Former Husker Bond Wins USBC Queens

Reno, Nev. - Former Husker Julia Bond won the USBC Queens Bowling Tournament after winning every match throughout bracket and finals play.

Julia Bond, the number one seed for the stepladder finals, would need to be defeated twice by Missy Parkin for the title. Bond picked up where she left off and collected a strike and two spares to hold a 49-35 lead through the first three frames of the matchup. After the sixth frame, Bond led 108-79 with Parkin having had two open frames throughout the match. Heading into the final frame, Bond held a 178-136 lead. The lead would be enough as Bond went on to win the match and the tournament.

Liz Kuhlkin, the second seed in the stepladder finals, bowled against third seed Missy Parkin, falling 211-223. Both bowlers opened the match with spares but Kuhlkin bowled two strikes to take a 50-49 lead after three frames. After six frames, Kuhlkin had extended her lead to 131-116, but ended the sixth frame with a 5-3 open. She rebounded by getting a strike in the seventh frame. The ninth frame led to a 181-173 lead for Kuhlkin with Parkin behind her every step of the way. In the final frame, Parking came up with three straight strikes to Kuhlkin's spare and strike to take the victory.

Bond was seeded tenth entering bracket play was victorious over Maria Jose Ridriguez in the first round, scoring 656-603. She advanced to face former Husker Gazmine Mason, walking away with a 684-577 win. She continued to win by defeating Stefanie Johnson 734-636 and Liz Johnson 759-650. Bond went into the stepladder finals as the first seed, earning the spot by beating Diana Zavjalova 723-652 and Kuhlkin 663-620.

Kuhlkin headed into bracket play ranked fourth and quickly took down Nicole Kleutgen 572-548 and Emily Eckhoff 720-596. Kuhlkin continued her success with three straight wins against Elise Bolton (657-574), Missy Parkin (663-569) and Verity Crawley (688-550). Her only loss heading into the stepladder finals came against Bond, falling 663-620 to put her as the second seed.

#29 Erin McCarthy fell 526-631 to Eckhoff in the first round before going on a tear in the elimination bracket with seven straight victories. McCarthy knocked off Kleutgen 672-607 and Estefania Cobo 609-608 before facing Gazmine Mason. She defeated Mason 735-609 to face and defeat Shannon O'Keefe 730-716 and Carolun Dorin-Ballard 708-604. McCarthy took home a couple more wins against Clata Guerrero (691-680) and Jordan Richard (726-689) before bowling a 575 to earn a sixth place finish.

Lindsay (Baker) Boomershine entered the bracket as the 63rd seed but upset second-seed Rocio Restrepo 580-565. Boomershine continued the Cinderella run, defeating Brandi Branka 619-569 before falling 592-652 to Liz Johnson. In the elimination bracket Boomershine earned a 657-610 victory over Taylor Bailey and won 623-563 against Stefanie Johnson. Boomershine fell to Missy Parkin 576-688 to end her run.

Diandra Asbaty came into the bracket as the 62nd seed, but upset third seeded Stephanie Zavala 679-603 in the first round before falling to Kayla Pashina 619-656. Asbaty proceeded to the elimination bracket and kept her hopes alive with a 656-628 win over Abby Ragsdale. She was defeated by Sandra Gongora 747-580 to be eliminated from contention.

#42 Mason upset 23rd seed Sydney Brummett 639-588 before falling to Bond 684-577 in the next match. Mason moved to the elimination bracket and beat Blair Blumenscheid 611-567 before falling to McCarthy.

Other former Huskers that bowled include Elise Bolton (20th), Kayla Pashina (23rd), Emily Eckhoff (39th) Valerie Bercier (52nd), Shannon Pluhowsky (54th) and Amanda Vermilyea (58th). Vermilyea was inducted as a member of the Nebraska Hall of Fame last year.