Cara comes from 5th to finish top seed going into TV finals

[GeorgeF]

CAPE CORAL, Fla. – Today at the Coral Lanes, the “thunder from down under,” Cara Honeychurch, Australia, captured the number one seed after 42 games at the $75,000 Storm Challenge. Honeychurch, who started today’s 12-game match play block in fifth place, posted an 8-4 record (Editor’s note: players earn 30 bonus pins for each match won during match play rounds) en route to a her tournament leading 9,577 pin-fall total and an average of 215.88.

Joining Honeychurch in Thursday night’s ESPN2 championship round will be Wendy Macpherson, Henderson, Nevada (#2), Leanne Barrette, Pleasanton, Calif (#3), Carolyn Dorin-Ballard, N. Richland, Texas (#4) and Liz Johnson, Cheektowaga, N.Y. (#5).

Entering the final game of today’s matches, Macpherson held a 53-pin lead over Honeychurch. However, in game 42, which by PWBA tournament standards is positional match, Honeychurch defeated Macpherson 279-190 to overtake the four-time PWBA Player of the Year’s hold on the number one slot.

“All day I felt like I was throwing the ball well but was not getting the right ball reaction,” said Honeychurch. “I changed balls about half way through the second to last game and that really made the difference in my final two matches.”

“I felt going into today that I would have to win at least eight or nine games to have a chance at finishing at number one. I’m happy I was able to pull it off, but I’m not taking today’s finish for granted. I have play tomorrow’s final as if it’s a whole new tournament and continue to stay aggressive.”

For Honeychurch tomorrow’s final will be her 11th championship appearance in 15 PWBA tournaments. The 2000 PWBA Rookie of the Year is tied with Johnson for the second most titles this season with three. Her last championship came at the Clabber Girl Greater Terre Haute Open on July 26 when she defeated Kelly Kullick, Union, N.J. in the semi-finals 257-245 and fellow Australian, Carol Gianotti-Block, 279-208 in the finals

 

[HBK - Y2K]

Hi George...
Do u know how Cara ended up in this tournament?

 

[Danni]

DAVIE, Fl. – Liz Johnson, Cheektowaga, NewYork, was perfect, literally. Today at the Don Carter University Lanes, Johnson bowled a 300 in the title match of the Paula Carter Classic to defeat Carolyn Dorin-Ballard, who finished her game with a 226. The victory marked her second consecutive title and third of the 2001 Professional Women’s Bowling Association tour.

“This has been a tough week for all of America,” Johnson said. “I think what makes this performance special for me is that the fans that came today left with smiles on their faces.”

“I still can’t believe it. On my last shot, I just wanted to get the ball off my hand. When I released it, I thought it might edge into the gutter and luckily it came back. I thought I might pass out when I saw I knocked all the pins down.”

Johnson’s victory earned her a first-place check for $9,000. In addition to her first place purse, Johnson will also receive $50,000 courtesy of Travelodge Hotels for bowling a perfect game.

Johnson entered today’s finals as the tournament’s top seed. The former U.S. Open Champion led all PWBA competitors this week tallying 9,564 total pins and an average of 216.28. Including last week’s victory at the Foundation Games, in Sebring, Fl., Johnson has now led her PWBA colleagues in a season high nine consecutive rounds and 12 of the last 13.

Dorin-Ballard, N. Richland, Texas, took home $4,800 for her second place finish. Along with Johnson, she has been one of the PWBA’s hottest performers winning five tournaments this year and appearing in the championship round 12 times.

“I felt like I bowled really well today,” Dorin-Ballard said. “Liz is a great competitor and I think her performance today was outstanding.”

Karen Stroud, Victoria, Texas, closed out the Classic with a third-place finish. Stroud, who will earn $3,000 for her effort, defeated Cara Honeychurch, Australia, and Leanne Barrette, Pleasanton, California, 212-171-155 in the opening shootout. Stroud was defeated by Dorin-Ballard 205-147 in the semi-finals. Honeychurch will take home $2,500 for fourth place while Barrette earns $2,200 for fifth.

 

[wchester]

Cara finished 2nd to Leanne Barrette. That's 11 TV shows out of 15 starts....Second only to Carolyn Dorin-Ballard's 13 top five finishes.

 

[GeorgeF]

Chester is correct, the info they have on the website refers to last weeks comp. Cara threw a dissappointing 156 in the final. I know she must be a little dissapointed after a great week of bowling. I'm sure her consistant finishes though will see her taking home the title soon enough. Mind you 11 out 15 TV shows isn't bad either.

