Kats take nine medals in international bowling
8/1/2011 3:55:00 PM | Women's Bowling
Neishka Cardona, a member of the inaugural Bearkat women's bowling team that earned a berth in the NCAA Division I Elite Eight and finished No. 7 in the country in 2011, competed for the Puerto Rico team and took medals in five of the six events.
Elise Bolton, a member of the Junior Team USA, will join the Bearkats as a freshman in 2011-12, won medals in three vents.
On the first day of competition, Bolton (a 2011 Sam Houston signee who will begin competing for the Bearkats this fall) took the silver medal in the sub-20 girls singles while Cardona (who will be a sophomore this fall at SHSU) rallied to finish third and take the bronze medal.
On the second day of the event, Cardona and her Puerto Rico teammate Kristie Lopez took gold in the girls doubles with a total of 2,560 pins. Bolton and her Team USA partner Danielle McEwan finished in sixth place with 2,364 pins.
The win by Cardona and Lopez represents the first gold medal in the under 20 girls doubles in Puerto Rico's women's bowling history
The Bearkat pair ended up dueling each other in the finals of the Masters match on Saturday afternoon in the final event of the competition.
Cardona won 2-1 in the best of three match, taking the opening game 234-212 and the third game 236-225. Bolton won the second game 234-194.
The 2011 PABCON Youth Championships were held at the Cibao Bowling Center in Santiago.
More than 100 bowlers from 16 countries are competing in the PABCON Youth Championships, which features two divisions, one for bowlers 20 and younger and the other for bowlers 16 and younger. Junior Team USA will compete only in the under-20 division.
"I am so proud of both of them," Sam Houston head bowling coach Brad Hagen said. "Neishka and Elise showed great poise, maturity, and athleticism when bowling each other in the finals. They were respectful and cordial to each other but never lost any of there competitive edge.
"I wish they both could have won because they each bowled great all week but thats the nature of the beast. I can't wait for them to both be able to bowl together and take everything they have experienced and learned this summer and share it with the team. Both of these young lady's a long with the other six will be major contributors this season."
Cardona defeated another member of the USA team in the semifinals with a 2-0 victory over Kaitlin Quinn. Bolton defeat Colombia's Diana Gomez in the semifinals.
"I'm happy because I made good shots, and I was able to bring home a silver medal for our team," said Bolton, who will bowl collegiately next season with Cardona at Sam Houston State. "I don't think there was much else I could have done in the match. Neishka just bowled great."
PABCON Youth Masters Sub-20 Championship Final video available at http://www.ustream.tv/recorded/16200985
Players Mentioned
