SPOILER ALERT: Titles determined for three PWBA events

28 May, 2016

PWBA Tour

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The stepladder finals of the first three events of the 2016 Professional Women’s Bowling Association Tour season were held Thursday at The Orleans Bowling Center, and CBS Sports Network will air the finals of the events in June.

CBS Sports Network is televising 13 PWBA Tour events this year as part of its television package with the United States Bowling Congress. The PWBA Las Vegas Open, Nationwide PWBA Sonoma County Open and Storm PWBA Sacramento Open stepladders were taped for broadcast at the site of the first major of the season, the USBC Queens, in Las Vegas.

The dates the shows will air on CBS Sports Network (all times Eastern):
June 7: PWBA Las Vegas Open, 9 p.m.
June 14: Nationwide PWBA Sonoma County Open, 9 p.m.
June 21: PWBA Storm Sacramento Open, 10 p.m.

The PWBA Las Vegas Open saw 2015 PWBA Player of the Year Liz Johnson of Cheektowaga, New York, win three consecutive matches to claim the first title of the 2016 PWBA Tour season. Johnson opened the stepladder finals with a 237-204 victory over Colombia’s Rocio Restrepo, and then defeated Sandra Gongora of Mexico, 237-186.

L-R Las Vegas Open finalists Pluhowsky, Gongora, Johnson and Restrepo.

Johnson finished her run up the stepladder with a 195-172 victory over top seed Shannon Pluhowsky of Dayton, Ohio. The tournament’s finalists were determined at Las Vegas’ Texas Station.

In the Nationwide PWBA Sonoma County Open stepladder finals, Singapore’s New Hui Fen overtook Jennifer Higgins of Westerville, Ohio, 225-211, in the opening match before falling to Shannon O’Keefe of O’Fallon, Illinois, 235-226.

L-R Sonoma County Open finalists Kelly Kulick, Shannon O’Keefe, New Hui Fen and Jennifer Higgins.

In the title match, O’Keefe rolled to a 246-203 victory over top seed Kelly Kulick of Union, New Jersey. The finalists for the Nationwide PWBA Sonoma County Open were determined at Double Decker Lanes in Rohnert Park, California.

In the PWBA Storm Sacramento Open, Cherie Tan threw two strikes in the final frame to edge Pluhowsky, 208-205, in the battle of left-handers. Tan also become the second Singapore native to win Thursday, joining USBC Queens champion Bernice Lim.

L-R Sacramento Open finalists Tan, Pluhowsky, Ramirez and New.

Pluhowsky had reached the title match with a 248-246 victory over New. In the stepladder’s opening match, New defeated Colombia’s Anggie Ramirez Perea, 257-199. The competitors earned their spots in the PWBA Storm Sacramento Open stepladder finals at Steve Cook’s Fireside Lanes in Citrus Heights, California.

Shannon Pluhowsky top seed for PWBA Las Vegas Open
Kelly Kulick earns top seed for Sonoma County Open finals
Singapore’s Cherie Tan earns top seed for PWBA finals in Sacramento
2016 PWBA Tour Schedule & Champions

Herbert Bickel