Emily Peterson of West Fargo, North Dakota, decided to go for broke during her doubles and singles set April 25, and that choice helped her into the lead in Diamond All-Events with 1,969.

After starting her team event April 24 with a conservative ball selection that resulted in 15 nine-counts on her way to a 594 series, the 29-year-old right-hander made the change to a more aggressive ball for doubles and singles, leading to sets of 698 in doubles and 677 in singles. Daphne Smith of Simpsonville, South Carolina, previously held the top spot with 1,957.

Shawna Strause (right) of Tucson, Arizona, built on past success at the Women’s Championships, and once again finds her name on the leaderboard as she teamed with Heidi Woods, also of Tucson, to take the lead in Diamond Doubles with 1,283.

Woods led the way at the South Point Bowling Plaza with games of 232, 232 and 193 for a 657 set, while Strause, who finished second in Diamond Singles in 2012, added games of 196, 246 and 184 for 626. Angela Wolfe and Michelle Dragon of Gilbert, Arizona, previously held the lead with 1,232.

Diamond Doubles features bowlers with combined entering averages of 380 and above. Diamond All-Events features bowlers with entering averages of 190 and above.

Illinois bowler sets bar in Ruby Singles at Women’s Championships

Billie Roberts of Rockford, Illinois, bounced back after a slow start to her singles competition at the South Point Bowling Plaza to secure the top spot in Ruby Singles with 673.

Roberts opened with a 177 game but rebounded with 242 and 254 to move to the top of the standings. Ruby Singles features bowlers with entering averages of 175-189.

Participation milestones highlight week

Nancy Folden of Memphis, Tennessee, and Jelemia Sanders of Richmond, Kentucky, each reached milestones at the 2016 United States Bowling Congress Women’s Championships.

Folden (left), 85, celebrated her 55th USBC Women’s Championships appearance at South Point Bowling Plaza, and Sanders, 77, became the first to join the 50-Year Club at the 2016 event.

Folden began her tournament career as a 19-year-old at the 1955 Women’s Championships in Omaha, Nebraska. She made her second appearance eight years later and has returned to the world’s largest participatory sporting event in the world for women each year since 1963. She has visited 40 cities and 28 states throughout her tournament career.

“I think the camaraderie and friends you foster over the years is what makes this great,” said Folden, who finished second in Division 1 Singles at the 1976 event in Denver.

“It’s also a thrill after you’ve been here a few times to keep on bowling. My family wouldn’t know what to do if I said I wasn’t going to go bowling. They would think something is wrong. It’s in my genes. I have to do it.”

Sanders (left) started her journey at the 1966 event in New Orleans and has made the annual trip to the event each year since 1974. Sanders first earned her place in the record books after winning Division 1 Singles at the 1970 Women’s Championships in Tulsa, Oklahoma.

“That was the best series I bowled in my life,” said Sanders, who has traveled to 37 cities and 24 states during her 50 years at the tournament. “I didn’t have an open frame. We bowled during the last week of April, and I had to wait until the middle of July to find out. I was on cloud nine.”

Five bowlers are scheduled to join Sanders in the 50-Year Club during the 2016 event.

A look ahead

Alyce Hansen of Port Ludlow, Washington, is scheduled to make her 50th USBC Women’s Championships this week.

Hansen, a 91-year-old right-hander, will make her milestone appearance at South Point Bowling Plaza on May 3 at 4 p.m. Pacific. She began her tournament career at the 1965 event in Portland, Oregon, and she has made the tournament an annual destination since 1972.

For more information on the Women’s Championships, click here.

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2016 USBC Women’s Championships Team Results

Top 5 division leaders with hometown and pinfall

Division 1 – Diamond
(For bowlers with combined averages of 725 and above)
1, Atlanta’s Finest (Tinickia Fleming, Daphne Smith, Devera Buckley, Vanina Carlton), Lithia Springs, Ga., 2,534. 2, AZ Heat II, The Colony, Ariz., 2,418. 3, AZ Heat I, The Colony, Ariz., 2,395. 4, Sock, Colorado Springs, Colo., 2,339. 5, T’s Peeps, Lansing, Mich., 2,252.

Division 2 – Ruby
(For bowlers with combined averages of 650-724)
1, VA Wildcards (Rosanne Alwine, RoxAnn Artzer-Crowder, Andrea Sharp, Wanda Volpp), Stafford, Va., 2,215. 2, Greg’s Towing, Akron, Ohio, 2,126. 3, Lazy Nut Farm, McMinnville, Ore., 2,123. 4, Happy Harry’s Hog Farm, Palmer, Alaska, 2,077. 5, Starlite Lanes, Flagstaff, Ariz., 2,065.

