Lukosius wins her third PWBA Regional event of the season
EAST PROVIDENCE, Rhode Island – Karsyn Lukosius of Jackson, New Jersey, qualified as the No. 1 seed and won the 2024 Professional Women’s Bowling Association Rhode Island Regional in East Providence, Rhode Island, contested at East Providence Lanes Saturday. This is Lukosius’ third PWBA Regional win of 2024.
Lukosius averaged 232 for her eight-game qualifying block, shooting games of 247, 259, 224, 224, 234, 195, 215 and 258 for an 1,856 total and the No. 1 seed in the stepladder finals. Joining Lukosius in the stepladder finals was Haley Youker of Erie, Pennsylvania, Marissa Allison of Painesville, Ohio, and Brianna Mester of Staten Island, New York, all of whom averaged over 228 on the 40-foot oil pattern.
The first match of the stepladder pitted Mester against Allison with Mester enjoying a home-field advantage as East Providence Lanes serves as Mester’s home alley while competing collegiately at Bryant University where she just completed her freshman year on the team. As such, Mester had lots of support from family and teammates in attendance.
Mester quickly got comfortable as she threw four strikes in the first five frames, while Allison had back-to-back opens in the fourth and fifth frames. Mester continued to strike as the game progressed, never letting Allison back into the match. Mester ended the game with a 247 victory over Allison’s 186. Allison earned $500 for her fourth-place finish.
Up next for Mester was Youker, who had the highest game of the tournament with a 289 in Game 6 of qualifying.
Once again, Mester looked unstoppable in the semi-final match, going spare, four-bagger, while jumping out to a large lead and never letting Youker back into the match. The left-handed Youker just could not get the 7 pin to fall and gain momentum, and a missed 7 pin in the seventh frame all but ended the match, with Mester shooting 245 to Youker’s 171. Youker earned $600 for her third-place finish.
Now, after climbing the ladder, Mester was up against Lukosius, who knows about climbing the ladder herself as she did the same in her previous two PWBA Regional wins.
The title match started off slowly, with Mester missing a 9 pin to open the game while Lukosius couldn’t get the 10 pin to fall on consecutive shots. Lukosius then made a ball change and rolled five strikes in a row, shutting the door completely on Mester by the seventh frame, as Mester couldn’t get the carry she needed to keep up with Lukosius until it was too late.
Lukosius ended up the victor by a score of 236-181, putting an end to Mester’s run and claiming the Rhode Island Regional trophy belt and the top prize of $1,600. Mester earned $800 in her SMART account for her runner-up finish.
“I am so unbelievably happy and proud, the key today was just to stay patient,” said Lukosius. “Everything is clicking this year and it’s an awesome feeling.”
Her third PWBA Regional win puts her just one win away from tying Julia Bond for the most PWBA Regionals all-time, and is the most regional wins in a season.
When asked about making the jump to compete on the PWBA National Tour, Lukosius said, “I think it’s going to happen a lot sooner than expected. My game is clicking right now, I feel good about my game. I have a full-time job and I love my job; I love the support I have from my job to bowl and they’re always encouraging me and pushing me, so we’ll see.”
Lukosius will make her next tournament appearance at the United States Bowling Congress Women’s Championships in Reno, Nevada, before heading to the USBC Queens starting May 14, where she is sure to be a name to watch.
The PWBA Regional Tour will be on hiatus as the National Tour starts May 2 with the Twin Cities Open in Eagan, Minnesota. The PWBA Regional Tour resumes July 14 with the 2024 PWBA Oklahoma Regional in Norman, Oklahoma.
To learn more about the PWBA Tour, visit PWBA.com. For more information on the PWBA Regional competition, visit PWBA.com/Regionals.
