Danielle McEwan of Stony Point, New York, and Matthew Farber (pictured) of Plainview, New York, got off to strong starts in the opening round of qualifying Saturday at the 2015 United States Bowling Congress Team USA Trials.

McEwan easily led the women's division with a six-game total of 1,410 (235 average), while Farber topped the men's field with 1,482 (247 average) at The Orleans Bowling Center in Las Vegas, Nev.

The players in the field earn points based on their finishing position in each round. After five rounds, the top three men and top three women with the least amount of points will advance to the stepladder finals Wednesday at 10 p.m. Eastern live on BowlTV. McEwan and Farber each earned one point for winning the first round.

Sitting in fourth place with a game to go, Farber fired a 300 game to move into the top spot for the day. He had games of 211, 269, 198, 249, 255 and 300 on the 43-foot Tokyo pattern.

"It's a great feeling to get off to a strong start," said Farber, a member of Junior Team USA in 2013 and 2014. "There are a ton of great bowlers out here, so to be on top after the first day is an amazing feeling."

Joshua Tajiri of Anaheim, California, started the day with a 299 game and finished second with 1,466. Junior Team USA member Michael Tang of San Francisco was third with 1,435.

Robert Gotchall of Clarksville, Tennessee, fired the tournament's first 300 game en route to a 1,415 total, good enough for a fourth-place tie with Kristopher Prather of Milton, Florida.

On the women's side, McEwan put up games of 205, 214, 246, 289, 211 and 245 en route to the lead.

"Everything came together for me today," said McEwan, a three-time Team USA member who won the Team USA Trials in 2012 and 2013. "I didn't have a game plan to lead or win the tournament on the first day, but I wanted to come out and throw the ball well. Now I'm in a good position for the rest of the week."

Kelly Kulick of Union, New Jersey, a 10-time Team USA member, finished second with 1,333, while former Team USA member Josie Earnest of Nashville was third with 1,318. Another past Team USA member, Bryanna Caldwell of Red Rock, Arizona, was fourth with 1,303.

Action shifts to the second round of the event, which will be contested on the 39-foot Seoul pattern Sunday. All rounds of the Team USA Trials are being broadcast live on BOWL.com's BowlTV.

The top three men and top three women after five rounds of qualifying will be guaranteed spots on Team USA in 2015 and will bowl in the stepladder finals for the right to be declared champion, a spot in the prestigious QubicaAMF World Cup and prize money.

Two more men and two more women from the event will be selected to join Team USA, while five men and five women will be selected from a pool of eligible bowlers based on their bowling resumes and Trials performance if they competed.

A total of eight Junior Team USA spots - four boys and four girls - also are available. The top two boys and top two girls in the final points standings will earn automatic spots, while two boys and two girls spots will be at-large selections taken from either the Team USA Trials field or the finals field from the Junior Gold Championships held in July 2014. All bowlers 20 and under as of Jan. 1, 2015 are eligible for Junior Team USA.

 

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2015 USBC Team USA Trials - Round 1 Results

Top 20 with position, name, hometown and six-game total

Men's Division (Complete Standings):
1, Matthew Farber, Plainview, N.Y., 1,482
2, Joshua Tajiri, Anaheim, Calif., 1,466
3, Michael Tang, San Francisco, Calif., 1,435
4, Robert Gotchall, Clarksville, Tenn., 1,415
4, Kristopher Prather, Milton, Fla., 1,415
6, Kyle Troup, Taylorsville, N.C., 1,395
7, Tommy Jones, Greenville, S.C., 1,392
8, Darren Tang, San Francisco, Calif., 1,381
9, Adam (AJ) Johnson, Oswego, Ill., 1,373
10, Marshall Kent, Yakima, Wash., 1,372
11, Nathan Bohr, Austin, Texas, 1,371
11, Chad Mee, Hamburg, N.Y., 1,371
13, Devin Bidwell, Wichita, Kan., 1,366
14, Kenneth Ryan, Ocean, N.J., 1,360
14, Sean Rash, Montgomery, Ill., 1,360
16, Kamron Doyle, Brentwood, Tenn., 1,357
17, AJ Chapman, Wichita, Kan., 1,355
18, Greg Young, Viera, Fla., 1,354
19, Adam Zimmerman, Deer Park, N.Y., 1,350
20, Scott Anderson, Mankato, Minn., 1,346
20, Steve Smith, San Diego, Calif., 1,346

