By Bill Vint
PBA Media Relations
HOUSTON - Kyle Sherman of O'Fallon, Missouri, and partner Amanda Greene of Romney, West Virginia, advanced from third place to first in the final match to win the 20th anniversary PBA/PWBA Storm Striking Against Breast Cancer Mixed Doubles title in a thrilling finish at Copperfield Bowl on Sunday.
The win gave Sherman his first Professional Bowlers Association Tour title. Greene won her only Professional Women's Bowling Association title in the 2015 PWBA Lincoln Open, but has suspended her professional bowling career to attend law school.
Note from PWBA: Since Greene was not a member of the PWBA at the time of the victory, she will not receive a spot in the season-ending PWBA Tour Championship in September.
Battling what PBA competitor and FloBowling analyst Brad Miller called "an insane amount of hook," the final game of match play involved a nerve-wracking contest of strikes and splits among the top four teams. In the end, it was a 248 game by Sherman and a 192 by Greene that overtook the first- and second-place teams with an 8,873 pinfall total for 20 games to claim the $20,000 first prize.
AJ Johnson of Oswego, Illinois, and Erin McCarthy of Omaha, Nebraska, finished second with 8,862 pins; tournament leaders Kris Prather of Plainfield, Illinois, and Sydney Brummett of Fort Wayne, Indiana, finished third with 8,848 pins and Michigan partners Andrew Anderson of Holly and Jordan Richard of Tecumseh finished fourth with 8,846 pins as a total of 27 pins separated the top four teams.
"We thought we had to win our match (against Anderson and Richard) to win the title," Sherman said. "(When we lost - by 14 pins), we thought we were out of it. But you just have to keep fighting until the end.
"This is such a shock. It's something you dream about."
Greene echoed her partner. "We had no idea we were even in it. I had to keep moving left, but I missed making a couple of moves. Fortunately, I had a good partner who held me up."
The tournament, known within the bowling industry as "The Luci," is a fundraiser to combat breast cancer and assist those affected by the disease. It was founded by Donna Conners as a memorial to her friend, Luci Bonneau, who died of breast cancer.
PBA/PWBA STORM STRIKING AGAINST BREAST CANCER MIXED DOUBLES
(a part of the 2019 FloBowling! PBA Summer Tour and 2019 PWBA Tour schedule)
Copperfield Bowl, Houston
Final Standings (after 20 team games, including match play bonus pins)
1, Amanda Greene, Romney, W.Va./Kyle Sherman, O'Fallon, Mo., 8,873, $20,000.
2, Erin McCarthy, Omaha, Neb./AJ Johnson, Oswego, Ill., 8,862, $10,000.
3, Sydney Brummett, Fort Wayne, Ind./Kris Prather, Plainfield, Ill., 8,848, $5,500.
4, Jordan Richard, Tecumseh, Mich./Andrew Anderson, Holly, Mich., 8,846, $4,500.
5, Jodi Woessner, Oregon, Ohio/Anthony Lavery-Spahr, Little Elm, Texas, 8,793, $3,500.
6, Kelly Kulick, Union, N.J./PJ Haggerty, Roseville, Calif., 8,693, $3,000.
7, Liz Johnson, Palatine, Ill./EJ Tackett, Bluffton, Ind., 8,677, $2,800.
8, Taylor Bulthuis, Coral Springs, Fla./Josh Blanchard, Mesa, Ariz., 8,593, $2,700.
Other Cashers (after 12 team games):
9, Ashly Galante, Palm Harbor, Fla./Matt Kuba, Chicago Ridge, Ill., 5,180, $2,500.
10, Danielle McEwan, Stony Point, N.Y./Anthony Simonsen, Little Elm, Texas, 5,141, $2,450.
11, Brenda Padilla, Mansfield, Texas/DJ Archer, Spring, Texas, 5,110, $2,400.
12, Diana Zavjalova, Latvia/Adam Pogge, Austin, Texas, 5,106, $2,370.
13, Tannya Roumimper, Indonesia/Tom Daugherty, Riverview, Fla., 5,096, $2,340.
14, Liz Kuhlkin, Schenectady, N.Y./Richard Teece, England, 5,060, $2,310.
15, Jasmine Coleman, Manteca, Calif./Vernon Peterson, Winter Haven, Fla., 5,062, $2,280.
16, Diandra Asbaty, Chicago/Marshall Kent, Yakima, Wash., 5,079, $2,250.
17, Anita Arnett, Houston/Zeke Bayt, Westerville, Ohio, 5,056, $2,220.
18, Emily Eckhoff, Wheat Ridge, Colo./Fero Williams, Norman, Okla., 5,031, $2,170.
19, Shannon Pluhowsky, Dayton, Ohio/Tommy Jones, Simpsonville, S.C., 5,027, $2,120.
20, Giselle Poss, Nashville, Tenn./Matt Gasn, Clarksville, Tenn., 5,026, $2,070.
21, Cassandra Leuthold, Lincoln, Neb./Sam Cooley, Australia, 5,023, $2,020.
22, Lindsay Boomershine, Perry, Utah/Kyle Troup, Taylorsville, N.C., 5,020, $1,970.
23, Amanda Vermilyea, Apple Valley, Minn./Tom Smallwood, Saginaw, Mich., 5,006, $1,920.
24, Bryanna Coté, Red Rock, Ariz./Stuart Williams, England, 4,971, $1,870.
25, Nicole Trudell, Bridgeport, Conn./Matt Dzikiewicz, Rocky Hill, Conn., 4,966, $1,820.
26, Kerry Smith, Lititz, Pa./John Furey, East Windsor, N.J., 4,955, $1,770.
27, Lauren Pate, Inver Grove Heights, Minn./Steve Kloempken, Pleasant View, Utah, 4,952, $1,720.
28 (tie), Birgit Pöppler, Germany/Jason Sterner, Rochester, N.Y., and Missy Parkin, Laguna Hills, Calif./Sean Rash, Montgomery, Ill., 4,922, $1,640.
30, Stephanie Zavala, Downey, Calif./Michael Villarreal, Norwalk, Calif., 4,909, $1,550.
31, Katie Garcia, Wichita, Kan./Geoffrey Young, Keller, Texas, 4,901, $1,490.
32, Julia Bond, Aurora, Ill./Andres Gomez, Colombia, 4,892, $1,430.
33, Natalie Cortese, Hoffman Estates, Ill./Brad Miller, Lee's Summit, Mo., 4,870, $1,370.
34, Lauren Hoffman, Monroe Township, N.J./Tanner Spacey, Burien, Wash., 4,866, $1,310.
35, Amanda Fry, Antelope, Calif./Sam Cantrell, Roseville, Calif., 4,833, $1,250.
36, Alexis Tatrow, Wichita, Kan./Kevin Tatrow, Wichita, Kan., 4,825, $1,200.
37, Amanda Falk, Tucson, Ariz./Andrew Cain, Phoenix, 4,820, $1,150.
38, Anggie Ramirez Perea, Colombia/Matt Ogle, Louisville, Ky., 4,810, $1,100.
39, Haley Richard, Tipton, Mich./Chris Via, Springfield, Ohio, 4,788, $1,050.
40, KT Simpson, Emmett, Idaho/Matt Russo, Millstone Township, N.J., 4,728, $1,000.
