O’KEEFE CLAIMS TITLE AT 2019 PWBA TWIN CITIES OPEN

EAGAN, Minn. – Reigning Professional Women’s Bowling Association Player of the Year Shannon O’Keefe of Shiloh, Illinois, collected her first title of 2019 and ninth career victory Saturday at the PWBA Twin Cities Open.

O’Keefe relied on her spare game throughout the week at Cedarvale Lanes to earn the top seed for Saturday’s stepladder finals, and she converted a 4 pin and delivered a strike in her final frame to secure a 189-182 win over England’s Verity Crawley.

The 40-year-old right-hander claimed the $10,000 top prize live on BowlTV.com.

“It’s incredible,” said O’Keefe, a 15-time Team USA member. “When the tour started again, my dream was to win one title. Now, here I am sitting at nine and one step closer to reaching my next goal – 10 titles. It just feels so good with all of the hard work I’ve put in.”

Although O’Keefe’s spare shooting was strong throughout competition, it nearly derailed her in the title match. She missed a pair of 3-6-10 combinations on the left lane through the first seven frames, but still maintained a slight advantage in the match.

She had built the lead after Crawley left back-to-back 2-8-10 splits on the left lane earlier in title tilt.

“I just missed them right off my hand,” said O’Keefe, who also defeated Crawley in the title match of the 2018 PWBA Sonoma County Open. “I knew it the second it left my hand. As the games progressed through each block, I was quickly moving left and balling down, so I knew I was going to stay committed to what got me here. Every shot I executed well in the title match was really, really good, but each of those 3-6-10s were poorly executed. I just made some bad shots.”

O’Keefe stayed clean in the eighth and ninth frames, which gave Crawley, who rolled a strike in the ninth frame, the opportunity to deliver a pair of strikes in the 10th frame for the chance to claim her first career PWBA Tour title.

Crawley got to the pocket on her first shot but was unable to get the 10 pin to fall, putting O’Keefe in the position to mark for victory.

“I was so, so worried that those two spares I missed earlier in the match were going to cost me,” O’Keefe said. “When I was looking at the 4 pin in the 10th, I just told myself to make it. I was very happy when I saw my spare shot was on line and there was no doubt I was making it. It definitely was a relief.”

Crawley finished as the runner-up for the fourth time in her career, but she’s walking away knowing the extra work she’s put into preparing for this season is starting to pay off.

“Honestly, I threw both 2-8-10s really well and was happy with them in the moment,” Crawley said. “Obviously, the lane said otherwise. If anything, they were a pinch fast, which isn’t my tendency, but lately I’ve been trying to stay a bit more aggressive. I made the decision to move left and actually get around it a little bit more after the second 2-8-10, which looked better but wasn’t able to get out the 10 in the 10th frame.

“I’m very positive coming away from this right now, though. I’ve worked very hard, and right now, I feel like my game is in a very good place. I think this just gives me an extra boost of confidence going into the next couple of weeks.”

Crawley advanced to the title match after rolling a double in the final frame to shut out Bryanna Coté of Red Rock, Arizona, 210-196.

In the opening round of Saturday’s stepladder, Crawley delivered 11 strikes on the way to victory against Colombia’s Maria José Rodriguez, 266-201.

Competition this week at the PWBA Twin Cities Open included two eight-game qualifying blocks on Friday to determine the 32 players for Saturday’s Round of 32. An additional eight-game block Saturday morning narrowed the field to 12 players, who bowled six additional games to determine the stepladder finalists.

The 2019 PWBA Tour season will continue May 9 at the PWBA Lincoln Open. The event will be held at Sun Valley Lanes in Lincoln, Nebraska, with wire-to-wire coverage on BowlTV.

Go to PWBA.com for more information about the PWBA Tour.

About the PWBA
The Professional Women’s Bowling Association (PWBA) originally was formed in 1960. The PWBA Tour has events throughout the country, offering high-level competition and top prize money for women bowlers. The PWBA is supported by the Bowling Proprietors’ Association of America (BPAA) and the United States Bowling Congress (USBC).