Division 3 – Emerald
(For bowlers with combined averages of 575-649)
1, Bling Team (Jeannia Barnett, Joni Bunting, Deanna Lundin, Pam Pacheco), Lake Havasu City, Ariz., 1,991. 2, River Queens, Box Elder, S.D., 1,979. 3, Whatever!, Deer Park, Texas, 1,959. 4, Sharon’s Team, Loves Park, Ill., 1,955. 5, Minnesota Loons, Mounds View, Minn., 1,953.

Division 4 – Sapphire
(For bowlers with combined averages of 574 and below)
1, Four of a Kind (Catherine Day, Sue Dolsky, Pamala Schmidt, Susan Stetina), Lincoln, Neb., 1,807. 2, Sweet Treats, Granite Falls, Minn., 1,776. 3, Trouble Makers, Preston, Conn., 1,766. 4, Kentucky Country Gals, Berea, Ky., 1,764. 5, Sloto Maniacs, Alpena, Mich., 1,761.

2016 USBC Women’s Championships Doubles Results

Top 5 division leaders with hometown and pinfall

Division 1 – Diamond
(For bowlers with combined averages of 380 and above)
1, Shawna Strause/Heidi Woods, Tucson, Ariz., 1,283. 2, Michelle Dragon/Angela Wolfe, Gilbert, Ariz., 1,232. 3, Jennifer Dovers, Sierra Vista, Ariz./Mandy Etem, Cave Creek, Ariz., 1,217. 4, Anjanette Hogan, Grandview, Mo./Erika Wallace, Kansas City, Mo., 1,207. 5, Nicole Haffely, Hillsboro, N.D./Emily Peterson, West Fargo, N.D., 1,200.

Division 2 – Ruby
(For bowlers with combined averages of 350-379)
1, Andrea Sharp, Stafford, Va./RoxAnn Artzer-Crowder, Berryton, Kan., 1,234. 2, Donna Bare/Lisa Yuknavage, Orlando, Fla., 1,150. 3, Ashley Schwartz/Kimberlee Lindsey, Port Charlotte, Fla., 1,144. 4, Janice Ritter/Angela Haltom, Colorado Springs, Colo., 1,140. 5, Sherry Theisen, Phoenix/Patti Pope, Valparaiso, Ind., 1,138.

Division 3 – Emerald
(For bowlers with combined averages of 320-349)
1, JoAnn Olson, Hutchinson, Minn./Denise Gann, Odenville, Ala., 1,101. 2, Linda Matthias, Tecumseh, Kan./Colene Bailes, Topeka, Kan., 1,092. 3, Mary Edwards/Judy Stanczyk, Lincoln, Neb., 1,074. 4, Nena Buck/Shelley Davis, Wasilla, Alaska, 1,070. 5, Donna Pena/Karen Crim, Plainview, Texas, 1,068.

Division 4 – Sapphire
(For bowlers with combined averages of 290-319)
1, Ann-Marie Davis, Lithia, Fla./Randi DeVillier, Riverview, Fla., 1,068. 2, Sheree Bryant/Sharon Durrant, Fall Creek, Ore., 1,034. 3, Judy Tabor/Cheryl Riviere, Slidell, La., 1,026. 4, Christine Gregory/Cathy Moultrie, Clinton Township, Mich., 1,025. 5, Joann Schneider, Spearman, Texas/Janet Parks, Borger, Texas, 1,021.

Division 5 – Amethyst
(For bowlers with combined averages of 260-289)
1, Nancy Jette, Beaverton, Ore./Pamala Conrad, Hillsboro, Ore., 1,014. 2, Carol Hovdet/Kristen Porath, Windom, Minn., 983. 3, Anne-Marie Cole/Donna Vanderhoff, Kitchener, Ontario, Canada, 981. 4, Linda Whiteside, Elsberry, Mo./Sherry Van Vleck, Bowling Green, Mo., 961. 5, Sheila Pfeifer/Doris Marcinkus, Waukegan, Ill., 957.

Division 6 – Topaz
(For bowlers with combined averages of 259 and below)
1, Brenda Bass, Conroe, Texas/Linda Brown, Albuquerque, N.M., 956. 2, Margret Smith, Douglasville, Ga./Debra Dale, Dickinson, Texas, 950. 3, Cathryn Woelfel/Debra Mueller, New Holstein, Wis., 872. 4, Casey Martin/Trina Henhawk, Hagersville, Ontario, Canada, 866. 5, Helen Heritage/Virginia Sanborn, Bonners Ferry, Idaho, 854.

2016 USBC Women’s Championships Singles Results

Top 5 division leaders with hometown and pinfall

Division 1 – Diamond
(For bowlers with averages of 190 and above)
1, Daphne Smith, Simpsonville, S.C., 724. 2, Mandy Etem, Cave Creek, Ariz., 700. 3, Emily Peterson, West Fargo, N.D., 677. 4, Kolien Owens, Mason, Mich., 666. 5, Michelle Dragon, Gilbert, Ariz., 649.

