RUMFORD, R.I. – As a rookie on the Professional Women’s Bowling Association Tour in 2019, Gazmine Mason of Cranston, Rhode Island, gained invaluable experience week after week and shot after shot while competing with the best women in the world.
That experience proved vital on Saturday afternoon when she claimed her second career PWBA regional title at the PWBA East Providence Regional.
The 24-year-old right-hander defeated Summer Jasmin of Beckley, West Virginia, 238-174, in the title match of the second regional event of the 2020 season. The tournament was held at East Providence Lanes in Rumford, Rhode Island. Mason pocketed $1,300 for the victory.
The event’s eight-game qualifying round and stepladder finals were broadcast live at BowlTV.com.
Mason, who earned the No. 1 seed after qualifying with a 1,818 total, opened the title match with a double followed by a spare in the third frame before a split in the fourth. It would be her final open of the game.
Jasmin traded spares and strikes through the first four frames, with the left lane proving to be troublesome. She opened in the fifth, which is where Mason made her move. She connected on five consecutive strikes to open the lead and cruise to victory.
“Today, I was really focused on myself and my game plan and knowing my tendencies,” said Mason, who won the 2019 PWBA East Hartford Regional. “During practice, I made a move in between some shots to see if I had any miss room or if I could be deeper on the left lane. I chose to allow Summer to start the match, which allowed me to finish on the lane that hooked more. I felt if I were to throw one a little faster, it would have a better chance of getting to the pocket in comparison.”
The experience gained on the PWBA Tour sometimes can’t be measured until it’s time to put the lessons to use. “GG,” as she also is known by, may have blamed herself in the past for throwing bad shots when she needed to make an adjustment and simply didn’t. Understanding the difference along with a sharpened physical game were lessons learned in 2019.
New year, new GG.
“My moves were a lot faster today because of what I learned last season,” Mason said. “I didn’t spend six frames doing the same thing. If I threw three good shots in a row and didn’t see what I wanted, I just made an adjustment. I noticed today I made the adjustments a lot faster than I normally would, and I think it’s because of the experience I received from my first year on tour.”
Jasmin advanced to the title match by defeating No. 2 Allie Tatrow of Wichita, Kansas, 192-189. After Tatrow struck on her first shot in the final frame, she missed a 4-8 combination on the fill.
Jasmin then struck on the first shot in the 10th frame and added seven pins on the next offering to seal the win.
In the opening match, Jasmin knocked off Shanna Chupelsky of Rochester, New York, 278-224.
The East Providence Regional featured 35 players, with the top four qualifiers advancing to the stepladder finals based on their eight-game qualifying totals.
The 2020 PWBA regional schedule includes 10 events, with six following a national stop on the 2020 PWBA Tour schedule. All PWBA members received points toward the BowlTV PWBA Regional Cup, which is a season-ending bonus prize for the top 10 players, based on points earned in all regional events. The highest points-earner will receive a $3,500 bonus, while 10th place in points will earn $500.
The next regional event will be the PWBA Iowa Regional at Plaza Bowl in Clinton, Iowa, on March 1.
