The Junior Team USA boys used a near-perfect deciding-game effort to claim their third consecutive team gold medal at the World Bowling Youth Championships, and Korea was dominant on the girls’ side to return to the winner’s circle for the first time since 2010.

The United States (pictured above) opened its final game against Japan (right) with seven consecutive strikes and cruised to a 279-188 win, claiming the gold medal by a 2-1 margin. Junior Team USA won the opening game 218-197, and Japan used a clutch finish to take the second game, 223-217.

The winning team at Sun Valley Lanes in Lincoln, Nebraska, United States, on Monday included Anthony Simonsen, Wesley Low, Kamron Doyle and Michael Tang, while Japan’s silver-medal performance included Katsuhito Nakano, Yuta Saitoh, Ryota Yakuwa and Takuya Miyazawa.

Doyle and Low were part of the winning team at the 2014 World Youth Championships in Hong Kong.

“Early on today, we didn’t know what to expect with the new format, but (Team USA head coach) Rod (Ross) told us to just do what we did all week and show everyone why we were the top qualifiers,” said Low, who also won gold in singles and doubles (with Simonsen) and the silver medal in all-events.

“We used that advice to help turn the momentum, and to go on to complete the three-peat feels amazing. It has been really special to be a part of these last two wins.”

Anchor Park Yu Na delivered a double in the final frame of Korea’s opening game against the United States in the girls’ final, including a Brooklyn strike on her first offering, to escape with a 204-193 win, and that momentum carried over into the second game for a 246-179 win and 2-0 sweep.

Korea (pictured above) rallied for six consecutive strikes in the middle of the deciding game, while the United States girls (left) suffered three open frames in the loss.

Park was joined on the lanes by Lee Yeong Seung, Kim Jin Ju and Hong Sun Hwa, and the roster for the Junior Team USA girls included Julia Bond, Gazmine Mason, Jordan Richard and Stephanie Schwartz.

Park and Lee also were the doubles winners this week, topping Mason and Bond in the final, and Mason added gold medals in singles and all-events.

“Taking the two gold medals individually was nice, but winning gold in team would’ve been amazing,” said Mason, a standout and national champion at the nearby University of Nebraska.

“I always say that what happens was supposed to happen that way, and Korea bowled very well today to earn the gold medal. We are grateful to have had the opportunity, and we are still very proud to have gotten the silver.”

The United States and Korea were the first teams to navigate through the new best-of-three Baker format used for the team medal round at the World Youth Championships. In the recent past, traditional team games were bowled, with total pinfall determining who would advance or win.

In the semifinals, United States swept Sweden’s (left) Anna Andersson, Annie Thorell, Caisa Wegner and Filippa Persson (224-214, 228-196) and Korea made quick work of Malaysia’s (right) Nur Syazwani Sahar, Nora Lyana Kamal, Victoria Chin and Natasha Roslan (256-209, 235-155).

The history of the World Youth Championships dates back to 1988, when it debuted in the Philippines as the International Youth Championships. Not counting two years early on when team competition was mixed, the United States is the only country on the boys’ side to win team gold more than twice, claiming four overall. In girls’ competition, Korea now has won the team gold medal a record five times.

“We are very proud of the win today, and I think this speaks volumes about the programs and events we have in place in the U.S. to help develop such quality players, many of whom have been with us for multiple years,” Ross said.

“We trained for the new format, but you can’t really train for those types of pressure situations. We got pushed to three games twice and struck when we needed to, and I’m extremely proud of our team today.”

On the way to the gold-medal match, the Junior Team USA boys found themselves on the verge of defeat heading into the final frame of their third game against Canada, when Canadian anchor Mitch Hupe rolled a four-count to open the door.

The United States slipped past Canada (left), 2-1 (220-250, 244-170, 219-196) to set up the meeting with Japan, a 2-1 winner over Sweden (179-222, 257-208, 224-179).

Canada’s roster also included Dylin Hunter, Jordan Klassen and Nathan Ruest-Lajoie, while Sweden (right) was represented by all-events winner Pontus Andersson, all-events bronze medalist Jesper Svensson, Filip Wilhelmsson and Anton Ahlgren.

