Malaysia tops Team USA by seven pins to win team gold at Women's World Championships
09/07/07
Trailing the leaders by nearly 230 pins heading into the final Round of team event, Team USA made a furious comeback Wednesday and settled for the silver medal at the 2007 World Tenpin Bowling Association Women's World Championships.
The United States nearly snagged the gold, but Malaysia's Shalin Zulkifli converted the 4 pin in the final frame to lock up a narrow seven-pin victory and earn the gold medal. Malaysia finished the six-game event with 6,323, an average of 210.7 per game, while Team USA ended with 6,316. England took bronze with 6,197.
L-R Malaysia's Sharon Koh, Choy Poh Lai, Zandra Aziela, Shalin Zulkifli, Wendy Chai and Esther Cheah. Picture Lucas Wiseman. Click on the image to enlarge it.
It was another gut-wrenching loss for the Americans, who at the last Women's World Championships in 2005 finished second behind Chinese Taipei by just 11 pins.
"We made a run at it when we were 230 pins down, and I thought we could get there," Team USA's Lynda Barnes said. "We have worked the past two years for this moment, and I feel like we did everything we could to prepare. We won today, but we lost yesterday. Next time around, we just have to win both days. It's a tough field, and you can't give up a day."
Entering the final round on the long-oil pattern, the United States trailed England by 228 pins and Malaysia by 136 pins. The second game Wednesday proved to be the turning point for Team USA as they totaled 1,154, while England, competing on the same pair, shot just 904. Malaysia, however, stayed solid with 1,079 to enter the deciding game with a 74-pin lead.
The United States made a final push with the final three players throwing two strikes to start the 10th frame, but in the end they fell just short.
L-R Diandra Asbaty, Shannon Pluhowsky, Shannon O'Keefe, Tennelle Milligan, Lynda Barnes and Stefanie Nation. Picture Lucas Wiseman. Click on the image to enlarge it.
"I was a little worried after we started the day with a 1,030 game because physically, I just didn't have it today," said Barnes. "The second game everyone got some momentum. I thought we had a really good chance to come back and win the gold. We have a strong, deep team, and I knew if we could get it going we'd be OK."
Barnes, Team USA's anchor bowler, stepped up in the final frame and threw three strikes to force Zulkifli, Malaysia's final bowler who was competing six lanes away, to mark in the 10th frame.
"I knew I had to maximize my shot, whether it was a spare or a strike," said Zulkifli, who will split $20,000 from their country's government among her teammates for winning the gold. "I knew it was close, but I wasn't exactly sure how close it really was until it was over."
Zulkifli single-handedly propelled her team to the gold medal. Her 1,434 six-game total in team event is the third highest individual total in Women's World Championships history. Esther Cheah added 1,335 and was followed by Zandra Aziela (1,232), Sharon Koh (1,165) and Wendy Chai (1,157).
Team USA was led by Tennelle Milligan of Costa Mesa, Calif., with 1,371, Barnes of Double Oak, Texas, with 1,290, Shannon O'Keefe of Rochester, N.Y., with 1,258 and Diandra Asbaty of Chicago with 1,255. Stefanie Nation of Orlando, Fla., totaled 573 on the short pattern Tuesday, while Shannon Pluhowsky of Phoenix was put in Wednesday and shot 569.
Short-oil leader England was led by Kirsten Penny with 1,323, who rolled the second perfect game of the championship in Game #2, followed by Fiona Banks with 1,320, Zara Glover with 1,247, Lisa John with 1,197 and Jemma Smith with 1,110. Katie Jowsey did not bowl.
L-R Banks, John, Penny, Smith and Glover. Picture Lucas Wiseman. Click on the image to enlarge it.
Action now shifts to the six-game singles event, which began late Wednesday night and continues all day Thursday.
Courtesy by Lucas Wiseman
The Women's World Championships features 225 athletes from 43 countries competing in six events - Doubles, Trios, Team, Singles, All Events And Masters. Individual totals from Doubles, Trios, Team and Singles are combined to determine the All Events winner. The top 16 in All Events also advance to Masters play.
Korean left-hander Choi Jin-A leads all-events with 4,103. Tennelle Milligan moved into second with 4,057 while Lynda Barnes took over third place at 3,999. Defending Masters champion Diandra Asbaty sits in 25th with 3,841.