PWBA TWIN CITIES OPEN
At Cedarvale Lanes, Eagan, Minn.
Saturday’s Results

1, Shannon O’Keefe, Shiloh, Ill., 189 (one game), $10,000
2, Verity Crawley, England, 658 (three games), $5,000
3, Bryanna Coté, Red Rock, Ariz., 196 (one game), $3,500
4, Maria José Rodriguez, Colombia, 201 (one game), $3,000

Stepladder results
Match No. 1 – Crawley def. Rodriguez, 266-201
Semifinal – Crawley def. Coté, 210-196
Championship – O’Keefe def. Crawley, 189-182

ROUND OF 12
(30-game totals; top four advance to stepladder finals)

      1, Shannon O'Keefe, Shiloh, Ill., 6,478. 2, Bryanna Coté, Red Rock, Ariz., 6,394. 3, Maria José Rodriguez, Colombia, 6,366. 4, Verity Crawley, England, 6,334.

DID NOT ADVANCE

      5, Liz Johnson, Palatine, Ill., 6,274, $2,000. 6, Cherie Tan, Singapore, 6,266, $1,950. 7, Birgit Pöppler, Germany, 6,259, $1,925. 8, Lindsay Boomershine, Perry, Utah, 6,255, $1,875. 9, Shayna Ng, Singapore, 6,231, $1,800. 10, Danielle McEwan, Stony Point, N.Y., 6,218, $1,700.
      11, Jodi Woessner, Oregon, Ohio, 6,209, $1,650. 12, Brandi Branka, Belleville, Ill., 6,172, $1,600.

ROUND OF 32
(24-game totals; top 12 advance)

      1, Shannon O'Keefe, Shiloh, Ill., 5,269. 2, Bryanna Coté, Red Rock, Ariz., 5,130. 3, Lindsay Boomershine, Perry, Utah, 5,108. 4, Maria José Rodriguez, Colombia, 5,092. 5, Verity Crawley, England, 5,088. 6, Brandi Branka, Belleville, Ill., 5,055.
      7, Shayna Ng, Singapore, 5,050. 8, Cherie Tan, Singapore, 5,034. 9, Danielle McEwan, Stony Point, N.Y., 5,018. 10, Liz Johnson, Palatine, Ill., 5,014. 11, Jodi Woessner, Oregon, Ohio, 4,997. 12, Birgit Pöppler, Germany, 4,987.

DID NOT ADVANCE

      13, Jordan Richard, Tecumseh, Mich., 4,982, $1,300. 14, New Hui Fen, Singapore, 4,965, $1,300. 15, Clara Guerrero, Colombia, 4,953, $1,300. 16, Kelly Kulick, Union, N.J., 4,949, $1,300. 17, Dasha Kovalova, Ukraine, 4,945, $1,250. 18, Caroline Lagrange, Canada, 4,943, $1,250.
      19, Thashaina Seraus (n), Aruba, 4,931, $1,250. 20, Missy Parkin, Laguna Hills, Calif., 4,918, $1,250. 21, Jazreel Tan, Singapore, 4,909, $1,200. 22, Giselle Poss, Nashville, Tenn., 4,890, $1,200. 23, Sydney Brummett, Fort Wayne, Ind., 4,872, $1,200. 24, Stefanie Johnson, McKinney, Texas, 4,850, $1,200.
      25, Gazmine Mason, Cranston, R.I., 4,826, $1,150. 26, Stephanie Schwartz, Racine, Wis., 4,814, $1,150. 27, Stephanie Martins, Brazil, 4,783, $1,150. 28, Ashly Galante, Palm Harbor, Fla., 4,775, $1,150. 29, Summer Jasmin, Beckley, W.Va., 4,767, $1,100. 30, Taylor Bulthuis, Coral Springs, Fla., 4,762, $1,100.
      31, Valerie Bercier, Spring Lake, Mich., 4,747, $1,100. 32, Jodi Gawlik, Schaumburg, Ill., 4,734, $1,100.

