Defending champion Sandy Postma of Lansing, Ill., had the highest score after the second qualifying round in the 2009 United States Bowling Congress Senior Queens on Sunday, but it didn't mean much. The score that mattered belonged to perennial hopeful Lil Johnson (pictured left) of Lawton, Okla.

Because Postma is automatically seeded into the 32-woman match play finals as defending champion, her qualifying score is moot. She elected to bowl the qualifying portion of the tournament as a pacer just to get acquainted with the scoring environment at the National Bowling Stadium in preparation for match play.

"I'm trying to figure out how to score best," she said after posting a 10-game total of 2,079 pins, 40 better than Johnson. "I want to find out which balls work best, what line to play, that sort of thing. My score may not matter as far as the standings are concerned, but it matters to me."

Postma, the only woman to win the regular USBC Queens and the Senior Queens (she has won the latter three times) said the first time she defended one of her Queens titles, the rules didn't allow her to pace with the field "and I bowled terrible in match play. I wasn't about to let that happen again."

While Postma's berth in match play is guaranteed and her preliminary games have established her as the player to beat, Johnson would love nothing more than to taste what Postma has experienced. Nothing would make her happier than having a shot at the first important title in her career.

"I'm a late bloomer," the 57-year-old Johnson said. "I bowled on the ladies' pro tour for five years, but I was so worried about bowling ball layouts, ball surfaces, reading lanes, the double-jump lane courtesy rule and all of that stuff that I never had much success. It wasn't until I quit the tour that it all sunk in. Now the game makes sense to me."

While the second round was a struggle for almost everyone else, Johnson rolled consecutive games of 236, 231 and 255 to comfortably lead the field of match play contenders into Monday's final qualifying round.

"I tried a ball I thought would get through the heads, but still finish hard," she said, "and I changed my hand position. It all worked."

Johnson has never won a national title, but she also has never given up on that dream.

"It's never too late," she grinned. "You always play to the last frame of the last game. A win here would truly be the icing on the cake for me. It would be the perfect payoff for all of the hard work I've done, for all the times I practiced until my hand was bleeding. We'll see what happens."

The USBC Senior Queens is open to women bowlers ages 50 and older. After the second round, the field of 140 was cut to the top 50 for a third five-game round Monday morning. The 31 players after 15 games will join Postma in the three-game, double-elimination match play finals Monday evening and Tuesday.

 

Related Articles

Lucy Sandelin takes first-round USBC Senior Queens qualifying lead
Sandy Postma eyes fourth USBC Senior Queens title

 

2009 USBC Senior Queens - Round 2 Qualifying

Players with position, hometown and 10-game total. The top 50 advance.

1. Lilia Johnson, Lawton, OK, 2039
2. Lucy Sandelin, Tampa, FL, 2030
3. Rose Smith, Las Vegas, NV, 1966
4. Jackie Reed, Clearfield, UT, 1965
5. Rosanne Allen, El Paso, TX, 1952
6. Sharon Powers, Lakewood, CO, 1932
7. Judy Vogel, Slidell, LA, 1928
8. Barbara Batt, Jacksonville, FL, 1927
9. Virginia Norton, Cypress, CA, 1916
10. Dana Miller - Mackie, Albuquerque, NM, 1911
11. Karen Smith, San Marcos, CA, 1894
12. Pamela Lawrence, Pflugerville, TX, 1889
13. Joan Reilly, Wilmington, NC, 1871
14. Cathy Smith, Richmond, VA, 1869
15. Shelley West, Omaha, NE, 1868
16. Susan George, Middle Island, NY, 1865
17. Janine Primrose, Gardnerville, NV, 1857
(tie) Christina Holcomb, Glenpool, OK, 1857
19. Nancy Fehr, Cincinnati, OH, 1850
20. Jinnie Henry, Hixson, TN, 1844
21. Janice Berry, Madison, AL, 1842
22. Linda De Camp, Henderson, NV, 1841
23. Helen Lewis, Lakewood, WA, 1839
24. Fran Minton, Iowa Park, TX, 1836
25. Kuniko Naganawa, Japan, 1832
26. Elizabeth Dawson, Sunnyvale, CA, 1825
27. Derry Lee Smith, Rupert, ID, 1824
28. Barbara Shelton, Hempstead, NY, 1814
(tie) Cheryl Hammitt, Union City, CA, 1814
(tie) Melody Felton, Colfax, IA, 1814
31. Judy Gurney, Omaha, NE, 1811
32. Fran Deken, Coweta, OK, 1808
(tie) Heidi Pagenkopf, Lynnwood, WA, 1808
34. Debbie Wade, West Jordan, UT, 1806
35. A Jane Hassell, Springfield, VA, 1804
36. Lynn Minning, Austin, TX, 1799
(tie) Teri Sunell, Eugene, OR, 1799
(tie) Shirley Braverman, Phoenix, AZ, 1799
39. Christine Drew, Santa Clara, CA, 1798
40. Denise Myers, Pensacola, FL, 1794
41. Doreen Phone, Canada, 1792
42. Debra Sinek, Odenton, MD, 1791
43. Susan Harris, Tampa, FL, 1789
44. Cindy Whiteman, Portland, OR, 1785
45. Diana Cavins, Fairfield, CA, 1782
(tie) Anita Pope, Silsbee, TX, 1782
47. Joyce Owens, Greenback, TN, 1775
48. Carole Jones, Englewood, CO, 1773
49. Pam Campbell, Fairfield, OH, 1772
50. Cathy Turner, Williamsville, VT, 1769

