After moving into second place in Division 1 team at the United States Bowling Congress Women's Championships, presented by the Eldorado, Silver Legacy and Circus Circus, Cavalettes 1 captain Shirley Johnson knew it was no time for resting on any hard-earned laurels.

The Sacramento, Calif., team fired 2,811 on May 6 and trail only Village Bar II of Omaha, Neb., which leads with 2,842.

"I only shot my average once the entire weekend. I am not a happy girl," Johnson stressed after the Cavalettes wrapped up singles and doubles events at the National Bowling Stadium. "I didn't do well in either of those events. I didn't have a good day, but again - we bowled as a team. Some bowled well, some didn't. That's just the way it is."

Johnson, 51, said she employed a certain strategy even before the Cavalettes rolled into Reno.

"Last week, I went online to bowl.com to see what the standings were, and when I saw that we had bowled two 900 series, I said, 'All we have to do is focus, and have a 900 game each time.' So I knew we were in the game after the second game," Johnson said. "The last game was hard for us; we were a hundred pins less. But when I saw that we had a 2,811 I knew we had cashed."

The Cavalettes are fortified with a foundation of focus, consistency and a disciplined sportsmanship, palpable tones of this generations-old team.

"As a club, we do work on that," noted Johnson, who puts teams together for their tournaments. "I try to match them up pretty equally. In this particular case, for my team, we're not all Cavalettes. We didn't have enough bowlers, so two of us are originally Cavalettes; the other three are bowling associates that bowl with. We've known each other for years, so we got this team together."

Maika Winkler led the team with a 639 series and was followed by Janai Sims (575), Cheryl Winfield (564), Stacye Divers-Glimstad (521) and Shirley Johnson (512).

Winkler added 641 in doubles and 576 in singles for an all-events total of 1,856, which pushed her into first place in Division 1. "Maika Winkler was truly consistent," Johnson said. "She bowled very well, and helped carry the team into the position that it's in."

Kegel is the official lane maintenance provider of USBC.


Top five division leaders with hometowns and pinfall:

Team (946 average and over)
1, Strike 3, Sun City, Ariz., 3,021. 2, C&S Bowling Supply I, Plainfield, Ill., 2,946. 3, Laurel Bowl, Johnson City, N.Y., 2,917. 4, Miche's Mob, Irvine, Calif., 2,877. 5, Lucky Ducks #5, Mohnton, Pa., 2,869.

Doubles (379 average and over)
1, Carrie Meares, Seneca, S.C./Lisa Wagner, Duluth, Ga., 1,331. 2, Dianna Innerst, San Jose, Calif./Cathy Johnston, Folsom, Calif., 1,274. 3, Bonnie Vaughan, Englewood, Ohio/Rae Parks, Vandalia, Ohio, 1,234. 4, Nicole Van Deventer/Laurie Clark, Sioux Falls, S.D., 1,231. 5, Teresa Adkins, Xenia, Ohio/Debbie Benchic, Dayton, Ohio 1,223.

Singles (190 average and over)
1, Shannon Duplantis, New Orleans, 707. 2, Valerie Carrillo, Montebello, Calif., 691. 3, Lisa Wagner, Duluth, Ga., 683. 4, Alisha Caballero, Riverside, Calif., 678. 5, Jamie Koster, Grants Pass, Ore., 674.

All Events (190 average and over)
1, Lisa Wagner, Duluth, Ga., 2,097. 2, Lisa Stevens, St. Charles, Ill., 1,991. 3, Nikki Lunsford, Plainfield, Ill., 1,967. 4, Shannon Duplantis, New Orleans, 1,896. 5, (tie) Rachel Einstoss, Chula Vista, Calif., and Jami May-Bruce, 1,890.

Team (846-945 average)
1, Village Bar II, Omaha, Neb., 2,842. 2, Cavalettes 1, Sacramento, Calif., 2,811. 3, The Queen B's 1, Loveland, Colo., 2,807. 4, BeauBien Street Saloon, Troy, Mich., 2,781. 5, Cruizin', White City, Ore., 2,759.

Doubles (339-378 average)
1, Pam Schulz, Longview, Wash./Valery Hubbard, Kelso, Wash., 1,264. 2, Irma Day, Helotes, Texas/Julie Howard, San Antonio, Texas, 1,223. 3, Janet McLeod, Redding, Calif./Susan Fuller, Cottonwood, Calif., 1,196. 4, Darci Roberts, Canby, Ore./Sandra Currie, Dundee, Ore., 1,181. 5, Jackie Klock, Brandon, S.D./Judi Johnson, Sioux Falls, S.D., 1,180.

Singles (170-189 average)
1, Kristine Kiesling, Las Vegas, Nev., 686. 2, Wynn Brandon, Reno, Nev., 676. 3, Paula Hallead, East Wenatchee, Wash., 674. 4, Dawn Jessie, Atlanta, 662. 5, Marlene Crosier, Mitchell, Neb., 650.