 

[GeorgeF]

PROFESSIONAL WOMEN’S BOWLING ASSOCIATION
Wednesday, October 3, 2001

$50,000 North Myrtle Beach Classic

Contact: Lydia Rypcinski, 843-361-2215 or 843-272-5784
Email: pwbamedia@aol.com

RESULTS: ALL ATHLETES HAVE COMPLETED 42 GAMES


HONEYCHURCH SURPRISES BY TAKING TOP SEED FOR NORTH MYRTLE BEACH FINALS

N. MYRTLE BEACH, S.C. – Waiting in the wings for an opening paid off for Australia’s Cara Honeychurch as she bypassed tournament leaders Kendra Gaines and Wendy Macpherson in the final round of match play to snare the top seed for Thursday’s championship round of the $50,000 North Myrtle Beach Classic at North Myrtle Beach Bowling Center.

Honeychurch, who started the evening in fourth place, sparkled Wednesday night, winning seven of eight matches and firing the tournament’s second 300 game on her way to a 1,955-pin set. The 210 bonus pins she won pushed her 42-game total to 9,779 pins while she averaged 221.40.

“I surprised myself a bit, because I’ve been having some problems in my physical game this fall, with timing and release,” said Honeychurch. “This was a difficult week for me to repeat shots, and during today’s break I went back to the hotel and reviewed a checklist of things to concentrate on. I thought the lanes were conducive to a reasonable level of scoring, provided you executed well, and I wasn’t doing that for most of the tournament.”

Macpherson, Henderson, Nev., remained in second place, winning six of eight matches Wednesday night and finishing with a total pinfall of 9,552 and tournament average of 218.14. However, Sebring, Fla.’s Gaines fell from the No. 1 position all the way to No. 7 with a sub-par set of 1,122 pins, finishing 64 pins away from Thursday’s TV finals despite leading the tournament all week.

“I really feel for Kendra,” said Honeychurch. “Although I’ve never led a tournament and then fallen out of the top five, I’ve certainly dropped from the top five in the final round, and it’s very hard. Things can change so quickly out here; you’re up one minute and down the next.”

Rounding out the top five are Leanne Barrette, Pleasanton, Calif., who turned in the best match play record for the tournament at 18-5-1; Lisa Bishop, Belleville, Mich., and 1995 U.S. Open champion Cheryl Daniels, W. Bloomfield, Mich. Barrette finished with 9,543 pins and a 214.00 average to take third place, while Bishop and Daniels tied after 42 games with 9,437 pins. A one-game rolloff to determine places for the TV finals gave Daniels the fourth spot; she defeated Bishop, 201-192.

The top five move on to Thursday’s championship round to vie for the 2001 PWBA North Myrtle Beach Classic title and $9,000 first prize. The finals begin at 7 p.m. at North Myrtle Beach Bowling Center and will be aired by ESPN2 on a tape-delayed basis Monday, October 8, at 8 p.m. and Thursday, October 11, at 1 a.m. (all times are Eastern). The PWBA’s web page, www.pwba.com, will carry the frame-by-frame action live on its Webscorer (click on “Live Scoring&#8221

, beginning at 7 p.m. Eastern. Travelodge Hotels is offering a $50,000 bonus to any woman rolling a 300 game on the TV finals.

PROFESSIONAL WOMEN'S BOWLING ASSOCIATION

NORTH MYRTLE BEACH CLASSIC AT N. MYRTLE BEACH BOWLING CENTER

10/01/2001 Thru 10/04/2001 N.Myrtle Beach, FL


MATCH PLAY STANDINGS AFTER 42 GAMES
BLOCK TOTALS TOTAL

POS BOWLER - HOMETOWN QUAL 1 2 3 PINS AVG W-L-T PINS +OR- PRIZE



1 Cara Honeychurch-Australia, 3965 1697 1682 1955 9299 221.40 16- 8- 0 9779 +1379

2 Wendy Macpherson-Henderson, NV 3827 1780 1877 1678 9162 218.14 13-11- 0 9552 +1152

3 Leanne Barrette-Pleasanton, CA 3726 1709 1831 1722 8988 214.00 18- 5- 1 9543 +1143

T4 Lisa Bishop-Belleville, MI* 3818 1761 1657 1721 8957 213.26 16- 8- 0 9437 +1037

Cheryl Daniels-West Bloomfield, MI 3814 1719 1673 1736 8942 212.90 16- 7- 1 9437 +1037