SPOILER ALERT: The following story contains information about the stepladder finals of PWBA events that will air on CBS Sports Network in July. Complete stories will be distributed after each final airs.
GREEN BAY, Wis. – The stepladder finals of the 2016 Professional Women’s Bowling Association Wichita Open, the Pepsi PWBA Lincoln Open and the PWBA Greater Detroit Open were held Sunday at The Ashwaubenon Bowling Alley in Green Bay, Wisconsin, and CBS Sports Network will air the finals of the events in July.
The three events are part of the CBS Sports Network television package with the United States Bowling Congress. CBS Sports Network is televising 23 bowling events, including 13 PWBA Tour events, this year.
As part of the PWBA’s second major tournament of the season – the Go Bowling PWBA Players Championship – the stepladder finals of the PWBA Wichita Open, the Pepsi PWBA Lincoln Open and the PWBA Greater Detroit Open were taped for broadcast at The Ashwaubenon Bowling Alley on Sunday.
The dates the shows will air on CBS Sports Network (all times Eastern)
The opening game of the stepladder finals for the PWBA Wichita Open matched Malaysia’s Syaidatul Hamidi, who rolled a 300 game to make the TV show, against Shannon Pluhowsky of Dayton, Ohio. Hamidi closed the match with four consecutive strikes in a 190-180 victory but couldn’t continue that run in the semifinal, managing just one double in a 218-180 loss to Maria Jose Rodriguez of Austin, Texas.
In the title match, top seed Danielle McEwan of Stony Point, New York, struck in five of her first seven frames on her way to a 210-171 victory over Rodriguez. The finalists for the PWBA Wichita Open were determined at Northrock Lanes in Wichita, Kansas.
Liz Johnson of Cheektowaga, New York, who won the PWBA Las Vegas Open earlier this year, made her third TV appearance of 2016 in the stepladder finals of the Pepsi PWBA Lincoln Open. She started the opening match by striking in five of her first six frames in a 225-184 victory over April Ellis of Jackson, Tennessee, to set up a rematch of the Go Bowling PWBA Players Championship final against Colombia native Clara Guerrero of Pflugerville, Texas. Once again, Guerrero managed to slip past Johnson, this time by a 214-212 score.
In the title match, Shannon O’Keefe of O’Fallon, Illinois, struck in seven of the first nine frames on her way to a 252-203 victory over Guerrero and her second PWBA title this year. The Pepsi PWBA Lincoln Open TV finalists were decided at Sun Valley Lanes in Lincoln, Nebraska.
Stefanie Johnson of Grand Prairie, Texas, the 2015 PWBA Rookie of the Year, made her second TV appearance of 2016 in the PWBA Greater Detroit Open. In the stepladder’s opening match, she started with strikes in five of her first six frames en route to a 222-181 victory over former Wichita State standout Tannya Roumimper of Indonesia.
In the semifinal match, Johnson left the 4-6-7-10 split in the sixth frame and that proved to be just enough of an opening for Malaysia’s Li Jane Sin, a 2016 USBC Queens finalist, to grab a 225-194 victory.
In the final, Colombia's Rocio Restrepo jumped to a big lead on her way to a 217-185 victory. It was the first PWBA title for Restrepo. The finalists for the PWBA Greater Detroit open were decided at Super Bowl in Canton, Michigan.