The top 24 in each set of all-events standings still have some bowling to do as Masters match play got underway after the team and all-events medal presentations Monday.

The Masters portion of the event this year features best-of-three single-elimination matches on the event’s 45-foot Rome oil pattern. The top eight qualifiers in each division earned first-round byes.

The first two steps of Masters competition took place Monday, and eight remaining bowlers on each side will return to the lanes Tuesday at 10 a.m. Eastern. The Masters semifinals will begin Tuesday at 11:15 a.m. EDT, with the finals taking place immediately after, all live on BowlTV.

The defending Masters champions, Jesper Svensson and Mirai Ishimoto of Japan, both finished among the top 24 and will have a chance to repeat in 2016.

This 2016 World Bowling Youth Championships included more than 200 competitors from 37 countries, competing for medals in five events – singles, doubles, team, all-events and masters.

Bowling fans from around the globe can watch the competition live on BOWL.com’s BowlTV with continued coverage of all qualifying, semifinal and final rounds. The complete live-streaming schedule (all times Eastern) can be found here.

For complete information on the World Youth Championships, click here.

Photos courtesy of ABF Online.

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14th World Bowling Youth Championships – Boys Team Playoffs

Sun Valley Lanes in Lincoln, Nebraska, USA (July 31, 2016)

Championship Round:
1. United States (Michael Tang, Kamron Doyle, Anthony Simonsen, Wesley Low Jr.)
2. Japan (Katsuhito Nakano, Yuta Saitoh, Ryota Yakuwa, Takuya Miyazawa)
3. Sweden (Jesper Svensson, Filip Wilhelmsson, Anton Ahlgren, Pontus Andersson) and
(tie) Canada (Dylin Hunter, Jordan Klassen, Nathan Ruest-Lajoie, Mitch Hupe)

b>Playoff Results:
Semifinal Match 1: No. 1 United States def. No. Canada, 2-1 (220-250, 244-170, 219-196)
Semifinal Match 2: No. 3 Japan def. No. 2 Sweden, 2-1 (179-222, 257-208, 224-179)
Championship: United States def. Japan, 2-1 (218-179, 217-223, 279-188)

14th World Bowling Youth Championships – Girls Team Playoffs

Sun Valley Lanes in Lincoln, Nebraska, USA (July 31, 2016)

Championship Round:
1. Korea (Lee Yeong Seung, Park Yu Na, Kim Jin Ju, Hong Sun Hwa)
2. United States (Stephanie Schwartz, Julia Bond, Jordan Richard, Gazmine Mason)
3. Malaysia (Nur Syazwani Sahar, Nora Lyana Kamal, Victoria Chin, Natasha Roslan) and
(tie) Sweden (Anna Andersson, Annie Thorell, Caisa Wegner, Filippa Persson)

Playoff Results:
Semifinal Match 1: No. 1 United States def. No. 4 Sweden, 2-0 (224-214, 228-196)
Semifinal Match 2: No. 3 Korea def. No. 2 Malaysia, 2-0 (256-209, 235-155)
Championship: Korea def. United States, 2-0 (204-193, 246-179).

14th WYC – Boys All-Events (Top 24)

Players with position, country and pinfall total. Top 24 advance to the Masters finals, top 8 receive a first-round bye.

