RESULTS AND INFORMATION

Queensland, Australia – The 2022 International Bowling Federation World Cup in Queensland, Australia, will be Stefanie Johnson’s last event as a Team USA bowler.

One might expect that fact to put Johnson under a certain amount of extra pressure to perform. After all, it’s not like she would have the opportunity to shake off a sub-par performance and do better next time.

Nevertheless, Johnson came into the tournament with a calm mind and full heart knowing that nothing she does or does not accomplish at this event will define her stellar Team USA career.

As such, Johnson came in bowling free and loose, and that approach has led to outstanding results thus far.

Johnson began Women’s Singles competition with a 3-2 block on Sunday and then followed it up with a 5-0 round Tuesday, putting her atop the Group D standings and in prime position to advance to the Round of 16 with one more five-game set remaining.

Using the same cool, calm and collected approach she employed during the first two rounds, Johnson breezed through Wednesday’s final set, going a perfect 5-0 yet again and averaging 220.4 on the final day of Women’s Singles Round 1 at Suncity Tenpin Bowl on the Sunshine Coast in Queensland, Australia.

That allowed Johnson to remain in first place in Group D and easily advance to the women’s Round of 16.

Johnson began her day battling Krizziah Macatula of the Philippines, who came into the final round in second place just one spot behind Johnson.

Neither bowler was able to put on her striking shoes during Game 1, but Johnson stayed clean all the way to the 10th frame, which allowed her to build a sizable lead after Mactaula suffered back-to-back splits in the sixth and seventh frames.

Johnson would open the tenth after leaving a 2-4-10 split, but she had put herself far enough ahead that it was of little consequence; she still walked away a 189-174 winner.

The aforementioned striking shoes came out in a big way during Game 2 as Johnson threw a closing eight-bagger to defeat Australia’s Bek Martin 269-203, giving Johnson her tenth consecutive victory going back to Round 1.

That number would grow to 11 just one match later as Johnson converted a 10 pin and then took nine on her fill ball to hold off a late charge and defeat Malaysia’s Natasha Roslan by the narrowest of margins, 237-236.

Johnson’s scoring pace came down a bit in Game 4, but her winning ways continued as she collected a 194-159 win over New Zealand’s Sarah Young, who opened four of the first five frames.

That left only the position-round match standing between Johnson and another undefeated round. That was all that was at stake as Johnson had already easily secured first place in the group standings.

The position-round bout was a rematch with Roslan, the only opponent who had truly tested Johnson during Round 3.

But Johnson would pass the second test even easier than she did the first, coming up with strikes in the ninth, tenth and eleventh to emerge victorious once again, this time by a final of 213-180.

The win allowed Johnson to finish the opening round riding a 13-match unbeaten streak, one she’ll look to add to in the women’s Round of 16.

Johnson isn’t thinking about streaks though; she wants to help Team USA get off to a good start in Baker Team play tomorrow. She’ll turn her attention back to Singles when the quarterfinals roll around on Sunday.

Still, Johnson couldn’t help but be pleased with Wednesday’s block and her dominant overall performance thus far.

“The gameplan this afternoon was the same as it was yesterday, same balls, same alignments, so it just came down to executing,” Johnson said. “I felt like my tempo was really good today, and I just bowled. I wasn’t trying extra hard or trying any less; I just bowled.

“Sometimes I think we can get too caught up in the prestige of all of this, but at the end of the day, it’s still just bowling. I’m just so thankful to be here and for the opportunity to represent my country. I really just wanted to approach this entire event with that mindset.”

That mindset has worked quite well for Johnson so far, and it’s one that she’ll be taking with her into the Baker Team event and into the latter stages of Singles.

Bowling on the squad that followed, Jordan Richard hoped to have a good enough day to be able to join Johnson in the women’s Top 16.

Richard came into the final block in second place in Group A but well ahead of the cut line, meaning a solid performance was likely to be more than enough for her to advance and join Johnson in the next round.

