On Thursday afternoon, I finally found time to watch the NCAA Women’s Bowling Championships that were broadcast Saturday night on ESPN2 and repeated Sunday on ESPN after the PBA Tournament of Champions.
Although my DVR quit recording with a couple of frames left, I already knew who won and I'd seen enough in 2 1/2 hours to know one thing: young bowlers just keep getting better.
The young women competing for University of Maryland Eastern Shore (UMES) and Fairleigh Dickinson University (FDU) to me clearly showed the impact of years of youth bowling competition, much of it on tough conditions, and more sophisticated coaching — things that simply didn't exist when my generation was young, and that seem to have grown ever stronger in recent years.
The sad thing is that there is no professional women's tour for the best of these women to go to. Perhaps some day again.
So many of the women has such solid fundamentals, I hate to single out any of them. But I was especially impressed by Paula Vilas, whose loose swing and extremely quick release generate power rarely seen in a female bowler. She reminded me of a young Tammy Turner.
I also appreciate that the spirit you always see in these shows wasn't as over-the-top as it has been in the past — I didn't see any major high fives for Greek Churches! Celebrate success, console failure. (For the record, I hate it when basketball players give five after missed free throws!)
UMES became the first school to win back-to-back NCAA Women’s Bowling Championships since 2004-05 by beating FDU 4-2 in the best of seven games Baker competition.
Details are in this news release.
I'm looking forward to watching the USBC Intercollegiate Singles Championships and USBC Intercollegiate Team Championships – women and men – when they air next month on CBS Sports Network.
FDU's Danielle McEwan, a member of Team USA, was named the NCAA Player of the Year for Division I, and Kutztown’s Kayla Jones earned the same honor for Division II/III after the post-season vote by members of the National Ten Pin Coaches Association.
Details are in this news release.
2012 NTCA All-America Teams
First Team
Jackie Carbonetto, Sacred Heart, Jr., Blauvelt, NY
Rachel Gittings, Arkansas State, Jr. Glen Allen, Va.
Brittni Hamilton, Vanderbilt, Senior, Webster, NY
Kayla Johnson, Nebraska, Senior, Washington, Ill.
Danielle McEwan, Fairleigh Dickinson, Junior, Stony Point, NY
Second Team
Jessica Earnest, Vanderbilt, Junior, Vandalia, IL
Natalie Jimenez, Central Missouri, Junior, Rowland Heights, CA
Kayla Jones, Kutztown, Senior, Johnstown, Pa.
Amanda Lobossiere, Arkansas State, Sophomore, Buzzards Bay, Mass.
Kara Richard, Central Missouri, Sophomore, Tecumseh, Mich.
Anggie Ramirez, Maryland-Eastern Shore, Junior, Bogota, Columbia
Third Team
Joely Carrillo, Fairleigh Dickinson, Senior,Clifton, NJ
T’nia Falbo, Maryland-Eastern Shore, Junior, Greensburg, Pa.
Sarah Lokker, Arkansas State, Freshman, New Baltimore, Mich.
Kristina Mickelson, Nebraska, Junior, Bellevue, Neb.
Nicole Trudell, Sacred Heart, Sophomore, Coventry, RI
Honorable Mention
Valarie Calberry, Nebraska
Natalie Cortese, Valparaiso
Melanie DeCarlo, Alabama A&M
Dayna Galganski, Sam Houston State
Samantha Hesley, Vanderbilt
Christina Leid, St. Francis (Pa)
Gabriella Mayfield, Central Missouri
Danielle Merino, Adelphi
Nicole Parkhurst, Stephen F. Austin
Michelle Secours, Sam Houston State
Players of the Year
Division I Danielle McEwan, Fairleigh Dickinson
Division II/III Kayla Jones, Kutztown
Rookies of the Year
Division I Sarah Lokker, Arkansas State, Freshman, New Baltimore, Mich.
Division II/III Gabriella Mayfield, Central Missouri, Fr., Lake Isabella, Calif.
Coach of the Year
Division I Justin Kostick, Arkansas State
Division II/III Ron Holmes, Central Missouri