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Team
All Events
2007 WWC
Bol Obispado in Monterrey, Mexico (Aug. 30 - Sept. 9, 2007)
Trailing the leaders by nearly 230 pins heading into the final Round of team event, Team USA made a furious comeback Wednesday and settled for the silver medal at the 2007 World Tenpin Bowling Association Women's World Championships. The United States nearly snagged the gold, but Malaysia's Shalin Zulkifli converted the 4 pin in the final frame to lock up a narrow seven-pin victory and earn the gold medal. Malaysia finished the six-game event with 6,323, an average of 210.7 per game, while Team USA ended with 6,316. England took bronze with 6,197.
L-R Malaysia's Sharon Koh, Choy Poh Lai, Zandra Aziela, Shalin Zulkifli, Wendy Chai and Esther Cheah. Picture Lucas Wiseman. Click on the image to enlarge it.
It was another gut-wrenching loss for the Americans, who at the last Women's World Championships in 2005 finished second behind Chinese Taipei by just 11 pins.
"We made a run at it when we were 230 pins down, and I thought we could get there," Team USA's Lynda Barnes said. "We have worked the past two years for this moment, and I feel like we did everything we could to prepare. We won today, but we lost yesterday. Next time around, we just have to win both days. It's a tough field, and you can't give up a day."
Entering the final round on the long-oil pattern, the United States trailed England by 228 pins and Malaysia by 136 pins. The second game Wednesday proved to be the turning point for Team USA as they totaled 1,154, while England, competing on the same pair, shot just 904. Malaysia, however, stayed solid with 1,079 to enter the deciding game with a 74-pin lead.The United States made a final push with the final three players throwing two strikes to start the 10th frame, but in the end they fell just short.
L-R Diandra Asbaty, Shannon Pluhowsky, Shannon O'Keefe, Tennelle Milligan, Lynda Barnes and Stefanie Nation. Picture Lucas Wiseman. Click on the image to enlarge it.
"I was a little worried after we started the day with a 1,030 game because physically, I just didn't have it today," said Barnes. "The second game everyone got some momentum. I thought we had a really good chance to come back and win the gold. We have a strong, deep team, and I knew if we could get it going we'd be OK."
Barnes, Team USA's anchor bowler, stepped up in the final frame and threw three strikes to force Zulkifli, Malaysia's final bowler who was competing six lanes away, to mark in the 10th frame.
"I knew I had to maximize my shot, whether it was a spare or a strike," said Zulkifli, who will split $20,000 from their country's government among her teammates for winning the gold. "I knew it was close, but I wasn't exactly sure how close it really was until it was over."
Zulkifli single-handedly propelled her team to the gold medal. Her 1,434 six-game total in team event is the third highest individual total in Women's World Championships history. Esther Cheah added 1,335 and was followed by Zandra Aziela (1,232), Sharon Koh (1,165) and Wendy Chai (1,157).
Team USA was led by Tennelle Milligan of Costa Mesa, Calif., with 1,371, Barnes of Double Oak, Texas, with 1,290, Shannon O'Keefe of Rochester, N.Y., with 1,258 and Diandra Asbaty of Chicago with 1,255. Stefanie Nation of Orlando, Fla., totaled 573 on the short pattern Tuesday, while Shannon Pluhowsky of Phoenix was put in Wednesday and shot 569.
Short-oil leader England was led by Kirsten Penny with 1,323, who rolled the second perfect game of the championship in Game #2, followed by Fiona Banks with 1,320, Zara Glover with 1,247, Lisa John with 1,197 and Jemma Smith with 1,110. Katie Jowsey did not bowl. L-R Banks, John, Penny, Smith and Glover. Picture Lucas Wiseman. Click on the image to enlarge it.
Action now shifts to the six-game singles event, which began late Wednesday night and continues all day Thursday.
Video from the Women's World Championships Team event
Courtesy by Lucas Wiseman
The Women's World Championships features 225 athletes from 43 countries competing in six events - Doubles, Trios, Team, Singles, All Events And Masters. Individual totals from Doubles, Trios, Team and Singles are combined to determine the All Events winner. The top 16 in All Events also advance to Masters play.
Korean left-hander Choi Jin-A leads all-events with 4,103. Tennelle Milligan moved into second with 4,057 while Lynda Barnes took over third place at 3,999. Defending Masters champion Diandra Asbaty sits in 25th with 3,841.
Team
All Events