WOMEN'S DOUBLES TAKES SILVER MEDAL

TEAM USA TAKES SILVER MEDAL IN WOMEN’S DOUBLES AT WORLD GAMES

ARLINGTON, Texas – Team USA’s Kelly Kulick of Union, New Jersey, and Danielle McEwan of Stony Point, New York, claimed the silver medal in women's doubles at the World Games in Wroclaw, Poland, on Sunday, after falling to Clara Guerrero and Rocio Restrepo of Colombia in the title match.

Guerrero had a 279 game while Restrepo added 210 to give Colombia a 49-pin lead after the opening game of the two-game, total pins title match. The Colombian team completed the match with a 433-424 victory in Game 2 to win, 922-874, as Guerrero had a 227 game and Restrepo had 206.

Kulick rolled games of 224 and 223, while McEwan posted games of 226 and 201.

“Anytime you walk away with a medal in a world competition, it’s always excellent,” said Kulick, who won silver in women’s singles on Friday. “We grinded it out through qualifying, then bowled really well through the matches. We got to the finals, and then Clara and Rocio bowled phenomenal.”

Mexico’s Tannya Lopez and Sandra Gongora, who lost to Team USA in the semifinals, took the bronze medal with a 965-835 victory over Venezuela’s Patricia de Faria and Karen Marcano.

For Restrepo, Sunday’s title was her first in a world competition.

“I have multiple bronze and silver, but I always fell short (of a gold medal),” Restrepo said. “This is an amazing feeling to be able to do it with Clara; she showed me the way.”

Guerrero said the World Games was the one title missing from her international resume and she was happy to win it with her friend.

“Rocio bowled amazing all day long, all week long,” Guerrero said. “We worked as a team perfectly today, and that’s what you need to win with such an amazing level (of competition).”   

In doubles, the 16 teams were placed in four-team groups for round-robin competition. The top two teams in each group advanced to the quarterfinals.

Team USA opened group play with a 940-831 victory over Japan, but then lost to Finland 903-820. Needing a victory in its final group match, Team USA lost its first game to Denmark, 439-423, but responded with a 513-431 game, as Kulick had a 268 and McEwan added 245, to take the match, 936-870, to reach the quarterfinals.

Facing a tough team from Germany, which had women’s singles gold medalist Laura Beuthner, Kulick and McEwan posted back-to-back 500 games on their way to a 1,057-853 victory. Each had a 278 in Game 1 to take a 556-416 lead, then took Game 2, 501-437, to reach the semifinals.

Team USA would shoot another 500 game, as McEwan had a 290 and Kulick added 214, and the American team rolled past Mexico, 903-812, to reach the title match.

“They bowled phenomenal today,” Team USA head coach Rod Ross said of the Team USA duo. “They had a couple of sets that were just phenomenal to watch. Clara was throwing it great; that’s what a gold-medal match should be.”

Team USA’s Tommy Jones of Simpsonville, South Carolina, and Marshall Kent of Yakima, Washington, will compete in men’s doubles on Monday, the final event of the bowling competition.

The World Games is an international multi-sport competition for sports, disciplines or events within a sport that are not contested in the Olympic Games. It has been held every four years since 1981.

Organized and governed by the International World Games Association (IWGA) under the patronage of the International Olympic Committee (IOC), the World Games will showcase 31 sports and approximately 3,500 athletes and officials from more than 100 countries during the 11 days of competition that started July 21.

Visit TheWorldGames2017.com/en for more information on the World Games.

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Founded in 1895, today USBC and its 2,500 state and local associations proudly serve more than a million members. USBC is headquartered in Arlington, Texas, working toward a future for the sport. The online home for USBC is BOWL.com.