PWBA US Open Championship / Weber Cup 2016 - Congrats Team Europe

source: PWBA
Liz Johnson, 2016 PWBA US Open Champion

source: Weber Cup
L to R: Jesper Svensson, captain Dom Barrett, Stu Williams, Martin Larsen

Big day of bowling in Addison (Chicago area), Illinois and Manchester, England.

CBS Sports broadcasted live this morning the PWBA US Open Championship Finals.

Kudos to CBS Sports Network for bringing in Dave Lamont for the play-by-play call. He's very articulate and has an encyclopedic knowledge of the game. Unfortunately, we didn't get to hear very much due to poor audio throughout the entire match.

Liz Johnson began as the #4 seed to step up the ladder to capture her 5th US Open title over longtime Team USA member Shannon Pluhowsky.

Special recognition to Singapore's Shayna Ng (2nd seed, 3rd place finish), New Hui Fen (3rd seed, 4th place finish) and Jazreel Tan (10th) for their strong Top 10 finish.

Across the Atlantic Ocean, Team Europe for the 4th consecutive year won Weber Cup 19-11 over Team USA. As it was last year, Team Europe was the much stronger, more experienced team.

In my humblest of opinions, if Team USA is going to remain competitive in Weber Cup, they need to reassess the team selection. Maybe even bold enough to include a woman. And for those of you who regularly read this blog, you know I'm talking about Marshall Kent's girlfriend, Danielle McEwan.

Why? She's 24, got tons of international experience and has shown she's bowled well with men in PBA League and tournaments outside the United States. Without pointing fingers, let's just say the frequent flier miles for Team Europe are a lot higher than Team USA's.

Below is one of many Weber Cup matches from this past weekend. Big thanks to The European Bowling Channel for getting the videos so quickly to YouTube.



I'll close with the PWBA US Open semi-final match between Liz Johnson and Shayna Ng. I show this match because it was her third match in the stepladder to get her to the finals. She overcame a foul in the 10th frame and still won.

Thanks again to bowlingvideos4all for your tireless work to get these matches to YouTube as fast as you do.

Shayna Ng's cropped look

image source: Bowl.com

This afternoon, ESPN2 aired (tape delay) the USBC Queens finals. Congratulations to the top seeded player, Diana Zavjalova, who emerged as this year's winner.

Throughout the week, I followed a few live broadcasts of match play on Bowl.com and read updates on Facebook. Without fail, there was someone, usually male, who commented negatively about the sport, a player, or whatever else can be criticized. And like an ex-boyfriend I was with for 7 years too long, he opined negatively on a topic he doesn't know well.

Which brings me to the comments said about Shayna Ng. With her cropped hairstyle and no makeup, several (all men) asked if Shayna was a man. It got me upset as it's a topic all too familiar to me. I wore short hair most of my life and have had more than my fair share of being mistaken for a man.

Then as I read further along in the comments, a Singaporean (Shayna is from Singapore) clarified the reason for Shayna's cropped look. And if those same smart mouths bothered to watch the telecast, they would have heard announcer Dave Lamont mention it as well. She shaved her head for the Children's Cancer Foundation, Hair for Hope 2013 Campaign. So far, Shayna's pledges have more than doubled the target amount.

Way to go Shayna.

2013 USBC Queens Finalists

image source: Bowl.com

Today is the finals match of the 2013 USBC Queens Tournament. It is being taped today and will air on Sunday, September 8 on ESPN2 at 11:30 am PT/2:30 pm ET. I'll be bowling my very FIRST senior tournament during that time, so this is already programmed into my DVR.

This year's finalists have a great mix of backgrounds. The top 2 seeds are from Europe and Asia. The remaining 3 seeds are from places I call home, San Francisco Bay Area and Central Ohio.

1. Diana Zavjalova, Latvia, currently a bowler at Webber International University.
2. Shayna Ng, Singapore. I blogged about Shayna previously on May 20, 2013, where she won the 48th Annual Qubica AMF World Cup.
3. Leanne Barrette-Hulsenberg, 1999 USBC Queens Champion. San Francisco Bay Area native. I saw her bowl in a junior-adult tournament last year in Dublin, California.
4. Jennifer Petrick Higgins, 3-time member of Team USA and currently resides in Westerville, Ohio.
5. Lynda Barnes, 1998 USBC Queens Champion, San Francisco Bay Area native, bowled at San Jose State and married to PBA great Chris Barnes. 

Here's a video profiles of the finalists. Good luck to all. 

Jazreel Tan

image source: Wichita State Bowling

My May 20, 2012 blog entry featured the 2012 AMF Qubica World Cup Women's Final match between Shayna Ng (Singapore) and Aumi Guerra (Dominican Republic). Aumi was the defending champion but was no match for Shayna.

No stranger to winning and a teammate of Shayna's on Singapore's National Team is Wichita State senior Jazreel Tan. Some of her accomplishments include: 2-time Collegiate Bowler of the Year (2010-11 and 2011-12), 1st Place -2012 Kuwait Women's Open, and Singapore's National Champion in 2004 and 2006.



I've also included a 2013 USBC Intercollegiate Women's Semi-Final featuring Jazreel. Including Jazreel, two of her Wichita State teammates, Daria Kovalova and Tannya Roumimper are also finalists.

Shayna Ng, Singapore vs. Aumi Guerra, Dominican Republic

48th Annual Qubica AMF World Cup - Women's Final
Shayna Ng, Singapore (L) versus Aumi Guerra, Dominican Republic (R)

On my October 7, 2012 blog entry, I wrote about how much I enjoyed watching women's bowling outside the United States. Pictured above is a screenshot at the start of the women's final match. Both Aumi and Shayna are fairly well-known in World Bowling Tour circles. As of March 29, 2013, Shayna is 10th in the Women's Division rankings.

Courtesy of The International Art of Bowling (led by pro bowlers Diandra Asbaty and Jason Belmonte), I've included a YouTube video (see below) of the match from Poland. You may notice one of the few viewers with a front row seat watching the match is none other than former President Lech Walesa.