Aug. 5, 2016
The biggest names in American bowling were announced Friday to represent the United States at the 2016 Pan American Bowling Confederation Adult Championship and Vanderbilt’s Josie Earnest was among those chosen.
Team USA, a six-woman all-star squad, also includes veterans Shannon O’Keefe of O’Fallon, Illinois, Shannon Pluhowsky of Dayton, Ohio, Missy Parkin of Laguna Hills, California, Danielle McEwan of Stony Point, New York, and Bryanna Cote of Red Rock, Arizona.
The event will be held on the lanes at Bolera Departamental in Cali, Colombia Sept. 12-23. The women will compete Sept. 19-23 while the men open the tourney from Sept. 12-17.
Earnest, the assistant bowling coach at Vanderbilt the past six years after a stellar college career that saw her win two NCAA Player of the Year awards, has a wealth of experience on Junior Team USA and Team USA. Ten of the 12 USA bowlers have similar experience.
Earnest has bowled well this summer, no doubt able to focus on her own game after spending most of her year working with the Commodore bowlers. In July she finished among the top four at the WPBA Rochester Open and will compete soon in a televised finish of that major tournament.
Team USA has been dominant at past PABCON events, winning 258 total medals, 150 more than Mexico, which is second on the medal table with 108. Recent events include the 2015 PABCON Men’s Championships in San Juan, Puerto Rico, 2014 PABCON Women’s Championships in Cali and the 2012 combined PABCON Adult Championships in Las Vegas.
Competitors in 2016 will bowl for medals in six disciplines – singles, doubles, trios, team, all-events and Masters at the 20-lane Bolera Departamental.
