July 16, 2010
INDIANAPOLIS, IN—Call her the Golden Girl.
Brittni Hamilton, one of several representing the Black and Gold colors of Vanderbilt University, won the United States Junior Amateur title Friday, better known as the USBC Junior Gold Championship.
The All-American from Webster, N.Y. bested an original field of 521 bowlers who trekked to the Speedway City in hopes of earning a spot on the Junior Team USA. Not only did Hamilton win, her monster afternoon set drained nearly all of the suspense away, leaving fans only to wonder by just how big her final margin would become. It would be 247 pins and her 1,724 afternoon finish was the best of the field.
“This was my last year at the Golds and I’d come close before,” Hamilton explained afterwards. “This time I came to win. I took it one day at a time and edged into the lead in the semis. This morning I fought through things and was able to pull away during the afternoon.”
Hamilton explained at least one reason for the high gear she was able to find.
“I changed balls the last game of the morning set and had a 259,” she revealed, “and I just kept using that ball. I hit a hit stretch and had a real good look. I knew things were going pretty well but I wasn’t sure where the second place girl was so I kept focus. By the last game I knew it was over.”
While this victory would be considered her biggest, Hamilton’s title is also a feather in the cap of Vanderbilt’s program. The Commodores have had strong showings for several years but never a winner. A year ago, Brittni placed fourth while teammate Josie Earnest was second. Both left Indy disappointed. Not this year.
Vanderbilt got its second Top 10 finisher when sophomore Jessica Earnest made a huge run of her own to close with a six-game block of 1,701 to place tenth among the field of 16 survivors of the long week. Included in her afternoon scores was a powerful 279, the best game of the day.
“This is really Brittni’s victory to covet,” said the elated Commodore head coach, John Williamson. “But I hope in some way it is a demonstration of how young women progress both physically and mentally when they come into our program. Last year we had the runner-up and fourth-place finishers here. Our team members are able to go anywhere and compete to win.”
Hamilton and her a contingent of her Junior Team USA teammates head to Finland Tuesday to compete against the world’s best.
For the girls final standings, go to: http://ftp.bowl.com/2010-juniorgold/girlsfinals.pdf and for full coverage of the event, go to www.bowl.com. That coverage will include which two at-large young women will be chosen by the national selection committee in addition to the top four finishers from this week.