STEFANIE JOHNSON READY TO DEFEND TITLE AT QUBICAAMF PWBA PLAYERS CHAMPIONSHIP 

RALEIGH, N.C. – Stefanie Johnson of McKinney, Texas, broke through for her first major on the Professional Women’s Bowling Association Tour at the 2018 QubicaAMF PWBA Players Championship, and she’s hoping to parlay a successful summer on Team USA into another long run at the event starting this week at Buffaloe Lanes North.

The third major championship of the 2019 PWBA Tour season will begin Wednesday at 8 a.m. Eastern with the first of three six-game qualifying rounds. After the third round, 18-game totals will determine the 18 players advancing to round-robin match play. Match play will begin Thursday at 1 p.m. Eastern and continue through Friday, with 36-game pinfall totals, including bonus pins, determining the five players advancing to Sunday’s stepladder finals.

CBS Sports Network will have live coverage of the stepladder finals of the QubicaAMF PWBA Players Championship on Sunday at 4 p.m. Eastern.

Before her win at last season’s event, Johnson had been one of the most consistent performers at majors this decade, having advanced to the championship round in each of the four majors – United States Bowling Congress Queens, U.S. Women’s Open, PWBA Players Championship and PWBA Tour Championship – and recorded a pair of runner-up finishes (2015 Tour Championship and 2018 U.S. Women’s Open).

She claimed the top seed for the 2018 Players Championship in front of family and friends at Plano Super Bowl in Plano, Texas, and delivered a strike to start her final frame against USBC Hall of Famer Kelly Kulick of Union, New Jersey, to secure the title, 230-200.

“The fact that I was able to capture my first major on my home turf, in front of family and friends, was absolutely incredible,” said Johnson, who works at Plano Super Bowl. “I couldn’t have painted a better picture for it.”

Johnson’s canvas leading into her title defense in 2019 has included plenty of red, white and blue, as she has been busy representing the United States on the lanes between tour stops. The 15-time Team USA member competed at the Pan American Games in Lima, Peru, in July, earning the gold medal in doubles with reigning PWBA Player of the Year Shannon O’Keefe of Shiloh, Illinois, and she just returned from Las Vegas as part of the six-player contingent for the United States at the World Bowling Women’s Championships.

Johnson helped Team USA to the bronze medal in team competition last week in Las Vegas as part of a record-tying performance during qualifying to earn the top seed. Team USA dropped their semifinal match to eventual champion Colombia, 2-1.

Johnson believes her time at the World Women’s Championships served as a great tune-up for her trip to Buffaloe Lanes North, noting it often felt like a PWBA Tour stop with more than 30 members and many of the top players from across the globe representing their countries.

Despite the success with Team USA, Johnson describes her 2019 PWBA Tour season as “all right” with a top finish of third place at the PWBA Sonoma County Open.

Johnson’s currently in the cut for the season-ending Tour Championship, sitting 12th in the season-long points list, but she doesn’t plan to let that affect her process. Entering the Players Championship, Latvia’s Diana Zavjalova holds the final spot from the points list in 14th place.

“I feel like there have been more lows than highs overall this season, but I certainly can’t complain with where I’m sitting right now,” said Johnson, a three-time PWBA Tour champion. “I do have higher expectations of myself. I feel like I haven’t matched up well the past few weeks on tour, so it’s something I know I need to work on in the offseason.

“I’m not necessarily someone who watches points, because I’m going to bowl my best no matter what. If it happens to be enough, then that’s great. The fact that I’m the defending champion or in the cut doesn’t change my approach at the Players Championship. I’m just going to take it one shot at a time and do what I have to do.”
 

The Players Championship also will determine the final roster for the Tour Championship, which is scheduled from Sept. 15-18 in Richmond, Virginia. Seven players already have secured their spots at the Tour Championship by winning events this season – O’Keefe; Danielle McEwan of Stony Point, New York; Ukraine’s Dasha Kovalova; Jordan Richard of Tecumseh, Michigan; Josie Barnes of Nashville, Tennessee; Singapore’s Shayna Ng; and Sweden’s Sandra Andersson.

The winner of the Players Championship will be added to the list (if a new champion for 2019), and the rest of the field will be filled by the top performers on the PWBA points list.

BowlTV.com, the exclusive online home of the PWBA Tour, will livestream each qualifying round leading up to Sunday’s televised finals on CBS Sports Network.

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).

QUBICAAMF PWBA PLAYERS CHAMPIONSHIP
At Buffaloe Lanes North, Raleigh, N.C.
(All times local)

Tuesday, Sept. 3
2 p.m.: Two-hour practice session

Wednesday, Sept. 4
8 a.m.: Six-game qualifying round
1 p.m.: Six-game qualifying round

Thursday, Sept. 5
8 a.m.: Six-game qualifying round
Cut to the top 18 players for match play
1 p.m.: Match play (six games)

Friday, Sept. 6
8 a.m.: Match play (six games)
1 p.m.: Match play (six games)
Cut to top five players for stepladder finals

Saturday, Sept. 7
1 p.m.: Bowl with the Pros
6 p.m.: Bowl with the Pros

Sunday, Sept. 8
1 p.m. - 3 p.m.: Fan Fest
4 p.m.:  Live CBS Sports Network stepladder finals