By BILL SNIER
PARMA HEIGHTS — There was the practice, the work done all week at Yorktown Lanes and the support of her seven Malaysian teammates and coaches.
But for New Hui Fen, it was all about being able to flash that signal.
“When I first saw the name of this tournament on the schedule, I really wanted to win it so I can do this (flashed hand signal with index finger and pinkie finger pointed up as in photo above) when I got the trophy,” the 33-year-old right-hander said.
“My teammates would tell me during practice and matches, just forget about everything else and concentrate on that. So when I was getting close to winning or losing a match, they kept doing it to remind me.”
New became a two-time winner during the PWBA Summer Series — Cleveland by stopping Latvia’s Diana Zavjalova 234-187 in the title match of the PWBA Rock ’n’ Roll Open on Monday.
New, who captured the second event of the series — the PWBA BowlTV Open — on Saturday, earned her fourth career title to put herself clearly in the lead for Player of the Year through just four 2025 events
“That’s all right … let’s go. I’ve always dreamed about that,” New said. (2024 POY Li) Jane (Sin) had such a great year last year and I felt I was close. Maybe this year will be my year.”
In the unique format, used for the first time in a PWBA Tour event, the top 16 bowlers in match play opened with best-of-five matches by seed in the morning. The winners then met in another round of best-of-five matches in the afternoon before the final four advanced to single-match elimination play in the evening.
Bowling in the second semifinal, and using the same pair of Lanes 23 and 24, New went up against No. 1 seed Jordan Snodgrass, who had swept her two previous opponents by averaging 251 over six games.
New started the match with six straight strikes before leaving a 10-pin spare. But Snodgrass, who set a 12-game PWBA record with 3,018 total pinfall (251.5 average), had problems after opening with a double.
The 29-year-old Adrian, Mich., right-hander and 2023 PWBA Player of the Year, who was the last player to win back-to-back titles that year, missed the head pin on her third shot ad left a 1-2-4 spare. She followed that up with a 4-pin spare.
But disaster struck in the fifth frame when, after leaving a 2-pin, she missed the spare right.
New converted the 10-pin spare and then doubled through the ninth frame. Snodgrass was able to regroup and threw the last seven strikes for 244.
Disaster appeared to hit New in the 10th frame when she left a 2-10 split. But she needed to fill just nine pins in the frame, covering one pin for a 245-244 win.
It came down to a miscommunication between her and her ball company representative
“(Storm rep) Sean (Ryan) wanted me to test out another ball to check the reaction,” New said. “But he wanted me to do it on the fill ball and I misunderstood him. Lucky I only needed one pin.”
It was the second straight stepladder finals where an open frame cost Snodgrass, who left a 2-10 split in the 10th frame during the opening match of the BowlTV Open to fall to Shannon Pluhowsky.
ZAVJALOVA’S RUN
Zavajalova, a 33-year-old right-hander and five-time winner, faced Lincoln, Neb., right-hander Julia Bond, a three-time champion, in the opening match. It was Bond who shot 300 and stopped Tallmadge right-hander Kirsten Moore’s match-play run in the Round of Eight.
Zavajalova opened with three strikes, but Bond answered with a four-strike run of her own through the sixth frame. But disaster struck for Bond in the eighth when she left a 2-10 split before striking out.
Zavajalova was able to string six straight strikes after a pair of 10-pin spares to close out with a 257-234 win.
But the 10-pins were a sign of things to come for the Latvian.
TITLE MATCH
After opening the title match with a 2-8 spare, New got away with a high hit for a strike in the second frame and then tripped a late 9-pin for another in the third. She then followed with two straight 10-pin spares.
“For the right lane, I felt I missed right, and on the left lane, I felt I didn’t – the release timing was weird, like I felt there was less revs,” New said. “Then that’s when I went and checked the thumb and realized it swelled, so I took out tape and it was easier to clear my thumb.”
Disaster hit Zavjalova in the third frame when she left a 4-6-7-9-10 “Greek church,” getting four. That was followed by another 10-pin spare — one of five she left during the match.
What changed for her from the first semifinal?
“An extra game was bowled on the pair so the lanes transitioned,” Zavjalova said. “I had a game plan, but I just didn’t follow through with it. I had to change balls and I just didn’t move left quick enough.
“My ball was burning up early and I didn’t make that move with the right ball.”
New found her groove again beginning in the sixth frame, rolling four straight strikes before leaving a 4-pin to clinch the win. Zavjalova had just two strikes over the final five frames.
New gave credit to teammate Shayna Ng for helping her figure things out.
“She gives very honest feedback,” said New, who earned her second $10,000 check of the week “So let’s say for one lane, I felt that it was on line, and then I’m not sure if I was slow. She couldn’t see the line … but she felt my ball speed. So it’s like a jigsaw puzzle. You put it together. Then I can solve the equation from there.”
Her big start against Snodgrass proved key as it turned out with the veteran’s rally at the end.
“I’m not always thinking about strikes …. just making good shots, that my ball speed is correct and everything is precise,” New said. “(Zavjalova) didn’t throw a good shot on the right lane or that match would have been closer.”
And she got a chance to flash that signal to the cameras at the end.
“I feel very honored and grateful. Also, to have the opportunity to inspire the next batch of bowlers that I’m seeing in Asia … the bowling career has paid off,” New said.
NOTEBOOK: Both semifinals and the finals were bowled on the same pair of lanes. … Both Stow’s Jillian Martin and Moore were eliminated during the Round of Eight. To see more about their days, see our earlier story here: https://snieronbowling.com/2025/06/02/pwba-notebook-martin-moore-come-up-short-in-semifinal-bids/