By BILL SNIER
PARMA HEIGHTS — Two area women reached the “elite eight” during the Professional Women’s Bowling Association Rock ’n’ Roll Open on Monday.
But both will be on the outside looking in when the four finalists battle for the final title of the PWBA Summer Series — Cleveland at 6 p.m. Monday at Yorktown Lanes.
Jillian Martin, the 2024 USBC Queens champion and senior-to-be at the University of Nebraska had to go five games in her opening match in the Round of 16 to defeat Poland right-hander Daria Pajak 3-2.
It came after Pajak shot 814 for her first three games, losing Game 1 to Martin 266-255. But Martin, a 20-year-old Stow right-hander, shot 245 and 299 her final two games, leaving a 10-pin on her final shot in a quest for 300, to take the match.
But in an “elite eight” match against Singapore’s New Hui Fen, who captured the second tourney of the series — the BowlTV Open — on Saturday, Martin came up short in a 3-0 loss in the best-of-five match-play format.
After the two tied in Game 1, a one-ball rolloff was used to determine the winner. It went to the third round, with New throwing three strikes and Martin leaving a 10-pin on her third shot after a tie at 257.
“I threw a lot of really good shots so I can’t complain,” said Martin, who shot 209 and 180 her final two games of the match. “At the end, I just couldn’t get the pins to fall my way. You know, things happen in this sport and you just have to come back through the next one even stronger.”
Martin said her problems in the quarterfinals were not on the physical side.
“I got a little flustered early and I have to fight through that on the mental side then just try to make good shots from there,” Martin said. “I struggled with some ball changes and, ultimately, I wasn’t as sharp as I could have been.”
New, the No. 4 seed, will now face top-seeded Jordan Snodgrass, who set the PWBA’s 12-game scoring record during qualifying, in a semifinal match.
RUNNING INTO BUZZSAW
After getting a critical spare in the 10th frame of her opening match while her opponent, No. 14 seed Ashley Galante, failed to convert a 3-10 split in the 10th, the third-seeded Moore faced a hot player in No. 6 seed Julia Bond in the quarterfinals.
Bond had reached the “elite eight” with a sweep of No. 11 seed Alexis Runk in the morning session, joining Snodgrass as the only players to earn 3-0 Round of 16 wins.
Bond started out hot, shooting 268 in Game 1 against Moore, a 22-year-old Tallmadge right-hander who had just 199. But the former took it one step further in Game 2, rolling the tourney’s third 300 game and 10th of the week while Moore had 269.
“What do you do when you shoot 269 and someone shoots 300 against you? What do you do with that?” said Moore, a member of Youngstown State’s 2025 NCAA championship team. “She bowled fantastic and I tip my hat to her.”
Moore was able to rally in Game 3 to force a fourth game — the only match in the “elite eight” to go that far — with a 247-181 win with strikes on five of her first six shots.
But after starting with five in a row in Game 4 en route to 238, she watched Bond throw the last nine in a row for 266 and the win.
“She did very well and there wasn’t anything I could do about it. It’s just a testament to all the other players who are doing so well. You bowl on a pattern so many times that you are absolutely locked in,” said Moore, who is in her first year on the PWBA Tour. “You know what changes you need to make and you can do them relatively quick at this point.
“I maybe was a little slow at the beginning to get to that point. But this is a learning experience. I did what I needed to do, but I can’t control what the pins do.”
Moore, who used a Track Stealth Mode through qualifying, had to go to an Ebonite GB4 Hybrid in match play.
“The other ball started backing up for me and I couldn’t get it to finish down lane. I needed something smoother, something shiny and I had to shift my break point.”
It was Moore’s first time advancing past qualifying, with her previous high finish in four events being 36th in the Cleveland Open, the first event of the Summer Series. It has taken its toll.
“My body hurts … it’s been a lot of bowling,” said Moore, who bowled three 12-game qualifying rounds plus nine match-play games Monday during the Summer Series.
“My fingers are ripped and I have blisters on the backs of my feet. But it was so much fun. I signed up for this and I wouldn’t want to do anything else. I’ll just take the punches, let them roll off and just adjust to what happens.”
Next up for both players in this week’s PWBA event in Iowa. Martin is in the field as a major champion while Moore will be bowling in the 21-player pre-tournament qualifier, looking for one of 16 remaining spots in the field.
NOTEBOOK: The best-of-five match play began with the round of 16 at 9 a.m., and the quarterfinals or “elite eight” at 2 p.m. The single-elimination semifinals begin at 6 p.m. … An independent source confirmed that Snodgrass’ 12-game PWBA record of 3,018, including a 300, is the all-time pro women’s bowling mark, eclipsing a mark of 2,943 set by Aleta Still in 1984 in Joliet, Ill., in the former Ladies Professional Bowlers Tour (LPBT). The all-time Professional Bowlers Association 12-game mark of 3,083 was set by Hall of Fame left-hander Mike Aulby in 1996 in Baltimore. … Snodgrass had 1,509 over her six games of match play to this point, an average of 251.5. That would rank 10th on the all-time six-game list, if it came in one shift. … Center officials estimated around 300-400 fans attended the three qualifying sessions for the Summer Series. … Two players, Madison Janack and Courtney Wolf, withdrew from the Rock ’n’ Roll Open after bowling the first qualifying shift. … First place Monday is worth $10,000. … The PWBA will return to Yorktown Lanes in 2026 with the PWBA Tour Championship Week, again including three events,, from Aug. 11 through 18.