Japan secures No. 2 seed for Trios finals at Women's World Championships

    09/08/11

    2011 WWC

    Korea leads the preliminaries; the two U.S. trios take the No. 3 and 4 seed

    2011WWCTriosJPN1a.jpg2011WWCTriosKOR2a.jpgThe top two of Squad 1, which concluded the trios preliminaries of the Women's World Championships Thursday afternoon, earned the No. 2 and No. 4 seed for the finals.

    Haruka Matsuda, Kanako Ishimine and Natsuki Sasaki of Japan (pictured left, l-r) finished with a 636 game to lead the squad with 4148 pinfall total and an average of 230.44 and to finish second in the overall standings.

    Hwang Sun-Ok, Jeon Eun-Hee and Son Yun-Hee of Korea (right, l-r), who posted a record 4232 series (235.11) in Squad 2 earlier today, earned the No. 1 seed. The higher seeded teams in the semifinals and finals have the advantage to choose the lane condition to bowl on.

    2011WWCTriosUSA2.jpg2011WWCTriosUSA1.jpgThird and fourth place went to the trios of the United States. Carolyn Dorin-Ballard, Liz Johnson and Kelly Kulick (left, l-r) finished in third place with 4140 (230.00) and will take on Japan in the semifinals.

    Shannon Pluhowsky, Stefanie Nation and Shannon O'Keefe (right, l-r), who rolled the third 300 game of the championships in the second block of the trios event this afternoon, grabbed the No. 4 seed trailing their team mates by 12 pins with 4128 (229.33). They will meet qualifying leader Korea in the semifinals.

    The 171 players from 33 countries were split into two squads to bowl six games preliminaries - the first three-game block on medium oil on Wednesday and the second three-game block on long oil on Thursday.

    Squad 1 leader Japan set the pace on medium oil yesterday finishing atop the leaderboard with record 2109 total and an average of 234.33.

    "Japan loves Bowling". Click on the image to enlarge.

    2011WWCTriosDEN1.jpgJapan continued hot hand rolling 705 in the first game of the second block in Squad 1 to widen the lead with 2814 four-game total and an average of 234.50. Squad 2 leader Korea has set the pace with an average of 235.11 for six games earlier today.

    Denmark with All Events leader Mai Ginge Jensen, Kamilla Kjeldsen and Rikke Holm Agerbo (right, r-l) started with 676 to remain in second place with 2741 and an average of 228.42, which would secure the No. 4 seed for the finals trailing the U.S. trio of Squad 2, which had a 230 average.

    2011WWCTriosUSA1.jpg2011WWCTriosCAN1.jpgThe second Team USA trio featuring Doubles gold medalist Shannon Pluhowsky as well as Stefanie Nation and Shannon O'Keefe (left, l-r) had a 652 game to stay in third place in the squad but off the pace for the finals with 2677 (223,08).

    Canada with Robin Orlikowski, Isabelle Rioux and Caroline Lagrange (right, l-r), who rolled a 300 game in the third and last game yesterday, had the highest game of 730 to climb the ladder to fourth place with 2635 (219,58).

    Germany with Nadine Geißler, Birgit Pöppler and Patricia Luoto slipped one spot to fourth place with 2630 (219,17).

    2011WWCShannonOKeefe.jpg2007 World Singles champion Shannon O'Keefe (pictured left) struck twelve times in the second game to achieve the third 300 game of the championship and the sixth in the history of Women's World Championships to help Team USA to a record 802 Trios game.

    Shannon Pluhowsky and Stefanie Nation added 266 and 236, respectively, to break the record of 760 set by their team mates earlier today by 42 pins. The Americans moved into second place with 3479 and an average of 231.93.

    Japan maintained its lead in the squad with a 698 series and 3512 five game total or an average of 234.13. Denmark remained in third but lost ground with 651 and 3392 total (226.13). The Danes need 749 in the final game to catch Team USA (4140) and to make the top 4.

    Fourth place Canada (3324) and fifth place Germany (33249) have only theoretical chances to advance.

    Neither Japan nor O'Keefe and her team mates could match the pace of Squad 2 leader Korea but both bowled well enough to sure their spots in the Trios finals at the Hong Kong Women's World Championships.

    Haruka Matsuda, Kanako Ishimine and Natsuki Sasaki finished with a 636 game to lead the squad with 4148 pinfall total and an average of 230.44. The Japanese anchor Ishimine needed a double in the tenth frame to overtake the U.S. Trio of Squad 2 for the No. 2 but an open frame could have seen Japan in fourth and the two U.S. trios facing each other in the semis.

    Ishimine struck out to earn the No. 2 seed for the finals by eight pins. That also gives the Japanese the advantage to choose the lane condition in the semifinal match against Team USA's Carolyn Dorin-Ballard, Liz Johnson and Kelly Kulick.

    Shannon Pluhowsky, Stefanie Nation and Shannon O'Keefe closed out their set with 649 and 4128 total to help grab the No. 4 seed trailing their team mates by 12 pins. They will meet qualifying leaders Hwang Sun-Ok, Jeon Eun-Hee and Son Yun-Hee of Korea in the semifinals.

    2011WWCLogo.jpg The fourth Women's World Championships takes place at bowling center Hong Kong Bowling City in Hong Kong, China, from Sept. 1 through 11, 2011.

    171 of the best women bowlers in the world featuring 33 countries compete for gold, silver and bronze medals in Singles, Doubles, Trios, five-player Team event, All Events and Masters in the nine-day event.

    The WTBA patterns "Seoul" and "Paris" will be used in Hong Kong. The 39-feet Seoul pattern is the second-shortest of the four "medium" WTBA certified lane patterns. With a length of 47 feet, Paris is the longest of all 12 certified patterns.

    Singles was played on "Paris" and Doubles will be contested on "Seoul", while Trios and Team will feature both oil patterns (3 games on each pattern). Masters match play will be staged on dual lane condition (one lane dressed with the Seoul pattern and the other lane dressed with the Paris pattern).

    The top four players and teams after six games in Singles, Doubles, Trios and Team, respectively, will advance to the semifinals. The No. 1 meet No. 4 and No. 2 takes on No. 3. The winners will determine the World Champion, while the losers will share the bronze medal. All matches are single-game matches.

    2011WWCLiveStreaming.jpg BowlingdigitalBanner.gif Bowlingdigital will cover the 2011 Women's World Championships live from Hong Kong with stories and results after each squad and each round of the finals.

    Bowling fans around the world will be able to watch all qualifying rounds, semifinals and finals live on BOWL.com and the coverage will be available on demand as well. Pictured left are commentators Jason Overstreet (l.) and Lucas Wiseman (r.) at work.

    The live streaming coverage is a partnership between USBC, WTBA, the Hong Kong Tenpin Bowling Congress and Bowlingdigital.com. The live streaming schedule is identical with the     tournament schedule.

     



     


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    2011 Women's World Championships - Trios Preliminaries after six games (Squad 1 and 2)


    The top 4 trios advance to the finals

     


    2011 Women's World Championships - Trios Results after six games preliminaries (Squad 1 only)

     


    2011 Women's World Championships - All Events after 18/24 games


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