Aug. 29, 2015
DETROIT—Vanderbilt assistant bowling coach Josie Earnest made a valiant run at the championship of the Professional Women’s Bowling Association’s Detroit Open, only to fall just short in the semi-final match and finish third. It was Earnest’s best professional finish to date on the young professional circuit.
Earnest, the two-time NCAA Player of the Year while starring for Vanderbilt from 2007-2010, had beaten Hall of Famer Kelly Kulick in the first round of the four-woman stepladder, 169-153, and was battling another legend, Liz Johnson, in the second round.
Johnson prevailed in the game, 235-202, in the highest scoring game of the stepladder when Earnest split in the 10th frame, ending her chances for the title. Johnson would go on to win the $10,000 first prize in the next game.
“I feel really good about my tournament,” Josie said afterwards. “It was a confidence booster.”
She admitted that with her coaching duties and obligations to the team she has not bowled as much as she would prefer to get tournament sharp. Earnest had also missed three of the PWBA’s tournaments this summer but will compete next week in New Jersey to finish the season.
Josie had placed sixth in the 12-game qualifier in the field of 120 pros, the largest tourney of the year. With the top 16 vying for the four step-ladder spots, she was as high as second and as low as 10th before making a hard charge to finish fourth with a 199 average.
“This was the hardest pattern of the season,” she said. “Normally one would need to average 210 or better to even have a chance but in an odd way, the low scores probably helped me because I feel confident making spares. I had a 169 with one open and Kelly had a 153 with four opens to give you an idea of how this game can play out.”
More information can be found on bowl.com.