51. Beverly Russell, El Paso, TX, 1761
52. Jayne Lampugnani, Philadelphia, PS, 1760
53. Ann Swann, Wilmington, NC, 1757
(tie) Susan Kolbert, Las Vegas, NV, 1757
55. Pam Buckner, Reno, NV, 1754
56. Pattie Cochran, Rogue River, OR, 1751
57. Janine Ditch, Chino Hills, CA, 1749
58. Cindy Darling, Lake Placid, FL, 1744
(tie) Lela Larkin, Medford, OR, 1744
60. Becky Clark, Des Moines, IA, 1742
(tie) Cynthia Kesterson, Council Bluffs, IA, 1742
(tie) Maryfran Milbank, Winter Haven, FL, 1742
63. Cathrine Wilson, Seguin, TX, 1736
(tie) Roberta Haffner, Grand Prairie, TX, 1736
65. M Virginia Johnson, Greenland, NH, 1735
66. Juliana Rhoads, Las Vegas, NV, 1733
67. June Shimoda, Fresno, CA, 1728
68. Karen Pullman, Salt Lake City, UT, 1726
69. Carla Burke, Nevada City, CA, 1725
(tie) Patti Linn, Madison, AL, 1725
71. Andi Whitlock, Middleton, DE, 1721
72. Margaret Kruper, Long Island, NY, 1720
73. Jeanette Porter, Omaha, NE, 1719
74. Marci Williams, Wichita, KS, 1718
75. Debbie Haggerty, Weimar, CA, 1717
76. Elizabeth Wong, Calgary, Alberta, 1715
(tie) Merlina Wood, Longmont, CO, 1715
78. Jan Thomas, Urbandale, IA, 1700
79. Ann Kordenbrock, Cincinnati, OH, 1699
80. Marianne Morton, Palm Coast, FL, 1694
81. Olivia Rice, Windsor Mill, MD, 1684
82. Patricia Addison, La Vista, NE, 1682
(tie) Cora Johnson, Waipahu, HI, 1682
84. Kathy Kurtz, Bismark, ND, 1680
85. Connie Palmer, El Cajon, CA, 1677
(tie) Darlena Almond, Longmont, CO, 1677
87. Donna Moulton, Rancho Cucamonga, CA, 1675
88. Joyce Marshall, New York, NY, 1674
89. Jennifer Nelson, Menlo Park, CA, 1673
(tie) Melody Rane, Reno, NV, 1673
91. Karren Drysdale, Bixby, OK, 1669
92. Ginger Barbacovey, Cantonment, FL, 1665
93. Polly Torvik, Grass Valley, CA, 1661
94. Debbie Ip, Edmonton, Alberta, 1660
95. Alice Hale, Austin, TX, 1659
96. Annese Dunleavy, Las Vegas, NV, 1657
97. Barbara Gnegy, Lakeland, FL, 1656
(tie) Candy Sylvia, Felton, CA, 1656
99. Donna Johnson, Sparks, NV, 1646
100. Jennifer Jones, Powder Springs, GA, 1639
101. Amy Gottlieb, San Diego, CA, 1633
102. Pat Chambers, Severna Park, MD, 1632
103. Norma Manns, Austin, TX, 1631
104. Jan Schnell-topolski, Anchorage, AK, 1627
105. Cleofe Avis, San Mateo, CA, 1624
106. Linda Gooding, Willow Street, PA, 1623
107. Lynda White, Corydon, IN, 1622
108. Gail Kelly, Philadelphia, PA, 1620
109. Theresa Chaney, Pensacola, FL, 1619
110. L Jean Fisher, Olathe, KS, 1617
111. Joan Boyce, Olathe, KS, 1611
(tie) Rose Irby, Pensacola, FL, 1611
113. Norma Winfield, Chester, VA, 1610
114. Marjorie Netz, Las Vegas, NV, 1605
115. Susan Hirner, Lockport, IL, 1600
116. Virginia Wright, Winter Haven, FL, 1593
117. Wendy Brown, La Mesa, CA, 1581
118. Cheryl Younger, Overland Park, KS, 1577
119. Leslie Blandford, Jacksonville, FL, 1567
120. Marilyn Kreg, Delton, MI, 1566
(tie) Jean Schrilla, Addison, IL, 1566
122. Gwen Terry, Tacoma, WA, 1560
123. Sharon Bush, Bloomingdale, NJ, 1552
124. Theda Hicks, Cantonment, FL, 1551
(tie) Waynette Lewis, Carsen City, NV, 1551
126. Carmen Antunez, El Paso, TX, 1547
127. Freida Gates, Villages, FL, 1541
128. Sharon Taylor, Frederick, MD, 1537
129. Deyonne Pickerign, Leavenworth, KS, 1535
130. Shirlee Tooke, El Paso, TX, 1534
131. Jean Pakes, Oxnard, CA, 1511
132. Elizabeth Woods, Bel Air, MD, 1491
133. Stephanie Milhous, Nevada City, CA, 1471
134. Donna Munoz, Pleasant Hill, CA, 1468
135. Louise Szerzo, Pensacola, FL, 1460
136. Shirley Hollingsworth, Corydon, IN, 1456
137. Maritza Collazo, Bayamon, PR, 1442
138. Shirley Strum, Herlong, CA, 1438
139. Jeania Schmidt, Chula Vista, CA, 1421
140. Marti Elliott, Seven Lakes, NC, 1126 (WD)