The United States Bowling Congress Women’s Championships is all about having a good time while competing on the biggest stage in women’s bowling, and Alyce Hansen of Port Ludlow, Washington, threw quite a party this week at the South Point Bowling Plaza.

Hansen (pictured) kicked off the festivities May 3 by making her 50th USBC Women’s Championships appearance, and she continued the party May 4 as she celebrated her 92nd birthday.

Hansen began her tournament career at the 1965 event in Portland, Oregon, and has made it back to the Women’s Championships each year since 1972. She was presented with a plaque, chevron and pendant to commemorate her longevity on the championship lanes.

“I’d just like to say that I hope you all make 50 years, so you can have as much fun as I’ve had,” said Hansen as she addressed the bowlers and spectators at the Bowling Plaza during her award presentation.

In her 50th appearance, Hansen rolled sets of 355 in team, 340 in doubles and 327 in singles for a 1,022 all-events total.

New leaders emerge in Las Vegas

Both the Emerald and Sapphire leaderboards saw lead changes in doubles and singles this week.

On May 4, sisters Chris Mahana of Eagle, Idaho, and Kitty Cody of Citrus Heights, California (pictured above, l-r), cruised to the lead in Emerald Doubles with a 1,167 total. JoAnn Olson of Hutchinson, Minnesota, and Denise Gann of Odenville, Alabama, previously held the lead with 1,101.

Mahana led the way with games of 175, 254 and 203 for a 632 series, while Cody added 230, 135 and 170 for a 535 total.

Later in the same squad, Patsy Northey (right) of Cambridge, Wisconsin, snuck into the Emerald Singles lead by a single pin with 631. Teresa Person of Tigard, Oregon, previously held the lead.

Northey started singles with 226 and 266, but struggled early in Game 3 before filling the ninth and 10th frames to get to 139 and her leading total. Emerald Doubles features bowlers with combined entering averages of 320-349, while Emerald Singles includes bowlers with entering averages of 160-174.

On May 2, Mary Jane Shelton (left) of San Antonio edged her way into the Sapphire Singles lead with a 584 set at the Bowling Plaza. Shelton used games of 184, 219 and 181 to get just past Erin Bright of Chicago, who previously held the top spot with 582.

The mother and daughter duo of Janet and Arianne Sward (r-l) of Grasston, Minnesota, moved to the top of the standings for the second consecutive year in Sapphire Doubles on May 4.

After finishing fourth at the 2015 event in Reno, Nevada, Arianne led the way in 2016 with games of 225, 175 and 165 for a 565 series. Janet added 155, 164 and 189 for a 508 set to get the pair to 1,073. Ann-Marie Davis of Lithia, Florida, and Randi DeVillier of Riverview, Florida, previously held the lead with 1,068.

Sapphire Singles includes bowlers with entering averages of 145-159, and Sapphire Doubles features bowlers with combined entering averages of 290-319.

A look ahead

Janice Denning of Wilmington, Delaware, is scheduled to make her 50th USBC Women’s Championships appearance this week.

Denning, the 1972 Division 1 All-Events champion, will make her milestone appearance at the South Point Bowling Plaza on May 10 at 7 p.m. Pacific. Her dedication to the sport has helped her into the Wilmington Women’s Bowling Association and Delaware State Halls of Fame.

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, Wizards/GripLoc, New Hope, Minn., 2,385. 5, Sock, Colorado Springs, Colo., 2,339.

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, Garden Center Lanes, Alexandria, Minn., 2,206. 3, Gumbo Pin Gals, Shreveport, La., 2,132. 4, Greg’s Towing, Akron, Ohio, 2,126. 5, Lazy Nut Farm, McMinnville, Ore., 2,123.

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, Minnesota 4, Rush City, Minn., 1,970. 4, Hastings Strikers, Hastings, Neb., 1,965. 5, Whatever!, Deer Park, Texas, 1,959.

Division 4 – Sapphire
(For bowlers with combined averages of 574 and below)
1(tie), T Mac Trucking (Susan Pritchard, Chloe Vincent, Linda Conti, Roberta Klingler), Falconer, N.Y., and St. Croix River Rollers (Judy Swens, Diane Johnson, Delta Johnston, Janet Merimonti), Stillwater, Minn., 1,835. 3, The Leftovers, Loveland, Colo., 1,832. 4, Overhead Doors of Lansing, Williamston, Mich., 1,817. 5, Four of a Kind, Lincoln, Neb., 1,807.