Unfortunately, that performance got off to a rocky start.

It began when Richard was only able to collect three strikes during a 202-180 Game 1 loss to Malaysia’s Li Jane Sin.

Richard started much quicker in Game 2, throwing the first three strikes at Singapore’s Shayna Ng.

Ng didn’t back down, however, sparing in the first and then coming back with a triple of her own to keep herself in the match.

The two then traded spares back and forth until Richard was saddled with a 2-4-10 in the seventh frame. She was unable to convert, and that was all the opening Ng needed to take the lead and go on to a 216-209 victory.

Richard stopped the bleeding there, however, starting Game 3 strike, 10 pin before throwing an eight bagger at Sweden’s Cajsa Wegner.

Richard would need almost every bit of it too as Wegner found the pocket early and often as well; nevertheless, Richard’s firepower was enough to get her an important 263-245 win.

The win that followed was even more important though as that was the one that officially secured Richard’s advancement into the Round of 16.

She got there by closing with a late five-bagger to top New Zealand’s Christine Rota by a score of 248-185.

With her spot in the next round already secured, the only thing riding on Richard’s position-round matchup was a battle for first place in Group A.

Li Jane Sin was Richard’s opponent once again, and this time Richard turned the tables on the Malaysian, grinding out a 179-172 victory to walk away with the Group A title.

Richard didn’t immediately realize that she was in position to win the group; after her slow start, she was just happy to get back on track and secure her advancing position.

“I was worried after the first two games; it wasn’t looking very good,” Richard said. “But once I switched balls and got comfortable, it allowed me to play more of my A Game. That allowed me to make better shots and the right adjustments, and that’s what got me through.

“I didn’t know that I was going to be the leader, but that’s exciting. Still, what’s really important is that we got three of us through to the next round in Singles and that we finished first in the Team qualifying; that’s what matters most.”

The third bowler moving on to the next round of Singles is Bryanna Coté, who advanced by winning Group B after going 4-1 on Wednesday night and 13-2 overall during her 15 opening-round matches.

Coté began the day as the Group B leader thanks to a 5-0 first block and a solid 4-1 performance during Round 2.

Although Sweden’s Jenny Wegner was close behind Coté for first place to start the day, both bowlers had a good lead over fifth-place competitor Bec Whiting of Australia.

That basically meant that Coté and Wegner were both extremely likely to move on to the next round; the only question was whether or not either one would earn the added honor of being crowned Group B champion.

Coté took a quick step in the right direction by efficiently dispatching New Zealand’s Dayna Haylock 224-168 to begin the night.

Next up for Coté was a Game 2 bout with Singapore’s Hui Fen New.

The match was close throughout, but Coté used clutch strikes in frames seven, eight and nine to gain the edge and walk away victorious (215-201).

Game 3 saw Coté and Wegner square off head-to-head in a one-versus-two battle; however, due to Coté’s lead, she would remain in first place after the match regardless of the outcome.

The match progressed in somewhat-surprising fashion as neither bowler managed a double through the first eight frames; however, when the first double was carded, it was next to Coté’s name on the scoreboard.

After a savvy ball change, Coté struck in the ninth, tenth and eleventh balls to shut Wegner out for a 194-179 victory.

With two games remaining in the block, Coté had already wrapped up first place in the group. At that point, the only trophy left in her sights was the best record among Team USA ladies.

If Coté could top Germany’s Birgit Noreiks in Game 4 and then beat her position-round opponent to end the night, she’d finish the opening round of Singles 14-1, one game better than the 13-2 mark Johnson posted earlier in the day.

Alas, it wasn’t meant to be as Noreiks was able to use a closing five-bagger to top Coté 227-203.

With the opportunity to capture the best record off the table, Coté settled in for her final match of the opening round, a position-round tilt with Wegner.

