By BILL SNIER
PARMA HEIGHTS — Kirsten Moore got married in late May and now is looking for full-time employment in a tough job market.
That doesn’t mean she’s giving up bowling full-time on the Professional Women’s Bowling Association Tour.
A 2025 Team USA member who helped Youngstown State University earn its first NCAA Championship in 2025, Moore cashed in three of 10 events a year ago as a PWBA rookie.
But her second year on the PWBA Tour has “not been good.”
“You try to be positive as much as you can, but the summer I’ve had … I just haven’t felt like myself. After the first event here (she finished 65th with a 184.25 average for 12 games), a part of me felt like, ‘I’m done after this and I don’t have to try as hard,’ ” the 24-year-old Cuyahoga Falls resident and Tallmadge High School graduate said.
“But I had a fairly good showing this morning unlike the other day … I definitely felt more like myself today which bolsters my confidence. I was just more comfortable.”
Moore got as high as ninth during Friday’s first qualifying round of the PWBA Pepsi Open at Yorktown Lanes, But a 168 her final game, when she missed a couple of spares, helped drop her to 25th overall with 1,267 total pinfall — 42 pins out of the cut which comes after Friday’s second six-game qualifying round.
Moore, who stands 71st on the PWBA points list with just one match-play appearance this season, feels physical problems with her game have held her back this season.
“I don’t feel like I’m throwing the ball at the level I know I can,” Moore said. “I’ve been having trouble pinning things down in practice. I just really haven’t been able to get into a repetitive pattern of throwing the ball the same every single time.
“It’s affecting my mental game as well. I’m working really hard in practice, but it just hasn’t been going my way for some reason.”
She has worked with YSU head coach Doug Kuberski on a couple of occasions to help correct the problems.
“I feel like I have a really good day and then the next day, it’s like everything I worked on the day before I just can’t get to play,” Moore said. “I’m just in a major rut right now.”
But she is not about to give up on her dream.
“When we took the break between the U.S. Women’s Open and the Luci (the PBA-PWBA Striking Against Breast Cancer Mixed Doubles), I gave myself a month to try and figure it out. I was considering not even bowling in Cleveland if I didn’t bowl decently at the Luci,” Moore said.
“I just didn’t know if I would be mentally prepared enough. But I’m not a quitter … I love the travel and I’m doing what I love to do no matter how frustrating it can get.”
Moore bowled with Cuyahoga Falls’ two-handed lefty Bryce Oliver in the SABC and the pair earned a cash spot, finishing 27th overall.
“I could have bowled better, but I really bowled better than I expected,” Moore said.
But she is going to stick with it as she seeks employment in website development, editing or marketing during the offseason.
“It’s hard … AI is taking over a lot of jobs in that field,” Moore said. “But I’m not going to set this aside.”
GRAMLY MAKING RUN IN ‘COMPLICATED’ SEASON
Hope Gramly, a 26-year-old Aubrey, Texas, right-hander, also has been looking for answers as she is completing what she termed a “complicated” season.
“I’ve tried everything physically and mentally that I am capable of trying to make the pins fall over better,” said Gramly, a three-time Division II Player of the Year at McKendree (Ill.) University who also is looking for her first PWBA title.
“I’ve pretty much settled on the fact that I need a fit change. My hand is just not coming out of the ball the same way every time. I don’t know when I’m going to catch it, dump it or roll it normal. It’s been hard to make adjustments.”
But after finishing 32nd in the opening Yorktown event, Gramly had back-to-back games of 290 and 269 — a run of 19 strikes in a row — to move to the top of the leaderboard during the opening six-game qualifying round. A 3-4-6-7 late in Game 6 gave her 1,388 for the shift after a 191, 13 pins behind leader Sydney Brummett.
“After Game 4, we jumped to the low end and they are so different down there,” said Gramly, who sits 33rd in the points race in hopes of making the final 24 for the PWBA Tour Championship. “I just couldn’t find my picture on the lanes after we made the jump. That split shot came out of nowhere and it hooked a million.”
But Gramly is not concerned about reaching Sunday’s Tour Championship field — yet.
“For this event, I just let go my expectations. I know going plus a million to make it to Sunday is unrealistic, especially with the competitiveness of our field right now,” said Gramly, who has made two match-play appearances this season. “Is it possible? Sure. But I just want this season to end on a high note be it in this event or I make it to the final one.
“But the resolution is I need a fit change to get the most of my game that I can.”
NOTEBOOK
TOPPING THE LIST: Brummett (1,401), Summer Jasmin (1,372), defending PWBA Player of the Year New Hui Fen (1,362) and Stow’s Jillian Martin (1,350) join Gramly in the top five after the early shift. The cut line is at 1,309, with Morgan Kramer, who shot the lone 300 during the PWBA Cleveland Open, holding that spot. New, who won a pair of titles last season in the PWBA Summer Series at Yorktown, finished fourth during the Cleveland Open.
HIGH GAMES: Latvia’s Diana Zavhalova shot the second 300 of the week in Game 3 of Friday’s opening round. She currently is 19th with 1,287. Kayla Pashina also had 288.
POINTS RACE: Following the Cleveland Open, New maintains the points list lead in the quest for her second straight POY award. Nine players have won titles this season, with no one winning twice. Bryanna Cote, who is not competing during the first two events, is the cut spot at No. 24 for the Tour Championship. Josie Barnes, who sits 18th, also is not competing. New, Jordan Snodgrass (who finished second Thursday), Li Jane Sin and Shannon Pluhowsky are the top four in the points race. Erin McCarthy, who has a win this season and didn’t compete in the Cleveland Open, is bowling the Pepsi Open and sits fifth in points.
NOTEBOOK: Players will be bowling Friday’s 5 p.m. second qualifying shift on fresh oil. … The format is different for this event, with the top 16 advancing to Saturday’s best-of-five match play by seed. The winners then will compete in the Round of 8, also best-of-five matches, before the four winners compete in single-elimination matches, with the final two bowling for the title. … Among other area players, Rocio Restrepo-Hostetler is 27th (1,262), Vandalia’s Megan Duff is tied for 33rd (1,236), Amherst’s Amanda Morrow is 77th (1,104) and Avon’s Rachael Delserone is 81st (1,083) in the 83-player field. … Maria Jose Bohr, who finished fifth in the Cleveland Open, withdrew from the Pepsi field to rest for the Tour Championship. She is 16th on the points list, with the top 24, including winners, advancing. … Match play rounds begin at 10 a.m. and 2 p.m. Saturday, with the TV finals beginning at 6:30 p.m. live on BowlTV.