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, Kitty Cody, Citrus Heights, Calif./Chris Mahana, Eagle, Idaho, 1,167. 2, JoAnn Olson, Hutchinson, Minn./Denise Gann, Odenville, Ala., 1,101. 3, Tonya VanVeldhuizen/Julie Jarman, Sioux Falls, S.D., 1,097. 4, Linda Matthias, Tecumseh, Kan./Colene Bailes, Topeka, Kan., 1,092. 5, Sharon Maddings, Sugar Land, Texas/Toni Townsend, Galveston, Texas, 1,076.

Division 4 – Sapphire
(For bowlers with combined averages of 290-319)
1, Janet Sward/Arianne Sward, Grasston, Minn., 1,073. 2, Ann-Marie Davis, Lithia, Fla./Randi DeVillier, Riverview, Fla., 1,068. 3, Viola Mueller/Liane Butitta, Neenah, Wis., 1,064. 4, Jeanne Mills/Chris Weaver, Mountain Home, Idaho, 1,051. 5, Sheree Bryant/Sharon Durrant, Fall Creek, Ore., 1,034.

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 Conti, Jamestown, N.Y./Chloe Vincent, Falconer, N.Y., 979. 5, Rosemary Wilson, Port Orchard, Wash./Erica Brehm, Seattle, 977.

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, Brenda Dana, Bedford, Wyo./Heidi Barkdull, Thayne, Wyo., 880. 4, Cathryn Woelfel/Debra Mueller, New Holstein, Wis., 872. 5, Jessica Munchy/Tanya Henrie, Helper, Utah, 869.

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, Sharon Tataryn, Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada, 706. 3, Mandy Etem, Cave Creek, Ariz., 700. 4, Eryn Jones, Greenfield, Ind., 693. 5, Jan Schmidt, Hales Corner, Wis., 682.

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, Mindy McNeal, Gurdon, Ark., 620. 5, Melanie Newton, Wyoming, Mich., 610.

Division 3 – Emerald
(For bowlers with averages from 160-174)
1, Patsy Northey, Cambridge, Wis., 631. 2, Teresa Person, Tigard, Ore., 630. 3, Diane Brown, Georgetown, Texas, 617. 4, Anna Blish, Highmount, N.Y., 598. 5(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, Mary Jane Shelton, San Antonio, 584. 2, Erin Bright, Chicago, 582. 3(tie), Denise Caldwell, Ostrander, Minn., Autumn Fisher, Granby, Colo., and Theresa Sroczyk, East Helena, Mont., 571.

Division 5 – Amethyst
(For bowlers with averages from 130-144)
1, Marlana Ayers, Plymouth, Minn., 552. 2, Helen Heritage, Bonners Ferry, Idaho, 540. 3, Ryanne Bright, Chicago, 521. 4(tie), Donnetta Turner, Detroit, and Debbie O’Howell, Walworth, Wis., 520.

Division 6 – Topaz
(For bowlers with averages of 129 and below)
1, Margret Smith, Douglasville, Ga., 569. 2(tie), Diane O’Connor, Dexter, Minn., and Doreen Gehrke, Salt Lake City, 498. 4, Emma Lee Tate, Richmond, Ky., 487. 5, Natasha Schlachter, Bryan, Ohio, 483.

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(tie), Daphne Smith, Simpsonville, S.C., and Sharon Tataryn, Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada, 1,957. 4, Mandy Etem, Cave Creek, Ariz., 1,940. 5, Lauri Cohrs, Colorado Springs, Colo., 1,905.

Division 2 – Ruby
(For bowlers with averages from 175-189)
1, Mindy McNeal, Gurdon, Ark., 1,758. 2, RoxAnn Artzer-Crowder, Berryton, Kan., 1,735. 3, Lindsey Szachta, Charlotte, N.C., 1,733. 4, Billie Roberts, Rockford, Ill., 1,725. 5, Megan Crevelt, Las Vegas, 1,711.

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, Elizabeth Atilano, Globe, Ariz., 1,643. 5, Patsy Northey, Cambridge, Wis., 1,640.

Division 4 – Sapphire
(For bowlers with averages from 145-159)
1, Cindy Combs, Chicago, 1,673. 2, Erin Bright, Chicago, 1,636. 3, Denise Caldwell, Ostrander, Minn., 1,605. 4, JoAnn Olson, Hutchinson, Minn., 1,602. 5, Kristen Porath, Windom, Minn., 1,576.

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.