North American Bowling News
Phillips Repeats at Pinland, Claims 3rd Star
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| Photo courtesy WNDA |
Preston, Maryland's Susan Phillips put an exclamation point on the phrase 'Repeat', as she successfully defended her one-month old touring title in an impressive display over Canada's Connie Ward at Pinland Lanes in Dundalk, Maryland.
Labor Day Weekend of September 3rd and 4th for the Womens National Duckpin Association was filled with excitement and ultimate anticipation as the historic climax drew near.
The stepladder finals opened with a rematch of the finals of the June 2011 stop at Johnson's Lanes in Connecticut, as Canada's Kristi Lampman faced off against Glendale, Maryland's Mindy Thomas. Lampman again won the encounter with a little more room to spare than the previous matchup with a 162-135 performance.
The second of the scheduled 4 matches pitted fellow Canadian, Connie Ward against Kristi. Ward came out stroking as Lampman fell on hard times, leading to Connie winning 151-111.
In the semi-final of the stepladder festivities, Connie squared off against one of the two undefeated ladies during the divisional play, Baltimore's Jill Sachs. Ward maintained her torrid pace as Sachs couldn't get out of the starting blocks, and Connie won 168-106
With Ward's game running on all cylinders, she was well on pace with her pinfall dominance for the tournament, in which she outscored the field in the preliminary round, and during the divisional play.
The red hot Ward was now ready to face the top seed and August 2011 champion, Susan Phillips. Despite Connie being on a roll, Susan was unphased and she turned the tables on the challenger. Coming out the gate razor sharp, Phillips' high level of play would escalate as the match wore on, and when the smoke cleared, Susan completed her 'repeat' with a convincing 193-144 championship effort.
For Phillips, she matched her unblemished 5-0 mark from the prior event at Town Hall to go 12-0 in match play over the last 2 tournaments.