Wisconsin friends lead two events at 2018 USBC Women's Championships
May 06, 2018
By Matt Cannizzaro and Tony Contini
USBC Communications
RENO, Nev. - There are few things better than quality time with good friends, but finding success together on the biggest stage in women's bowling might be one of them.
The members of High 5 Gear of Franklin, Wisconsin, are longtime best friends and former college teammates, and they left their names all over the Diamond Division leaderboards this week at the 2018 United States Bowling Congress Women's Championships.
As a foursome, they moved into the top spot in the Diamond Team standings with games of 796, 987, 717 for a 2,500 total. Ashley Bell led the effort with a 673 series and was followed by Tracy Fakes (639), Katelyn Zwiefelhofer (607) and Melissa Molbeck (581).
Zwiefelhofer and Bell then returned to the National Bowling Stadium on Saturday to secure the lead in Diamond Doubles with a 1,361 total, which included a 715 performance from Zwiefelhofer and a 646 set from Bell. Bowlieve of Orlando, Florida, previously held the lead in Diamond Team with 2, 471, and team members Kendra Gaines of Orlando, Florida, and Taylor Bulthuis of Coral Springs, Florida, were the previous Diamond Doubles leaders with 1,276.
Bell, Fakes, Molbeck and Zwiefelhofer have spent a lot of time together, and their familiarity with one another, as well as with their bowling games, helped in their success this week in Reno.
On top of bowling together collegiately at the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater for four years, they also were roommates.
Ironically, before they became the best of friends, Bell and Zwiefelhofer were enemies. Their high school teams bowled against each other, and it ended in tears. They didn't know they would be attending the same college, and on orientation day, to say they were shocked would be an understatement.
"Now, here we are," said Zwiefelhofer, a 25-year-old right-hander. "It's eight years later, and we're best friends."
At UW-Whitewater they had the opportunity to compete against Division 1 and Division 2 schools, which motivated them to be more competitive and made the idea of bowling professionally possible.
Zwiefelhofer's father introduced her to bowling when she was 3 years old. He motivated her to continue. This week at the NBS, he watched her and her teammates closely. He knows her ticks and quirks and gives advice from his outsider's perspective. She calls him another set of eyes in the rafters, but most of the shared advice is from teammate to teammate.
"We each watch every shot we throw," said Bell, a 25-year-old right-hander. "If I'm struggling, I can ask her where she's standing, and I can figure out where I need to be."
At each event, Bell and her teammates' end goal is to place high in the team standings. They are proud of the chemistry that binds them, and they think it's a big reason for their success.
"We wouldn't be able to do this without all of us," Bell said. "When one of us is down, the others bring her up. Bowling for someone else makes it so much easier to put up high scores. The moment the singles portion starts, the momentum just isn't the same."
But, the group's success this week didn't stop with the team event.
Along with Zwiefelhofer and Bell ascending to the top of the doubles standings, Fakes (655) and Molbeck (537) settled into seventh place in Diamond Doubles with 1,192.
Singles also yielded a top-10 run for Molbeck, who is seventh in Diamond Singles with a 634 series. Zwiefelhofer added 622 in singles for a 1,944 all-events total, which is second in Diamond All-Events behind Bulthuis (1,952). Fakes is in fourth place in Diamond All-Events (1,908) and Bell is tied for fifth (1,886).
"We knew we kind of destroyed it yesterday," Zwiefelhofer said. "I think it gave us a lot of confidence to see our team name scrolling on the leaderboard. Confidence to trust ourselves and each other."
This year, High 5 Gear shared lanes with Vise/Classic/Logo Infusion, another team from the Milwaukee area. They know each other from city and state tournaments, and they bowled next to each other last year at the Women's Championships in Baton Rouge, Louisiana.
Vise/Classic/Logo Infusion moved into third place in Diamond Team with a 2,415 total and finished the trip with all four members - Jennifer Grisham, Roxanne Monce, Rochelle Roventini and Shannon Labinski - in the top 15 in every event (team, doubles, singles and all-events).
"Our talents gravitated us towards each other," Zwiefelhofer said. "After college, we were going with the flow, until they convinced us to get a team together."
Diamond Team includes bowlers with combined entering averages of 725 and above, Diamond Doubles includes bowlers with combines averages of 380 and above and Diamond Singles and All-Events is for bowlers with entering averages of 190 and above.
