ARLINGTON, Texas – The Professional Women’s Bowling Association (PWBA) Tour heads to Minnesota this week for the PWBA Twin Cities Open, and that’s great news for Rocio Restrepo.
The PWBA Tour returns to Cedarvale Lanes in Eagan, where Restrepo captured her fourth career PWBA title last season. She’s had a successful track record in PWBA events held in Minnesota, qualifying as the No. 1 seed for the 2015 PWBA Minnesota Open held in Welch, though she did fall to Latvia’s Diana Zavjalova in the title match.
Competition at the PWBA Twin Cities Open starts Friday with two eight-game qualifying blocks before the field is cut to 32 players. After eight additional games Saturday morning, the top 12 players will bowl a final six-game block to decide the four players who will compete in the stepladder finals.
BowlTV.com, the exclusive livestreaming home of the PWBA Tour, will have wire-to-wire live coverage of the event, including Saturday’s stepladder finals at 6:30 p.m. (Eastern).
“Last year, I had the opportunity to come away with a title on a pattern I was not expecting to perform as well as I could’ve because it was a shorter pattern,” said Restrepo, a Colombia native who lives in Louisville, Ohio. “However, things happen for a reason and I’ve worked hard to match up on those types of conditions and it paid off.”
Restrepo also is looking forward to seeing the fans who have shown her and the PWBA Tour their support in Minnesota.
“I’m really excited to see the faces that have supported me and see the fans I met last year,” Restrepo said. “While I was there last year, I built some friendships and some relationships and will forever be grateful for the people that have taken care of me and appreciate what I have done for this sport.
“This year is no different. I’m coming to try and defend my title and will give it my all because that’s who I am and what I do.”
The field for the PWBA Twin Cities Open also will have six PWBA members with ties to the Twin Cities.
Apple Valley’s Amanda Vermilyea, a four-time Team USA member, is in the field along with Katie Ann Sopp-Schroeder of White Bear Lake, Trista Kimmes of Eagan, Kayla Pashina of Minnetonka and Sara Ullman of Minneapolis.
The lone non-member from Minnesota in the field is Prior Lake’s Taylor Wratz.
In addition to the PWBA Twin Cities Open, BowlTV.com will have live coverage of this season’s PWBA Tour events, including the stepladder finals of the first six standard events. The platform also offers access to behind-the-scenes content, classic PWBA telecasts, blogs, podcasts and instructional content. Visit BowlTV.com for more information.
CBS Sports Network will televise the stepladder finals of seven events on the 2019 PWBA Tour schedule, including all four majors, and will feature three prime-time shows in August. CBS Sports Network’s coverage of the PWBA starts May 21 with the USBC Queens, the first major event of the season.
Visit PWBA.com to learn more information and for complete coverage of the 2019 PWBA Tour season.
