O'NEILL BREAKS PABCON RECORD
EN ROUTE TO SINGLES GOLD

Competing as a Team USA member for the first time, Bill O'Neill put on a record-breaking performance in winning the singles gold medal recently at the 2009 Pan American Bowling Confederation Championships.

O'Neill totaled 1,475 for six games, an average of nearly 246, to win the opening event at Carolina Bowling Center. He had games of 229, 204, 238, 279, 246 and 279 on the day's opening squad and broke the previous record of 1,428, which was set in 2001 by Canada's Danyck Briere.

"This is all pretty interesting to me because I didn't expect it," said O'Neill, who was added to Team USA in January by the coaching staff after a strong performance on the Professional Bowlers Association Tour. "I just wanted to come out and bowl well to make the coaches feel like they made a good decision by picking me."

O'Neill said he entered the event with modest expectations, hoping just to get his feet wet in his first international tournament as a member of Team USA.

"I really didn't plan on winning the first event," O'Neill said. "But hopefully this is a sign of things to come for the rest of the week."

Team USA earned two other medals in singles as Diandra Asbaty took the women's silver medal with 1,355, and David Haynes earned the men's bronze with 1,388.

Mexico's Jorge Rosado finished with 1,422 to take the silver medal for the men. Venezuela's Karen Marcano shot 1,364 to win the women's gold, while Panama's Tilcia Lancini took the bronze with 1,323.

As for the rest of the Team USA players, Kim Terrell-Kearney was fourth, 10 pins back of the bronze medal. Shannon O'Keefe finished fifth with 1,305, while Lynda Barnes was sixth with 1,300. Shannon Pluhowsky ended up 12th with 1,271.

On the men's side, Chris Barnes was eighth with 1,351, while Patrick Allen was ninth with 1,340. Tommy Jones finished 16th with 1,308, and Cassidy Schaub was 26th with 1,271.

Competition continues Wednesday with doubles. For more information on the 2009 PABCON Championships, visit BOWL.com.

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2009 PABCON CHAMPIONSHIPS
At Carolina Bowling Center (San Juan, Puerto Rico)
Tuesday's Results

SINGLES
(Top 10; six games)

MEN

1, Bill O'Neill, United States, 1,475. 2, Jorge Rosado, Mexico, 1,422. 3, David Haynes, United States, 1,388. 4, Alejandro Cruz, Mexico, 1,370. 5, Frankie Colon, Puerto Rico, 1,362. 6, Benjamin Corona, 1,356. 7, Ernesto Franco, Mexico, 1,354. 8, Chris Barnes, United States, 1,351. 9, Patrick Allen, United States, 1,340. 10, Antonio Santa, Puerto Rico, 1,339.

WOMEN

1, Karen Marcano, Venezuela, 1,364. 2, Diandra Asbaty, United States, 1,355. 3, Tilcia Lancini, Panama, 1,323. 4, Kim Terrell-Kearney, United States, 1,313. 5, Shannon O'Keefe, United States, 1,305. 6, Lynda Barnes, United States, 1,300. 7, Alicia Marcano, Venezuela, 1,296. 8, Julie Johnson-Loyer, Canada, 1,291. 9, Rocio Restrepo, Colombia, 1,289. 10, Luz Adriana Leal, Colombia, 1,287.