April 23, 2012
Highlights and Interviews | Results
EULESS, Texas — Vanderbilt assistant bowling coach Josie Earnest overcame a heart-breaking loss to Hall of Famer Carolyn Dorin-Ballard Monday morning to win a coveted seed at the United States Bowling Congress Queens Championship, one of the sport’s “major” events.
Earnest will carry the No. 5 seed into Tuesday night’s finals, which will be telecast live on ESPN2 beginning at 6 p.m. (Central). Just five bowlers make the final field.
Earnest had an impressive streak of victories against the sports’ biggest names Sunday but lost a three-pin decision to Dorin-Ballard in the winner’s bracket to begin Monday. Earnest could have won the match with a double in the 10th frame. She got the first strike but left a pin standing on her second ball, forcing her into the Contender’s Bracket where she resumed her winning ways.
Josie almost faced Vanderbilt graduating senior Brittni Hamilton in that bracket. Hamilton had a strong Monday run of her own but lost a 12-pin decision to Olivia Sandham one game before she would have met her former Commodore teammate and assistant coach. Earnest then beat Sandham to continue her advancement.
Final seeds were not established at this posting but Earnest will be joined by four other superstars of bowling as the tournament moves to Arlington’s International Training and Research Center. Complete information is found on bowl.com.