Pluhowsky makes history with Masters win at World Women's Championships
9/11/11
By Lucas Wiseman
USBC Communications
HONG KONG - Team USA's Shannon Pluhowsky of Kettering, Ohio, became the first woman in the history of the World Tenpin Bowling Association World Women's Championships to earn four gold medals in one tournament as she claimed the Masters match play title Sunday.
Powered by a 300 game and a 299 game, Pluhowsky defeated Singapore's Daphne Tan, 3-1, in the best-of-five championship match at Hong Kong Bowling City.
Pluhowsky, who also won gold medals in doubles, trios and team event, took the opening game of the match 300-226 on the Paris lane condition before losing 238-219 in Game 2 on the Seoul lane condition.
When she returned to the Paris pattern, she started with another string of strikes - this time getting 11 in a row before leaving a 10 pin on the final shot for a 299-234 victory. She then took the title with a 223-191 victory in Game 4.
"I didn't realize I was going to strike for days on the Paris pattern," Pluhowsky said. "I just broke that lane down the same way I had been and got really lucky that the carry was good on that lane. The coaches kept the mood light and that really helped, too."
The victory capped off a stellar week by Team USA as it brought home four gold medals and three bronze medals. The victories in the doubles, trios and team events were the first since the 1987 World Championships in Helsinki, Finland.
"It has been a really long week and a lot of games, but I'm excited about what we've been able to accomplish," Pluhowsky said. "It's been a long time since the United States has been dominating at this event, and we wanted to get that feeling back."
Two other U.S. players took part in the Masters competition, which featured the top 16 players in the all-events standings. Kelly Kulick lost in the quarterfinals to Tan, 3-1, while Liz Johnson dropped out in the first round with a 3-2 loss to Indonesia's Tannya Roumimper.
The 2011 World Women's Championships featured 171 bowlers from 33 countries. The teams competed in six disciplines - doubles, trios, team, singles, all-events and match-play Masters.
