By DONOVAN GRUBAUGH
PWBA Communications
GREEN BAY, Wis. – After 24 games at The Ashwaubenon Bowling Alley, five talented bowlers will head to the Resch Center for the stepladder finals Sunday evening at the Professional Women’s Bowling Association Anniversary Open.
The No. 1 seed is left-hander Kayla Smith of Rockford, Ill., making her first stepladder appearance in her second year out on tour after a final qualifying block of 1,593, the second-highest six-game block since 2015.
“I’m not quite sure if I’ve fully wrapped my head around everything,” said Smith, who started the round in 10th place before climbing to the top spot with a near triplicate final three games (278, 278 and 277 for 833). “It’s an incredible tournament to be a part of and more incredible to perform (in the arena).”
No. 2 seed, Josie Barnes of Hermitage, Tenn., hasn’t left the top five all week long and seeks her second title of the year after winning the United States Bowling Congress Queens in May, while No. 3 seed, Verity Crawley of England, is looking for her first title since 2023.
Starting the show will be No. 4 seed Nora Johansson of Sweden and Kent resident and No. 5 seed Rocio Restrepo of Colombia in a battle between youth and experience as this is Johansson’s first stepladder appearance while it’s Restrepo’s 13th stepladder and her first since 2019.
“This is already a dream come true. The whole week I felt good physically,” Restrepo said in a Facebook post. “Today, I threw it good, but the scores were really high. I am just glad I put some great games together through the week to put myself in this position again.”
Smith will lean on her prior TV experience as a collegiate bowler at McKendree and Jacksonville State, but knows it’s much different when there are thousands of fans in the arena and just her in the concourse.
“It’s going to be something I’ve never been a part of,” Smith said. “I’m going to have to ground myself, feel my feet on the earth and try to go back to the place (mentally) I was at today.”
All five competitors will bowl a practice session Saturday at 7:30 p.m. to adjust to the newly built lanes at the Resch Center. Johansson and Restrepo kick off the show Sunday at 7 p.m., live only on CBS Sports Network.
Stow’s Jillian Martin finished just six pins short of reaching the arena finals, taking sixth with 5,461. Lewis Center’s Jen Higgins finished seventh overall, missing the cut to the finals my 18 pins. The pair shot 180 and 181, respectively, their final games of the round while Restrepo came in at 206.
The TV show is open to the public and will coincide with the Opening Ceremonies of the Junior Gold Championships.