Division 2 – Ruby
(For bowlers with averages from 175-189)
1, Billie Roberts, Rockford, Ill., 673. 2, Lindsey Szachta, Charlotte, N.C., 657. 3, Sunni Hearin, Newcastle, Wash., 621. 4, Dorothy Culpon, McKinney, Texas, 603. 5, Tanya Dean, El Paso, Texas, 599.

Division 3 – Emerald
(For bowlers with averages from 160-174)
1, Teresa Person, Tigard, Ore., 630. 2, Diane Brown, Georgetown, Texas, 617. 3, Anna Blish, Highmount, N.Y., 598. 4(tie), Brittney Brynell, Inver Grove Heights, Minn., and Bev Saatzer, St. Cloud, Minn., 592.

Division 4 – Sapphire
(For bowlers with averages from 145-159)
1(tie), Denise Caldwell, Ostrander, Minn., and Theresa Sroczyk, East Helena, Mont., 571. 3, Tina Shanklin, Cullowhee, N.C., 563. 4, Linda Lesure, Las Vegas, 562. 5(tie), Monnie Cozby, Fort Worth, Texas, and Lynda Wright, St. Cloud, Fla., 559.

Division 5 – Amethyst
(For bowlers with averages from 130-144)
1, Marlana Ayers, Plymouth, Minn., 552. 2, Helen Heritage, Bonners Ferry, Idaho, 540. 3, Donnetta Turner, Detroit, 520. 4, Norma Rodriguez, San Juan, Puerto Rico, 518. 5, Cathryn Woelfel, New Holstein, Wis., 512.

Division 6 – Topaz
(For bowlers with averages of 129 and below)
1, Margret Smith, Douglasville, Ga., 569. 2, Diane O’Connor, Dexter, Minn., 498. 3, Emma Lee Tate, Richmond, Ky., 487. 4, Jamie Endl, Mondovi, Wis., 481. 5, Maryann Medellin, Dallas, 477.

2016 USBC Women’s Championships All-Events Results

Top 5 division leaders with hometown and pinfall

Division 1 – Diamond
(For bowlers with averages of 190 and above)
1, Emily Peterson, West Fargo, N.D., 1,969. 2, Daphne Smith, Simpsonville, S.C., 1,957. 3, Mandy Etem, Cave Creek, Ariz., 1,940. 4, Lauri Cohrs, Colorado Springs, Colo., 1,905. 5(tie), Tinickia Fleming, Greenville, S.C., and Andrea Sharp, Stafford, Va., 1,895.

Division 2 – Ruby
(For bowlers with averages from 175-189)
1, RoxAnn Artzer-Crowder, Berryton, Kan., 1,735. 2, Lindsey Szachta, Charlotte, N.C., 1,733. 3, Billie Roberts, Rockford, Ill., 1,725. 4, Megan Crevelt, Las Vegas, 1,711. 5, Kimberly Molnar, Las Vegas, 1,690.

Division 3 – Emerald
(For bowlers with averages from 160-174)
1, Rexiene Smith, Tampa, Fla., 1,690. 2, Teresa Person, Tigard, Ore., 1,652. 3, Brittney Brynell, Inver Grove Heights, Minn., 1,648. 4, Barbara Wallace, Parson, Kan., 1,636. 5, Bev Saatzer, St. Cloud, Minn., 1,633.

Division 4 – Sapphire
(For bowlers with averages from 145-159)
1, Denise Caldwell, Ostrander, Minn., 1,605. 2, JoAnn Olson, Hutchinson, Minn., 1,602. 3, Kristen Porath, Windom, Minn., 1,576. 4, Sara Brockling, Ontario, Calif., 1,563. 5, Ann-Marie Davis, Lithia, Fla., 1,556.

Division 5 – Amethyst
(For bowlers with averages from 130-144)
1, Nancy Jette, Beaverton, Ore., 1,518. 2, Sarah King, Fayetteville, N.C., 1,493. 3, Norma Rodriguez, San Juan, Puerto Rico, 1,482. 4, Ellen Knox, Lakeville, Minn., 1,474. 5, Amil Davis, Glade Hill, Va., 1,473.

Division 6 – Topaz
(For bowlers with averages of 129 and below)
1, Margret Smith, Douglasville, Ga., 1,675. 2, Emma Lee Tate, Richmond, Ky., 1,388. 3, Maryann Medellin, Dallas, 1,380. 4, Jamie Endl, Mondovi, Wis., 1,359. 5, Diane O’Connor, Dexter, Minn., 1,348.