Pos	Player	Country	Games	Singles	Doubles	Team	Total	Ave.
1.	Pontus Andersson	Sweden	18	1336	1450	1434	4220	234.44
2.	Wesley Low Jr.	United States	18	1385	1362	1392	4139	229.94
3.	Jesper Svensson	Sweden	18	1367	1365	1388	4120	228.89
4.	Takuya Miyazawa	Japan	18	1339	1279	1362	3980	221.11
5.	Anthony Simonsen	United States	18	1170	1364	1439	3973	220.72
6.	Niko Oksanen	Finland	18	1267	1335	1354	3956	219.78
7.	Hector Simo	Dominican Republic	18	1387	1432	1113	3932	218.44
8.	Andre Michow	Germany	18	1276	1298	1342	3916	217.56
9.	Tun Hakim	Malaysia	18	1350	1254	1249	3853	214.06
10.	Rafiq Ismail	Malaysia	18	1266	1386	1199	3851	213.94
11.	Mitch Hupe	Canada	18	1336	1216	1297	3849	213.83
12.	Dylin Hunter	Canada	18	1227	1224	1394	3845	213.61
13.	Antonio Florentino	Italy	18	1204	1270	1364	3838	213.22
14.	Michael Tang	United States	18	1198	1284	1354	3836	213.11
15.	Santtu Tahvanainen	Finland	18	1279	1271	1283	3833	212.94
(tie)	Cheah Ray Han	Singapore	18	1264	1356	1213	3833	212.94
17.	Benjamin Martinez	Mexico	18	1256	1308	1256	3820	212.22
18.	Massimiliano Fridegotto	Venezuela	18	1240	1293	1275	3808	211.56
19.	Ryota Yakuwa	Japan	18	1302	1205	1295	3802	211.22
20.	Muhd Jaris Goh	Singapore	18	1266	1275	1256	3797	210.94
21.	Alex Yu	Hong Kong	18	1243	1240	1313	3796	210.89
22.	Alex Chong	Singapore	18	1142	1312	1333	3787	210.39
23.	Youri Fens	Netherlands	18	1313	1272	1186	3771	209.50
24.	Aseel Alroomi	Kuwait	18	1423	1123	1218	3764	209.11

In roll-off to determine the seeding for the Masters, Cheah Ray Han of Singapore defeated Santtu Tahvanainen of Finland, 10-7.

14th WYC – Girls All-Events (Top 24)

Players with position, country and pinfall total. Top 24 advance to the Masters finals, top 8 receive a first-round bye.

Pos	Player	Country	Games	Singles	Doubles	Team	Total	Ave.
1.	Gazmine Mason	United States	18	1340	1342	1418	4100	227.78
2.	Park Yu Na	Korea	18	1238	1379	1342	3959	219.94
3.	Filippa Persson	Sweden	18	1390	1235	1247	3872	215.11
(tie)	Victoria Chin	Malaysia	18	1314	1219	1339	3872	215.11
5.	Anna Andersson	Sweden	18	1274	1227	1291	3792	210.67
6.	Natasha Roslan	Malaysia	18	1271	1149	1345	3765	209.17
7.	Julia Bond	United States	18	1383	1117	1261	3761	208.94
8.	Nur Syazwani Sahar	Malaysia	18	1258	1227	1247	3732	207.33
9.	Stephanie Schwartz	United States	18	1243	1230	1217	3690	205.00
10.	Jordan Richard	United States	18	1069	1317	1292	3678	204.33
11.	Mirai Ishimoto	Japan	18	1093	1241	1325	3659	203.28
12.	Seika Fujiwara	Japan	18	1267	1188	1199	3654	203.00
13.	Charlene Lim	Singapore	18	1145	1187	1298	3630	201.67
14.	Keira Reay	England	18	1201	1236	1192	3629	201.61
15.	Saskia Malz	Germany	18	1205	1229	1191	3625	201.39
16.	Kim Jin Ju	Korea	18	1160	1221	1238	3619	201.06
17.	Raquel Orozco	Mexico	18	1218	1101	1299	3618	201.00
18.	Lee Yeong Seung	Korea	18	1238	1315	1057	3610	200.56
19.	Tracy See	Singapore	18	1312	1166	1114	3592	199.56
(tie)	Amabel Chua	Singapore	18	1189	1154	1249	3592	199.56
21.	Paola Limon	Mexico	18	1116	1150	1323	3589	199.39
22.	Maribel Orozco	Mexico	18	1262	1158	1165	3585	199.17
23.	Hong Sun Hwa	Korea	18	1167	1089	1298	3554	197.44
24.	Veronica Cepeda	Colombia	18	1252	1214	1086	3552	197.33

In roll-offs to determine the seeding for the Masters, Victoria Chin of Malaysia def. Filippa Persson of Sweden, 10-7, and Amabel Chua defeated Tracy See, both Singapore, 10-8.