. The invitational competition for countries of PABCON (Pan American Bowling Confederation - the American Zone of World Tenpin Bowling Association) has four divisions for men and women.
In each division, one team comprised of two men and two women compete in singles, doubles, mixed doubles and team event throughout the week-long tournament. After 36 games, individual all-events and national all-events champions are recognized. Team USA had a very successful tournament in 2009, taking gold in all-events in six of the eight divisions and winning the title in three of the four divisions of the team competition.