MEXICO, SWEDEN WIN YOUTH DOUBLES

MEXICO, SWEDEN WIN DOUBLES AT 2018 WORLD YOUTH CHAMPIONSHIPS
ALLEN PARK, Mich. - The Junior Team USA girls may not have claimed a gold medal in their first two events at the 2018 World Bowling Youth Championships, but they've advanced to both championship matches and walked away satisfied with their execution in the spotlight.
In Monday's girls doubles final at Thunderbowl Lanes, McKendree University teammates Breanna Clemmer of Clover, South Carolina, and Taylor Bailey of Joliet, Illinois, came up just short in a 433-420 loss to Paola Limon and Raquel Orozco of Mexico.
The Junior Team USA boys still are seeking their first medal-round appearance at the 2018 event but are equally motivated and excited heading into the team competition, which will get underway Tuesday.
The boys doubles gold medal was earned by Robert Lindberg and Alfred Berggren of Sweden, who cruised to a 479-383 victory over Australia's Jayden Panella and Blayne Fletcher.
The Swedes combined for 16 strikes in the match on the way to games of 255 for Lindberg and 224 for Berggren, while the right lane proved to be the undoing for the Australians, yielding three splits and a washout. Fletcher shot 193 in the loss, and Panella added 190.
Mexico's Limon was dominant in qualifying, opening her six-game block Sunday with a 774 series, a three-game record at the World Youth Championships, while her 1,412 block tied the six-game mark.
She and Orozco also set the single-game record for girls doubles with a 516 second-game effort and went on to outdistance Clemmer and Bailey for the top seed by 52 pins.
Limon's striking ways continued in the championship match, and five consecutive strikes to start the game applied early pressure, before four splits, two from Orozco in the fourth and fifth frames and two from Limon in the sixth and seventh frames, eliminated the advantage.
Limon struck on her next three shots, and Orozco rallied with four consecutive strikes of her own. Orozco was able to lock up the match with nine-count on the first shot of her final frame, after Clemmer failed to strike on her own first offering.
Limon finished with a 227 game, and Orozco contributed 206 in the win. Bailey led the way for the United States with 226, and Clemmer had 194.
"Sometimes, the energy you have just knowing you've won a medal makes it hard to focus, and after the splits, it's important to stay calm and refocus and figure out a way to strike again," Limon said. "Winning this gold medal means everything, and it's a great way to say goodbye to the youth events, since it's our last year."
All four players in the girls final credit college bowling for their focus, teamwork and resilience.
Limon and Orozco, who both hail from Tijuana, Mexico, have spent many years together on the lanes, so they're familiar and comfortable, and bowling at the Savannah College of Art and Design (SCAD) and University of Nebraska, respectively, has helped them mature as competitors.
"We feel this is unreal, and because we participated in college bowling, we felt super prepared for this event," Orozco said. "The things we learned in college bowling, especially the mental preparation, helped us today. We are proud to be able to do this for our team and all the Latino bowlers."
The bond Clemmer and Bailey have built as McKendree Bearcats, and as two-time national champions in 2017, already has helped them immensely at the 2018 World Youth Championships, and they can't wait to take the lanes with singles silver medalist Caitlyn Johnson of Rockwell, North Carolina, and Mabel Cummins of Elburn, Illinois.
Collectively, they're even stronger because they're able to communicate, and that was on display the game they crossed together during doubles qualifying and posted scores of 514 and 451 for a 965 total. Johnson and Cummins finished eighth in doubles.
"For Taylor and I, there's a bond from school that holds us together, and no matter what happens, we compete as one, and I think that's the biggest thing I'm going to take away from today," said Clemmer, who won a bronze medal in singles earlier in the week. "Now, we're really excited for tomorrow, and it's something we've been looking forward to all week. When we bowled together yesterday as a group, it was exciting to see how well we worked together."
On the way to the doubles final, Limon and Orozco topped Canada's Dakota Faichnie and Mykaela Mitchell, 421-355. Clemmer and Bailey defeated Sweden's Cajsa Wegner and Alida Molander, 398-380.
Lindberg and Berggren earned their spot in the boys final with a 451-443 victory against Han Jaehyeon and Ji Geun of Korea, while Panella and Fletcher downed Sweden's Emanuel Jonsson and William Svensson, 422-416.
Korea's path to the top seed for the semifinals included three records. Han rolled the third 300 of the week, and eighth in tournament history, on the way to a six-game record of 1,505, a 250.83 average. The previous mark was 1,494, rolled by England's Dom Barrett in 2008.
The Korean tandem combined for the single-game doubles record (543) and tied the six-game mark of 2,815.

