United States Bowling Congress Hall of Famer Dana Miller-Mackie (pictured left) of Albuquerque, N.M., was the only so-called headliner to survive the first two rounds of match play in the 2009 USBC Senior Queens undefeated Monday.

Miller-Mackie, bowling in her first Senior Queens, barely escaped her second match, nipping unsung Sue George of Middle Island, N.Y., 183-170, in a one-game roll-off after they tied at 648-648. The 52-year-old left-hander topped Janice Berry of Madison, Ala., in her first match, 554-515.

Miller-Mackie was the only one of the five USBC Hall of Famers and three past champions to win her first two challenges as the Senior Queens entered its three-game, double-elimination match play finals.

"That was too much stress," Miller-Mackie said after her nerve-wracking win over George, who earlier had sent defending champion Sandy Postma of Lansing, Ill., to the win-or-go-home contenders bracket. "I kept telling myself this tournament was supposed to be fun, so have some fun!"

Miller-Mackie was especially happy after watching Postma and fellow hall of famers Virginia Norton of Cypress, Calif., Fran Deken of Coweta, Okla., and Nancy Fehr of Cincinnati upset in the opening round. After opening-round wins, past Senior Queens winners Lucy Sandelin of Tampa, Fla., and Rose Smith of Las Vegas also were bumped into the contenders bracket by unheralded Janine Primrose of Minden, Nev., and Cindy Whiteman of Portland, Ore., respectively.

By the time Monday's match play competition ended, only Sandelin, Fehr and Deken were still alive in the contenders bracket. Postma was eliminated after a 652-524 loss to Jinnie Henry of Hixson, Tenn.; Smith was eliminated by Judy Vogel of Slidell, La., 666-528, and Norton was knocked out by George, 590-519.

"This tournament is so hard to win," Miller-Mackie said. "Sometimes it's a matter of who you get matched up against, but it's just hard. These women throw the ball so good. Fortunately, things were really good for me today. Qualifying Saturday and Sunday was ugly, but today I got a good feel for the lanes and I got into a good rhythm.

"The Queens is the one major I was never able to win in my career," she added, "so I'd really like to win the Senior Queens. But I'll be happy no matter what."

Proving Miller-Mackie's comment about matchups, Sandelin put a 631 series on the board in the second round, but got blown away by Primrose (pictured right), who rolled a 724 series - the second highest in Senior Queens match play history.

Primrose, who moved to the U.S. from Australia in 1993, is bowling in her first Senior Queens at age 56.

"I'm ecstatic," Primrose said of her upset win. "I was so nervous. Lucy's such an awesome bowler. It was a thrill just to bowl on the same lanes with her."

Eight players survived Monday's competition undefeated in the winners bracket and eight are still in the running with one loss in the contenders bracket. Those players will compete Tuesday to determine the two who will meet for the title Wednesday morning.

 

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2009 USBC Senior Queens - Match Play Results

Three games, double-elimination match play

Opening Round

Lucy Sandelin, Tampa, Fla., def. Joan Reilly, Wilmington, Del., 636-558
Janine Primrose, Gardnerville, Nev., def. Jinnie Henry, Hixson, Tenn., 626-542
Barbara Batt, Jacksonville, Fla., def. Christina Holcomb, Glenpool, Okla., 581-471
Cheryl Hammit, Union City, Calif., def. Judy Vogel, Slidell, La., 570-519
Carole Jones, Englewood, Colo., def. Sharon Powers, Lakewood, Colo., 706-597
Shelly West, Omaha, Neb., def. Teri Sunell, Eugene, Ore., 540-510
Judy Gurney, Omaha, Neb., def. Virginia Norton, Cypress, Calif., 614-587
Lil Johnson, Lawton, Okla., def. Debbie Wade, West Jordan, Utah, 598-542
Dana Miller-Mackie, Albuquerque, N.M., def. Janice Berry, Madison, Ala., 554-512
Susan George, Middle Island, N.Y., def. Sandy Postma, Lansing, Ill., 607-562
Cindy Whiteman, Portland, Ore., def. Pam Lawrence, Pflugerville, Texas, 608-570
Rose Smith, Las Vegas, def. Linda DeCamp, Henderson, Nev., 565-476
Karen Smith, San Marcos, Calif., def. Debra Sinek, Odenton, Md., 619-602
Cathy Smith, Richmond, Va., def. Nancy Fehr, Cincinnati, 534-508
Rosanne Allen, El Paso, Texas, def. Shirley Braverman, Phoenix, 590-586
Jackie Reed, Clearfield, Utah, def. Fran Deken, Coweta, Okla., 523-492

 

Winners Bracket -Round 1

Primrose def. Sandelin, 724-631
Hammitt def. Batt, 577-572
West def. Jones, 550-532
Johnson def. Gurney, 559-535
Miller-Mackie def. George, 648-648, 183-170 in one-game roll-off
Whiteman def. Smith, 573-537
C. Smith def. K. Smith, 562-447
Reed def. Allen, 570-519

 

Contenders Bracket - Round 1

(Losers eliminated, each earned $300)

Reilly def. Berry, 614-534
Henry def. Postma, 652-524
Holcomb def. Lawrence, 556-547
Vogel def. DeCamp, 571-480
Powers def. Sinek, 607-550
Fehr def. Sunell, 623-516
Norton def. Braverman, 578-571
Deken def. Wade, 631-543

 

Contenders Bracket - Round 2

(Losers eliminated, each earned $400)

Reilly def. Jones, 643-544
Sandelin def. Henry, 612-586
Allen def. Holcomb, 553-496
Vogel def. Smith, 666-528
Powers def. Gurney, 635-579
Fehr def. Batt, 582-556
George def. Norton, 590-519
Deken def. Smith, 656-538