PARMA HEIGHTS, Ohio – Stephanie Zavala of Downey, California, is a five-time titlist on the Professional Women’s Bowling Association Tour.
As such, she has fond memories to look back upon at several bowling centers across the country; nevertheless, Yorktown Lanes in Parma Heights, Ohio, will always hold a special place in her heart.
That’s because Yorktown Lanes was the site of Zavala’s first PWBA Tour victory, which came when she defeated Bryanna Coté of Tucson, Arizona, 247-216, at the 2021 Greater Cleveland Open.
Zavala would go on to win two more tournaments that season enroute to being named the 2021 PWBA Tour Rookie of the Year.
Since then, the 27-year-old right-hander has reached the winner’s circle two more times, the first coming when she captured her first major by winning the 2022 PWBA Tour Championship and the second taking place less than a week ago when she won the second event of the Classic Series – Grand Rapids, the 2023 PWBA BowlTV Classic.
This week, the PWBA Tour heads back to Parma Heights for the 2023 PWBA Bowlers Journal Cleveland Open, which will be contested at Yorktown Lanes from June 8-10.
This will mark the third time that Yorktown Lanes has hosted the PWBA Tour since 2019 and the fourth time overall that the best female bowlers in the world have competed in the greater Cleveland area.
Zavala is definitely looking forward to returning to Yorktown Lanes.
“This is the first time that I’m going to back to a center that I’ve won at, and it feels really great,” Zavala said. “I really matched up well at Yorktown Lanes the last time, so I’m really excited to go back there and try again.”
If recent performances are any indication of things to come, then Zavala should definitely be counted among the favorites in Cleveland after capturing three top-20 finishes at last week’s events in Grand Rapids - 16th at the Grand Rapids Classic, first at the BowlTV Classic and eighth at the Great Lakes Classic.
Zavala will look to keep the momentum going this week and make another deep run at Yorktown Lanes.
“Winning in Grand Rapids really helps my confidence a lot,” Zavala said. “Now, it’s just keep going, keep throwing it well and keep executing because I’m seeing the shapes I want to see.”
The Bowlers Journal Cleveland Open kicks off Thursday at 3 p.m. Eastern with the official practice session.
Following the official practice session, a select group of PWBA Tour stars also will take to the lanes for the Bowl with the Pros event starting at 7 p.m. Eastern. This event gives local bowlers the opportunity to bowl alongside their favorite PWBA players in a fun and exciting environment. To sign up for the Bowl with the Pros event, contact Yorktown Lanes.
Tournament competition will get underway Friday with two six-game qualifying rounds, the first beginning at 10 a.m. Eastern and the second following at 5 p.m. Eastern.
The top one-third of the field will advance and bowl another six-game block Saturday at 9 a.m. Eastern before the field is cut down to the top 12 players. Those 12 will have a final six-game round at 2 p.m. Eastern to determine the five players for the stepladder finals, based on total pinfall for 24 games.
The finals of the Bowlers Journal Cleveland Open will take place Saturday at 6:30 p.m. Eastern with the winner earning $20,000.
The action doesn’t stop there, however, as Yorktown Lanes also will be hosting the 2023 PWBA Cleveland Regional, which will be contested on Sunday starting at 10 a.m. Eastern.
Regional bowlers will participate in an eight-game qualifying block before the field is cut to the top four competitors for the stepladder finals, which will begin at 4 p.m. Eastern.
All rounds of competition at the PWBA Bowlers Journal Cleveland Open and the Cleveland Regional will be broadcast live at BowlTV.com.
The 2023 PWBA Tour season features 12 events and an overall prize fund of approximately $1.4 million, which is tied for the largest average per event since the tour’s relaunch in 2015.
The schedule also features three majors, the USBC Queens, U.S. Women’s Open and season-ending PWBA Tour Championship. The stepladder finals at all three majors will be broadcast live on CBS Sports Network.
There are nine events on the 2023 PWBA Regional schedule. The season kicked off with the PWBA Greater Dallas Regional in January and will conclude with the season-ending PWBA Regional Showdown in December.