Women's Division (Complete Standings):
1, Danielle McEwan, Stony Point, N.Y., 1,410
2, Kelly Kulick, Union, N.J., 1,333
3, Josie Earnest, Nashville, Tenn., 1,318
4, Bryanna Caldwell, Red Rock, Ariz., 1,303
5, Amanda Van Duyn, Kenosha, Wis., 1,282
6, Lizabeth Kuhlkin, Schenectady, N.Y., 1,264
7, Missy Parkin, Laguna Hills, Calif., 1,263
8, Amanda Greene, Romney, W.Va., 1,262
9, Heather D'Errico, Rochester, N.Y., 1,258
10, Kaidee Sutphin, Howey In The Hills, Fla., 1,252
11, Brianna Amidon, Pittsfield, Mass., 1,251
12, Julia Bond, Aurora, Ill., 1,239
13, Liz Johnson, Cheektowaga, N.Y., 1,238
14, Nicole Parkhurst, Utica, N.Y., 1,237
15, Shannon Pluhowsky, Dayton, Ohio, 1,236
16, Emily Eckhoff, Denver, Colo., 1,235
17, Kimi Davidson, Azle, Texas, 1,232
18, Ashley Rucker, Bartlesville, Okla., 1,213
19, Kalynn Carl, Albany, N.Y., 1,212
20, Gabriella Mayfield, Lake Isabella, Calif., 1,211
20, Sierra Kanemoto, Dayton, Ohio, 1,211

 

2015 USBC Team USA Trials - Overall Standings after Round 1

Top 20 with position, name, hometown and total points. Points based on finishing position in each round; top three advance to stepladder finals after five rounds.

Men's Division (Complete Standings):
1, Matthew Farber, Plainview, N.Y., 1
2, Joshua Tajiri, Anaheim, Calif., 2
3, Michael Tang, San Francisco, Calif., 3
4, Robert Gotchall, Clarksville, Tenn., 4
4, Kristopher Prather, Milton, Fla., 4
6, Kyle Troup, Taylorsville, N.C., 6
7, Tommy Jones, Greenville, S.C., 7
8, Darren Tang, San Francisco, Calif., 8
9, Adam (AJ) Johnson, Oswego, Ill., 9
10, Marshall Kent, Yakima, Wash., 10
11, Nathan Bohr, Austin, Texas, 11
11, Chad Mee, Hamburg, N.Y., 11
13, Devin Bidwell, Wichita, Kan., 13
14, Kenneth Ryan, Ocean, N.J., 14
14, Sean Rash, Montgomery, Ill., 14
16, Kamron Doyle, Brentwood, Tenn., 16
17, AJ Chapman, Wichita, Kan., 17
18, Greg Young, Viera, Fla., 18
19, Adam Zimmerman, Deer Park, N.Y., 19
20, Scott Anderson, Mankato, Minn., 20
20, Steve Smith, San Diego, Calif., 20

Women's Division (Complete Standings):
1, Danielle McEwan, Stony Point, N.Y., 1
2, Kelly Kulick, Union, N.J., 2
3, Josie Earnest, Nashville, Tenn., 3
4, Bryanna Caldwell, Red Rock, Ariz., 4
5, Amanda Van Duyn, Kenosha, Wis., 5
6, Lizabeth Kuhlkin, Schenectady, N.Y., 6
7, Missy Parkin, Laguna Hills, Calif., 7
8, Amanda Greene, Romney, W.Va., 8
9, Heather D'Errico, Rochester, N.Y., 9
10, Kaidee Sutphin, Howey In The Hills, Fla., 10
11, Brianna Amidon, Pittsfield, Mass., 11
12, Julia Bond, Aurora, Ill., 12
13, Liz Johnson, Cheektowaga, N.Y., 13
14, Nicole Parkhurst, Utica, N.Y., 14
15, Shannon Pluhowsky, Dayton, Ohio, 15
16, Emily Eckhoff, Denver, Colo., 16
17, Kimi Davidson, Azle, Texas, 17
18, Ashley Rucker, Bartlesville, Okla., 18
19, Kalynn Carl, Albany, N.Y., 19
20, Gabriella Mayfield, Lake Isabella, Calif., 20
20, Sierra Kanemoto, Dayton, Ohio, 20