SMYRNA, Tenn. – Singapore’s Cherie Tan had the second-highest six-game qualifying block in PWBA history in Round 1 of Qualifying at the Professional Women's Bowling Association Greater Nashville Classic on Wednesday and never let up in Round 2, leading the field by over 130 pins heading into match play at Smyrna Bowling Center in Smyrna, Tennessee.
Tan started the first event of the Classic Series week with a six-game total of 1,554 and ended the day with a 12-game total of 2,964, averaging 247, and heads into match play with plenty of momentum after a small break in the schedule.
“It was nice to have a little down time to relax and regroup going into this week,” said Tan, who is looking to win her fifth career PWBA title.
Tan’s 2,964 after 12 games is also the second-highest 12-game qualifying block in PWBA history, behind only her own record-setting 2,985 that she bowled in last year’s PWBA Stockton Open, an event she left with her fourth career PWBA title.
11 other competitors moved on to match play: Ukraine’s Dasha Kovalova (2,827); Lauren Russo of Ballwin, Missouri (2,827); Malaysia’s Sin Li Jane (2,805); Shannon Pluhowsky of Dayton, Ohio (2,800); Singapore’s New Hui Fen (2,780); Hope Gramly of Aubrey, Texas (2,751); Lindsay Boomershine of Brigham City, Utah (2,722); Missy Parkin of San Clemente, California (2,718); England’s Verity Crawley (2,708); Gazmine Mason of Cranston, Rhode Island (2,688); and Poland’s Daria Pajak (2,864).
Two 300’s were also thrown during Round 1 of Qualifying by Mason in Game 1 and Russo in Game 4. This was Mason’s first event of the season and she started it off with a bang, flushing all three strikes in the 10th in her first game back.
Russo had a 300 of her own, and is looking to bounce back after a disappointing finish at the United States Bowling Congress Queens last week.
“I felt like I bowled really well (at the Queens) but sometimes score doesn’t show how well you really did,” said Russo. “I kept with it though and went to Reno for the USBC Women’s Championships, and am currently second in All-Events, which was a great confidence boost.”
The boost showed as Russo is heading into round-robin match play having qualified second and in the hunt for her first PWBA title.
Round-robin match play begins at 10 a.m. Eastern with the first of two match play rounds. Round 2 is scheduled to start at 3 p.m. Eastern, where the top five move on to the stepladder finals at 7:30 p.m. Eastern to determine who wins the first event of the Classic Series – Nashville and the $10,000 top prize.
The second event of the Classic Series, the BowlTV Classic, begins Friday with the same format as the Greater Nashville Classic, with qualifying at 11 a.m. Eastern and the stepladder finals Saturday at 7:30 p.m. Eastern.
The combined qualifying totals of the Greater Nashville Classic and BowlTV Classic will determine the 24 competitors for the Music City Classic later in the week, who will bowl three rounds of round-robin match play over two days before the stepladder finals. All competition will be streamed live on BowlTV.