According to Junior Team USA head coach Bryan O'Keefe, the boys may have struggled to reach the semifinals in singles and doubles, but that does not mean they're struggling overall on this week's 44-foot London oil pattern.
Cortez Schenck of Phoenix (1,399) and Jeffery Mann of West Lafayette, Indiana (1,255), combined for a 2,654 total and finished fifth in doubles Monday, 19 pins out of the cut. Bryan Hahlen of Greenwood, South Carolina (1,292), and defending doubles champion Wesley Low Jr. of Palmdale, California (1,210), finished 18th with a 2,502 total.
"On the boys side, we're still searching a little bit," O'Keefe said. "We've had some big games, and then times when things just didn't go our way. For sure, we've been behind the transition, but we'll work to stay ahead of it tomorrow, and I'm confident we'll have a great team event."
The Junior Team USA boys are the three-time defending champions in the team event, while the girls are looking for their first win since 2012.

All competitors at the 2018 World Youth Championships will be back on the lanes Tuesday and Wednesday for three games of team competition each day. The top four teams in each category will advance to Thursday's semifinals. The semifinal and final matches will feature a best-of-three Baker format.
Gold, silver and bronze medals will be awarded based on 18-game pinfall totals - six games in singles, doubles and team - and the event's top individual performers, 24 boys and 24 girls, will advance to Masters match play Thursday and Friday.

The World Youth Championships is held every two years, and the 2018 edition has brought more than 200 competitors from 37 countries to the Detroit area to bowl for medals in singles, doubles, team, all-events and Masters competition.

World Bowling is providing livestream coverage of the event, and bowling fans from around the globe will be able to watch the competition live from start to finish. Coverage will include all qualifying, semifinal and final rounds.

For more information on the 2018 World Youth Championships or to watch the livestream, visit 2018WYC.WorldBowling.org.

United States Bowling Congress
The United States Bowling Congress serves as the national governing body of bowling as recognized by the United States Olympic Committee (USOC). USBC conducts championship events nationwide including the largest participation sporting events in the world - the USBC Open and Women's Championships - and professional events such as the USBC Masters and USBC Queens.

Founded in 1895, today USBC and its 2,000 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.
2018 WORLD BOWLING YOUTH CHAMPIONSHIPS
At Thunderbowl Lanes
Allen Park, Mich.

Monday's results

GIRLS DOUBLES

CHAMPIONSHIP
(Winner earns gold, loser gets silver)

Paola Limon/Raquel Orozco, Mexico, def. Breanna Clemmer/Taylor Bailey, United States, 433-420.

SEMIFINALS
(Winners advance, losers tie for bronze)

Clemmer/Bailey, United States, def. Cajsa Wegner/Alida Molander, Sweden, 398-380.
Limon/Orozco, Mexico, def. Dakota Faichnie/Mykaela Mitchell, 421-355.

BOYS DOUBLES

CHAMPIONSHIP
(Winner earns gold, loser gets silver)

Robert Lindberg/Alfred Berggren, Sweden, def. Jayden Panella/Blayne Fletcher, Australia, 479-383.

SEMIFINALS
(Winners advance, losers tie for bronze)

Panella/Fletcher, Australia, def. Emanuel Jonsson/William Svensson, Sweden, 422-416.
Lindberg/Berggren, Sweden, def. Han Jaehyeon/Ji Geun, Korea, 451-443.