By BILL SNIER
PARMA HEIGHTS — As a competitor on the Professional Women’s Bowling Association Tour, it had been a difficult two years for Rocio Restrepo.
The native of Colombia and four-time PWBA champion, Restrepo had taken nearly 18 months off due to her pregnancy with daughter Sofia, who will turn age 2 on June 5.
“When I was pregnant, I competed in some events, but very little. I had some complications (with her pregnancy) that made it hard,” the 37-year-old right-hander, now living in Kent, said.
“Your body goes through so many changes, but you just don’t realize it until you go through it.”
Restrepo, who is married to former Stark County resident Joe Hostetler, returned for the 2024 PWBA Tour season. But her “comeback” didn’t go as planned.
“I just wasn’t physically or emotionally prepared. There were a lot of changes I had to go through,” Restrepo said Wednesday after the opening six-game qualifying block of the PWBA Cleveland Open at Yorktown Lanes.
“I was taking her to a lot of the stops. I was breast feeding and doing all the things that go with being a mother. I wasn’t just focused on the competition, but also focusing on taking care of her. I wasn’t sleeping through the night and it was rough … not the comeback I wanted.”
But, she admitted, the offseason has brought “more time for myself and more time for practice.”
Restrepo, who opened with a 170 in Game 1, finished with 1,338 total pinfall (223 average) and sits sixth after Round 1, 38 pins behind leader, Adrian, Mich., right-hander and 2023 PWBA Player of the Year Jordan Snodgrass (1,376), who is seeking her sixth career title.
“I started out slowly because I made some bad ball choices that first game,” Restrepo said. “But I finished plus-138 for the shift so I can’t complain.”
Restrepo, who also won several gold medals while competing for Colombia in various world bowling events and also was the youngest bowler to win a medal in the 2003 World Championships at age 15, admitted the work continues.
“I feel like it has taken me a while. People don’t realize how much I train on and off the lanes,” Restrepo said. “Obviously, when you are not competing at a high level, you are not in tune with some of the changes and equipment.
“I was never overweight or anything, but I had to lose the weight (after pregnancy) and slowly get back into shape.”
Her mother-in-law, Trish Hostetler, has been helping with Sofia, which also has provided some time.
“Thankfully, she is retired now and able to help. Sofia’s at the age where it’s tough to trust her with a lot of people,” Restrepo said. “I’ve also been able to work with Fred (Borden) again since he’s been back. He’s really the only person I trust with my physical game.
“My husband would be there but he works full time and it’s difficult. It makes a world of difference.”
WAY’S DAY
Wooster right-hander Karlie Way, competing in just her second PWBA event and first national tour stop, is at 1,196, sitting 59th overall in the 95-player field. She is 106 pins out of the cut with six qualifying games remaining Wednesday, beginning at 5 p.m.
“It was a little nerve-wracking at first,”said the 27-year-old right-hander and Triway High School bowling coach, who won Saturday’s Hit Dem Pockets Scratch Masters at North Woods Lanes. “The first two games, I was nervous and really anxious. I just couldn’t repeat shots.
“But from there, I got more comfortable and started making better shots.”
She shot 208 and 215 her final two games. What’s the game plan for the evening session?
“Not get nervous the first two games,” Way said, laughing. “I feel I need to be more aggressive getting doubles. Those are crucial to getting those 200s … better shotmaking. My spares did get a lot better.”
Stow’s Jillian Martin sits fourth overall with 1,365. Lewis Center right-hander Jen Higgins, a Canton native, is tied for 21st with 1,285 after shooting 258 and 256 in games 4 and 5, respectively.
NOTEBOOK
HIGH SCORES: Scoring was higher than expected on the 39-foot PWBA Cleveland Open oil pattern, created by Canton native Nick Hoagland. A total of 58 players finished with a 200 or higher average, with the top eight averaging at least 220. There were two 300 games, both in Game 5, by Diandra Asbaty and Nora Lyana Norkamal of Malaysia.
THE BIG NUMBERS: The cut at No. 16 going into the evening session was 1,302, with Madison Colston holding that position with 11 players within 26 pins of the lead. … The cut line to cash in the top 32 is at 1,259 after the opening six games.
TICKETS: Tickets for the PWBA Summer Series — Cleveland, are $20 for an all-day qualifying pass for each of the three events, $15 for each session and match play and $25 for the stepladder finals. Tickets can be purchased at the door or by going on line at https://www.eventbrite.com/e/2025-pwba-cleveland-summer-series-tickets-1308594584629?aff=oddtdtcreator There is a surcharge for tickets purchased online.
SCHEDULE: Round-robin match play for the Cleveland Open’s 16 players who make the cut begins act 9 a.m. Thursday with Round 1, followed by the second round at 3 p.m. Each round is eight games. The stepladder finals begin at 7 p.m. All rounds are being live-streamed on BowlTV.