Johnson aggressive in quarterfinals at U.S. Women's Open
Johnson's aggressiveness paid off as she made a mid-game ball change to defeat Missy Bellinder of Fullerton, Calif., 215-194 in the quarterfinals to earn a spot in the live ESPN-televised semifinals at 1 p.m. Eastern on Oct. 14 at the National Bowling Stadium in Reno, Nev.
"One of my weaknesses has been staying with the same ball too long," said Johnson, who won the 1996 U.S. Women's Open. "I knew Missy had a great shot, so I had to be aggressive in my ball choices. Even though I started the game with three strikes, I knew the ball I was using was burning up and was just a little too strong, so I made the change. I went to a ball that was a little cleaner through the front of the lane and smoother on the back end."
Johnson said she got off to a disappointing start in qualifying. After the first eight games, she was in 43rd place before moving up to 36th place after two days. She made her move in the final two days of qualifying, eventually settling into 11th place.
"I started out pretty slow the beginning of the week and my focus wasn't always there," Johnson said. "Last time we had a U.S. Women's Open in 2003, I didn't even make the cut. The start of the week began that way, and I was fighting the whole week mentally. But I never gave up and kept the fighting attitude. That's how I felt in the quarterfinals, I just really wanted to come through."
Leading by 10 pins in the sixth frame, Bellinder left a pocket 7-10 split in the seventh frame and then followed it up with a missed 10 pin in the eighth frame, giving Johnson a chance to take control of the match. Johnson then stepped up and threw strikes in the eighth and ninth frames to pull away.
Despite the loss, Bellinder, who was the collegiate bowler of the year in 2003 at Cal State Fullerton, said she enjoyed the experience.
"I kept telling people that I was just going to go out there and have a great time and that's what I did," Bellinder said. "The environment was awesome, and I tried to have fun with it. Overall, I'm pretty happy with my first performance on television."
In the opening matches, Bellinder, the No. 14 seed, overcame a slow start to upset No. 3 seed and 2003 U.S. Women's Open champion Kelly Kulick. Bellinder opened with back-to-back splits but put together a string of five strikes near the end of the game to win 233-196. In the other match, Johnson pulled ahead of Team USA's Shannon Pluhowsky of Phoenix early and never trailed in a 226-193 victory.
Johnson joins Carolyn Dorin-Ballard of North Richland Hills, Texas, as two of the four players to advance to the semifinals. In next week's telecast, which will air Sunday, Sept. 30 at 1 p.m. Eastern on ESPN, Lynda Barnes of Double Oak, Texas, takes on Amanda Burgoyne of Newport, Minn., while Amy Stolz of Castle Rock, Colo., battles Michelle Feldman of Skaneateles, N.Y.
The quarterfinal rounds and qualifying for the U.S. Women's Open took place Aug. 13-18 at the National Bowling Stadium in Reno.
The 2007 U.S. Women's Open, a USBC event, is sponsored by Banquet, the Eldorado Hotel/Casino in Reno, Nev., the National Bowling Stadium and Kegel, the official lane maintenance provider for USBC.
By Lucas Wiseman USBC Communications