Nov. 13, 2014
Head Bowling Coach John Williamson has announced the signing of two highly regarded student-athletes to the national letter of intent. Jordan Newham is a highly recruited junior bowler from Aurora, Ill., and Kristin Quah is a decorated international competitor from Singapore.
“Both Jordan and Kristin have the academic and athletic backgrounds and capabilities to be very successful at Vanderbilt,” Williamson said. “We got to know them well and watched them closely as they were at the top of our list. Jordan attended our camp and Josie (assistant coach Earnest) and I watched Kristin at a tournament in Hong Kong last summer. They will be great additions to our university. Both wanted to bowl at a high level and both were attracted to our first class academic programs.”
Quah has been a member of the Singapore National Bowling Team since 2011 and has had the opportunity to compete internationally. In the 2014 Singapore International Open, she clinched the Silver Medal in the Youth Girls (Under 21) division and the Bronze Medal in the Women’s Open division, where she had a 221 average over 16 games.
She also had success in the 2013 Milo International Junior All Stars Championships where she had a high series of 757, claiming second runner-up in the Girls Open (Under 23) division. Kristin was also named the Singapore Youth Bowler of the Year in 2011 for her achievements throughout the year as well as being a good role model to the rest of the national team.
Quah attended Raffles Institution, one of the top junior colleges in Singapore and graduated from secondary school with an equivalent of a 3.9 GPA. She was also appointed a student leader in secondary school where she helped organize many activities for the school community.
Newham attended Metea Valley High in Aurora where she placed third in the 2014 Illinois State high school state finals with a 225 average. She was the 2014 Illinois sectional finals individual champion (233 ave.) and also the regional finals individual champion (229 ave.) Jordan won the 2014 Illinois “Star of Tomorrow” award.
Newham was second at the 2014 Illinois Pepsi State Finals. She was twice the Metea Valley Athlete of the Month, was all-conference for three years, placing first as a junior with a 229 average. She is a four-time Junior Gold qualifier and was ninth in 2012 in the under-15 division. She has two games of 299 and a 769 series.
Jordan has also been dominant on the junior circuit. Among her honors are championships at the 2014 Northwest Indiana Junior Tournament, the 2013 Elite Youth Tour, the 2013 Illinois State Scholarship Tour, the 2013 Illinois USBC All-Star Shootout, the 2013 Wisconsin Youth Challenge Series and the 2012 Elite Youth Tour.
Academically Newham was twice honored with the Upstate 8 Conference Academic Award.