Neither bowler truly got settled in on the position-round pair, but, just as she has all tournament long, Coté was able to come up with enough quality shots down the stretch to get the win (205-180).

The victory gave Coté a 13-2 overall record for the opening round, the same record posted by Johnson just hours before.

Despite the impressive record and having won her group, Coté still felt like there was room for improvement after Wednesday’s effort.

“Today, honestly, I physically didn’t throw it as well as I did the past couple of days, so I was sort of battling some of that with myself,” Coté said. “But I’m very fortunate to come out with 13-2. I’m happy with it, but I definitely think I can physically improve for Team event.”

Danielle McEwan came into Wednesday’s final five-game block of Singles hoping for some improvement as well. Not improvement of execution because by and large she had been more than adequate on that front.

What she needed was improved results because despite averaging 205.6 per game and controlling the pocket masterfully throughout her first two rounds, a deadly mixture of poor pin carry for her and outstanding pin carry for her opponents put McEwan well outside advancing position in Group C heading into the third and final round.

As such, McEwan knew that she’d almost certainly have to go undefeated on Day 5 to have any chance of moving on, and even then, the odds were stacked against her.

Things looked promising during the early stages of Game 1 when McEwan notched a pair of early doubles to quickly jump out to a lead over Malaysia’s Siti Safiyah.

But as any bowler knows, the tides can turn rather quickly, and that’s exactly what happened shortly thereafter.

McEwan was forced to endure a solid 8 pin and a wiggling 10 pin precisely when Safiyah began finding her groove and striking.

The Team USA star did her best to hang on, but the lead officially changed hands in the ninth frame after Safiyah tripped a 4 pin just seconds after McEwan failed to convert the 2-4-5-7.

McEwan still had a slim chance as the match moved into the 10th frame, but that chance was officially taken away after Safiyah struck on her first two balls to close the door and take claim a 221-202 victory.

That loss all but nullified any remaining hopes McEwan had of advancing; nevertheless, there were four more matches to bowl, and, being the consummate professional that she is, McEwan never let her focus waver as she competed in those remaining matches.

She used an early turkey and a late double to easily dispatch Mades Arles of the Philippines (238-170) in Game 2, but a stubborn 4 pin in the 10th frame caused her to fall to Singapore’s Cherie Tan (235-227) during Game 3.

Game 4 was a relatively stress-free 201-122 win for McEwan over New Zealand’s Melonie Lister.

That left just one more match to be bowled, a position-round tilt with Arles.

McEwan fought hard and put up a solid score yet again, but the win would go to Arles (221-216), who needed the victory in order to advance to the Round of 16.

McEwan finished the 15 games of Singles with a 209.1 average, which was third highest in Group C.

Now that her Singles competition has come to and end, McEwan’s focus will turn to Baker Team play, which gets underway Thursday.

“Overall, singles was very frustrating for me as the format definitely didn’t work out in my favor,” McEwan said. “It was hard not to feel like I had black cloud over my head with how a lot of those matches went down, but I’m hoping that I can absorb all the bad luck for the entire team so that once we get into Team event, it will be smooth sailing. I’m really looking forward to getting on the lanes with the rest of the girls.”

McEwan won’t have to wait long as Baker Team competition gets underway Thursday for both the men and the women.

Team USA Head Coach Bryan O’Keefe is pleased with how his team performed during the opening round of Singles, but he knows that there will be a bit of learning curve as the Team event gets underway.

“Getting seven of our eight men and women through to the bracket is awesome. Obviously, we would’ve loved to have Danielle (McEwan) there; she clearly bowled well enough to be there, but match play can be fickle like that,” O’Keefe said.

“Now it turns to the team portion. Everybody kind of has a clue what we think and how the lanes transition, but I’m sure it’s going to change quite a bit tomorrow with so many more faces bowling all at the same time. All we can do is take care of what we can take care of, hopefully win some matches and execute to the best of our ability.”