Visit us on Facebook at the official USBC Women's Championships page.
USBC Communications
RENO, Nev. - There are few things better than quality time with good friends, but finding success together on the biggest stage in women's bowling might be one of them.
The members of High 5 Gear of Franklin, Wisconsin, are longtime best friends and former college teammates, and they left their names all over the Diamond Division leaderboards this week at the 2018 United States Bowling Congress Women's Championships.
As a foursome, they moved into the top spot in the Diamond Team standings with games of 796, 987, 717 for a 2,500 total. Ashley Bell led the effort with a 673 series and was followed by Tracy Fakes (639), Katelyn Zwiefelhofer (607) and Melissa Molbeck (581).
Zwiefelhofer and Bell then returned to the National Bowling Stadium on Saturday to secure the lead in Diamond Doubles with a 1,361 total, which included a 715 performance from Zwiefelhofer and a 646 set from Bell. Bowlieve of Orlando, Florida, previously held the lead in Diamond Team with 2, 471, and team members Kendra Gaines of Orlando, Florida, and Taylor Bulthuis of Coral Springs, Florida, were the previous Diamond Doubles leaders with 1,276.
Bell, Fakes, Molbeck and Zwiefelhofer have spent a lot of time together, and their familiarity with one another, as well as with their bowling games, helped in their success this week in Reno.
On top of bowling together collegiately at the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater for four years, they also were roommates.
Ironically, before they became the best of friends, Bell and Zwiefelhofer were enemies. Their high school teams bowled against each other, and it ended in tears. They didn't know they would be attending the same college, and on orientation day, to say they were shocked would be an understatement.
"Now, here we are," said Zwiefelhofer, a 25-year-old right-hander. "It's eight years later, and we're best friends."
At UW-Whitewater they had the opportunity to compete against Division 1 and Division 2 schools, which motivated them to be more competitive and made the idea of bowling professionally possible.
Zwiefelhofer's father introduced her to bowling when she was 3 years old. He motivated her to continue. This week at the NBS, he watched her and her teammates closely. He knows her ticks and quirks and gives advice from his outsider's perspective. She calls him another set of eyes in the rafters, but most of the shared advice is from teammate to teammate.
"We each watch every shot we throw," said Bell, a 25-year-old right-hander. "If I'm struggling, I can ask her where she's standing, and I can figure out where I need to be."
At each event, Bell and her teammates' end goal is to place high in the team standings. They are proud of the chemistry that binds them, and they think it's a big reason for their success.
"We wouldn't be able to do this without all of us," Bell said. "When one of us is down, the others bring her up. Bowling for someone else makes it so much easier to put up high scores. The moment the singles portion starts, the momentum just isn't the same."
But, the group's success this week didn't stop with the team event.
Along with Zwiefelhofer and Bell ascending to the top of the doubles standings, Fakes (655) and Molbeck (537) settled into seventh place in Diamond Doubles with 1,192.
Singles also yielded a top-10 run for Molbeck, who is seventh in Diamond Singles with a 634 series. Zwiefelhofer added 622 in singles for a 1,944 all-events total, which is second in Diamond All-Events behind Bulthuis (1,952). Fakes is in fourth place in Diamond All-Events (1,908) and Bell is tied for fifth (1,886).
"We knew we kind of destroyed it yesterday," Zwiefelhofer said. "I think it gave us a lot of confidence to see our team name scrolling on the leaderboard. Confidence to trust ourselves and each other."
This year, High 5 Gear shared lanes with Vise/Classic/Logo Infusion, another team from the Milwaukee area. They know each other from city and state tournaments, and they bowled next to each other last year at the Women's Championships in Baton Rouge, Louisiana.
Vise/Classic/Logo Infusion moved into third place in Diamond Team with a 2,415 total and finished the trip with all four members - Jennifer Grisham, Roxanne Monce, Rochelle Roventini and Shannon Labinski - in the top 15 in every event (team, doubles, singles and all-events).
"Our talents gravitated us towards each other," Zwiefelhofer said. "After college, we were going with the flow, until they convinced us to get a team together."
Diamond Team includes bowlers with combined entering averages of 725 and above, Diamond Doubles includes bowlers with combines averages of 380 and above and Diamond Singles and All-Events is for bowlers with entering averages of 190 and above.
Visit us on Facebook at the official USBC Women's Championships page.