FRIDAY’S RESULTS
QUALIFYING
(16-game totals; top 32 advance)

      1, Shannon O'Keefe, Shiloh, Ill., 3,466. 2, Brandi Branka, Belleville, Ill., 3,458. 3, Maria José Rodriguez, Colombia, 3,437. 4, Bryanna Coté, Red Rock, Ariz., 3,428. 5, Lindsay Boomershine, Perry, Utah, 3,396. 6, Cherie Tan, Singapore, 3,395.
      7, Clara Guerrero, Colombia, 3,389. 8, Jordan Richard, Tecumseh, Mich., 3,351. 9, Verity Crawley, England, 3,348. 10, Thashaina Seraus (n), Aruba, 3,328. 11, Kelly Kulick, Union, N.J., 3,326. 12, Birgit Pöppler, Germany, 3,323.
      13(tie), Jazreel Tan, Singapore, and Dasha Kovalova, Ukraine, 3,321. 15, Liz Johnson, Palatine, Ill., 3,312. 16, Valerie Bercier, Spring Lake, Mich., 3,300. 17, New Hui Fen, Singapore, 3,291. 18, Gazmine Mason, Cranston, R.I., 3,284.
      19, Danielle McEwan, Stony Point, N.Y., 3,273. 20, Missy Parkin, Laguna Hills, Calif., 3,270. 21, Stephanie Martins, Brazil, 3,265. 22, Caroline Lagrange, Canada, 3,261. 23, Sydney Brummett, Fort Wayne, Ind., 3,250. 24(tie), Jodi Woessner, Oregon, Ohio, and Taylor Bulthuis, Coral Springs, Fla., 3,247.
      26, Jodi Gawlik, Schaumburg, Ill., 3,244. 27, Shayna Ng, Singapore, 3,242. 28(tie), Stefanie Johnson, McKinney, Texas, and Stephanie Schwartz, Racine, Wis., 3,240. 30, Ashly Galante, Palm Harbor, Fla., 3,228.
      31, Giselle Poss, Nashville, Tenn., 3,214. 32, Summer Jasmin, Beckley, W.Va., 3,212.

DID NOT ADVANCE

      33, Rocio Restrepo, Louisville, Ohio, 3,201. 34, Shannon Pluhowsky, Dayton, Ohio, 3,197. 35, Karen Marcano, Venezuela, 3,188. 36, Diandra Asbaty, Chicago, 3,184.
      37, Jennifer Russo, Monmouth Junction, N.J., 3,166. 38, Olivia Sandham, Saint Joseph, Mo., 3,164. 39(tie) Amanda Vermilyea, Apple Valley, Minn., and Anneli Blomqvist, Sweden, 3,160. 41, Lilia Robles, Mexico, 3,158. 42, Daphne Tan, Singapore, 3,154.
      43, Erin McCarthy, Omaha, Neb., 3,147. 44, Elysia Current, Ephrata, Pa., 3,133. 45, Josie Barnes, Nashville, Tenn., 3,124. 46, Erin Czuprynski, Tinley Park, Ill., 3,101. 47(tie), Emily Eckhoff (n), Denver, and Kamilah Dammers-Naddall, Aruba, 3,094.
      49, Kerry Smith, New Holland, Pa., 3,086. 50, Christine Gill, Lebanon, Ill., 3,077. 51, Tannya Roumimper, Indonesia, 3,061. 52, Kayla Pashina, Minnetonka, Minn., 3,058. 53, Katie Ann Sopp-Schroeder, White Bear Lake, Minn., 3,052. 54, Jen Higgins, Westerville, Ohio, 3,051.
      55(tie), Angela Nance, Hoover, Ala., and Diana Zavjalova, Latvia, 3,046. 57(tie), Sarah Wille, Hoffman Estates, Ill., and Elise Bolton, Merritt Island, Fla., 3,030. 59, Bernice Lim, Singapore, 3,022. 60, Sandra Gongora, Mexico, 2,997.
      61, Haley Richard, Tipton, Mich., 2,983. 62, Daria Pajak, Poland, 2,981. 63, Nichole DePaul-Miller, Baytown, Texas, 2,967. 64, Trista Kimmes, Eagan, Minn., 2,861. 65, Sara Ullman, Minneapolis, 2,817. 66, Jennifer Hocurscak, Orange, Conn., 2,814.
      67, Cyndee Poletski, West Richland, Wash., 2,775. 68, Heather Oberstadt (n), Traverse City, Mich., 2,738. 69, Mariah Jacobson (n), Nora Springs, Iowa, 2,722. 70, Rina Sabo, Bennett, Colo., 2,694. 71, Mari Gallegos (n), Chicago, 2,686. 72, Melissa Kading (n), Neenah, Wis., 2,611.
      73, Taylor Wratz (n), Prior Lake, Minn., 2,504.