All Events (170-189 average)
1, Maika Winkler, Antelope, Calif., 1,856. 2, Kristine Kiesling, Las Vegas, Nev., 1,804. 3, Wynn Brandon, Reno, Nev., 1,802. 4, Jackie Brantley, Littleton, Colo., 1,800. 5, Gerry Little Jr., Jacksonville, Fla., 1,777.

Team (746-845 average)
1, Centennial Lanes 2, Hays, Kan., 2,658. 2, Team 20022, White Bear Lake, Minn., 2,640. 3, Family and Friends #1, Rohnert Park, Calif., 2,633. 4, Jaycees 1, Ellenwood, Ga., 2,613. 5, Storage World I, New Port Richey, Fla., 2,600.

Doubles (299-338 average)
1, Sharon Cassidy, San Mateo, Calif./Elaine Van Otten, Pacifica, Calif., 1,171. 2, Jeanna Brown, Bloomington, Ill./Joan Kaufman, Heyworth, Ill., 1,154. 3, Deborah Nowak-Frick, Walkerton, Ind./Pat Dukarm, South Bend, Ind., 1,141. 4, Edie Anderson, Hesperia, Mich./Dee Rynberg, Fremont, Mich., 1,129. 5, Erma Ransom, Vallejo, Calif./Nikita Williams, Oakland, Calif., 1,127.

Singles (150-169 average)
1, Judith Kaufman, Winslow, Ill., 620. 2 (tie), Joyce Moss, Columbus, Ohio and Linda Urbanek, Poway, Calif., 616. 4, Bonnie Magnussen, Wyoming, Ill., 615. 5, Billie Adams, New Caney, Texas, 614.

All Events (150-169 average)
1, Nikita Williams, Oakland, Calif., 1,767. 2, Cheryl Blosch, South Wayne, Wis., 1,705. 3, Ruth Rapacz, Maple Grove, Minn., 1,695. 4, Terri Stynes, Sunnyvale, Calif., 1,682. 5, Morgan Robinson, New Haven, Conn., 1,681.

Team (651-745 average)
1, Just Marked, Oakland, Calif., 2,458. 2, Cutting Edge, Glencoe, Minn., 2,417. 3, Left Overs, Ponca City, Okla., 2,401. 4, Coldwell Banker, Eureka, Calif., 2,397. 5, Ducks In A Row, Troy, Ala., 2,379.

Doubles (261-298 average)
1, Jamie Huyser, Kearney, Neb./Connie Huyser, Johnson Lake, Neb., 1,062. 2, Loretta Haynes, Sissonville, W. Va./Lori Derrick, Charleston, W. Va., 1,058. 3, Sharon Schutts, South St. Paul, Minn./Barb Strus, McGregor, Minn., 1,053. 4, Joyce Bland, Tampa, Fla./Ruth Burns, Carlinville, Ill., 1,045. 5, Rita Danner, Belen, N.M./Joyce White, Fort Worth, Texas, 1,040.

Singles (131-149 average)
1, Nancy Galinat, Harrold, S.D., 638. 2, Robin McGinnis, Petrolia, Pa., 598. 3, Tisha Martin, Seattle, 586. 4, Donna LaJeunesse, Xenia, Ohio, 575. 5, Pat Ballantyne, The Villages, Fla., 564.

All Events (131-149 average)
1, Ginger Engel, Pahrump, Nev., 1,601. 2, Nancy Galinat, Harrold, S.D., 1,592. 3, Robin McGinnis, Petrolia, Pa., 1,588. 4, Shirley Baker, Orangevale, Calif., 1,574. 5, Paula Hyde, Austin, Texas, 1,553.

Team (650 average and under)
1, Bear Nasty, Monticello, Minn., 2,187. 2, North Idaho Crushing II, St. Maries, Idaho, 2,111. 3, Tumbleweed Lanes, Ness City, Kan., 2,096. 4, Lundeen Ford, Annandale, Minn., 2,091. 5, Shelton-Christmas Town, Shelton, Wash., 2,079.

Doubles (260 average and under)
1, Kathy Belmer, Manteca, Calif./Regina Antunes, Stockton, Calif., 973. 2, Sharon Carroll/Dee Carroll, Newport, Wash., 945. 3, Lorna Robinson/Holly Rybensky, Omaha, Neb., 941. 4, Ann Harvey, Pleasanton, Texas/Meaghan Bedwell, Jourdanton, Texas, 926. 5, Susan Carlson, Milaca, Minn./Karon Bensen, Saint Louis Park, Minn., 920.

Singles (130 average and under)
1, Rose Postle, Rice Lake, Wis., 554. 2, Connie Monk, Yelm, Wash., 549. 3, Shelly Bloch, Ramsey, Minn., 538. 4, Ashley Rivera, Kingsville, Texas, 536. 5, Wendy Theisen, St. Cloud, Minn., 531.

All Events (130 average and under)
1, Connie Monk, Yelm, Wash., 1,481. 2, Karen Clements, Blair, Neb., 1,443. 3, Ashley Rivera, Kingsville, Texas, 1,433. 4, Alice Vieselmeyer, Friend, Neb., 1,426. 5, Heather Payne, Gering, Neb., 1,425.