By BILL SNIER
PARMA HEIGHTS — Crystal Elliott has been to the mountain top as an amateur bowler.
A two-time NCAA national champion, three-time All-American, U.S. Women’s Amateur champion, Team USA member and two-time National Tenpin Coaches Association bowler of the year, the Palm Bay, Fla., right-hander dominated collegiate women’s bowling in two programs — three years at Nebraska and one year at Jacksonville State.
She then made an apparently seamless move to the professional ranks, earning Professional Women’s Bowling Association Rookie of the Year honors by cashing in all 11 of her tournament appearances in 2024.
The one thing missing? A PWBA title.
“I need to give myself more opportunities to potentially win a title,” said Elliott, who has made three stepladder finals appearances with a high finish of fourth, including the PBA-PBA50-PWBA Trio event.
Another opportunity presents itself Thursday as Elliott heads into the second round of match play for the PWBA Cleveland Open at Yorktown Lanes, part of the PWBA Summer Series.
She is the tournament leader with 4,574 total pinfall and a 5-2-1 match-play mark after the opening shift. The second round will consist of eight more match-play games, with the top five following 16 games advancing to the tourney’s stepladder finals, which now is set to begin at 8 p.m. (live on BowlTV).
When is the last time Elliott bowled 16 games — and potentially more — in one day?
“Maybe last season in match play,” said the 24-year-old Elliott, who holds a bachelor’s degree in child, youth and family studies from Nebraska and was a two-time All-Big Ten academic selection.
“When you think about it, it’s so many. But I took a week off after the (USBC) Queens just physically to prepare.”
And that has been one of the biggest transitions from college to pro bowling — the amount of games.
“You didn’t bowl 16 games in a day. But also one of the biggest things is you don’t have anyone behind you to help if you are struggling,” said Elliott, who stood ninth after 12 qualifying games while averaging 218.92.
“You are the one who has to make the shots and you are the only one who can say, ‘hey, I need to get better at this.’ You can’t rely on teammates, even though I do have some former teammates out here and we rattle ideas off each other. But ultimately, it’s not the same backbone as you go from college to the pro world.”
Elliott feels a key in her early pro development was her decision to transfer as a graduate student from Nebraska to Jacksonville State (Ala.), where she was under the tutelage of USBC Hall of Famer Shannon O’Keefe and her husband, Brian.
“She is one of the top players in the world and with her mindset and physical ability, it was hard to pass up. It was an environment I wanted to try out,” Elliott said. “When the opportunity arose, I was like I need to take advantage of it.
“I had the opportunity to learn from one of the best there ever was and I learned a ton. I wouldn’t be the player I am without Nebraska, but Brian and Shannon helped me to take my understanding of the game to a different level. I think it was because of them I was as successful as I was last season.”
With that understanding also comes an appreciation for where she is at this point in her career.
“Not everyone gets to be out here on the pro circuit. It’s one of those things you just don’t take for granted because you don’t know when it may be your last time,” Elliott said. “The tour folded at one point and then was relaunched 10 years ago. I don’t know what bowling is without a tour … I never experienced that.
“But I know a lot of women out here who have. And after hearing their stories, I don’t want to be in that position. I just want to take in everything that I can and really enjoy the moment.”
That continues tonight with the second round of match play and Elliott seeking her fourth stepladder appearance.
“I just have to continue focusing on my shot execution … make sure I’m reading what I need to do and get ahead of the moves before they happen,” Elliott said. “This place has really been very pair-to-pair for me. I used the first eight games to take in more information and now I can use that for the next squad.”
IN THE RUNNING: Rocio Restrepo, the Colombia right-hander now living in Kent, got to as high as second during match play but fell back to sixth after finishing with 177, 160 and 192, going 1-2 over that stretch. She is 52 pins out of the cut heading into the final eight games.
Stow’s Jillian Martin, a senior-to-be at Nebraska who bowled with Elliott, sits 10th with 4,356, 119 pins out of the cut after a 3-5 match-play mark. She lost three of her first four matches.
Co-qualifying leaders Siti Rahman and Stephanie Zavala were 4-4 during match play, with the former topping Elliott 247-208 during Game 8 to move up. Zavala struggled early, not having a game over 203 among her first four — the rest being 180 or less.
NOTEBOOK: Elliott posted the high game of the opening session with 256 in a Game 4 win. … Olivia Komorowski, who was sixth after qualifying, compiled the top match-play mark at 7-1, her lone loss coming against Elliott in Game 3 (231-224). She now is second (4,527), just 47 pins behind Elliott. … Elliott had the high block with 1,782, followed by 26-year-old Milton, Pa., right-hander Alexis Runk with 1,761. Runk went 5-3 and moved from 10th to fourth in the standings. … Friday’s first six-game qualifying shift for the BowlTV Open, the second tourney in the PWBA Summer Series — Cleveland, begins at 10 a.m. on the 47-foot PWBA BowlTV Open pattern developed by Canton native Nick Hoagland. Twelve qualifying games will be bowled over two shifts Friday before the cut to the top 12 for round-robin match play for this event. Tickets are $20 for an all-day pass or $15 per shift at the door.