July 22, 2016
INDIANAPOLIS—Jordan Newham was one of the hottest bowlers Friday as the field was trimmed and trimmed again at the Junior Gold Tournament and as a result, the Vanderbilt sophomore is one of eight competitors left as action moves to the final day.
Newham had lingered back in the huge pack but gained momentum Thursday and sizzled most of Friday. The Illinois product made the match play round of 16 in the last spot and promptly crushed No. 1 seeded Heather Penatzer of Tucson with scores of 290 and 253 to advance in the winners bracket. At one point the Commodore sophomore strung 17 straight strikes, 11 in a row to close game one and them opening with a half dozen more in Game 2.
It’s hard to maintain that kind of altitude and Newham fell into the loser’s bracket of the double-elimination set-up, bowing to Haley Cummins, Huber Heights, Ohio, in the second round. Play concludes Saturday in the marathon event, regarded as one of the nation’s premier junior tournaments.
Two incoming freshmen had good runs. Adel Wahner of Las Cruces, N.M. was 34th, missing the cut to 16, while Bryanna Leyen of Perry Hall, Md. finished 77th.
Compete coverage is found on bowl.com.
