Lady Lion bowler Amanda Greene earned one of four automatic spots for Junior Team USA 2012 by finishing third at this year's Junior Gold Championship youth tournament which wrapped up Friday in Henderson, Nevada. Greene, who was sitting in 8th place going into the final 16 games of round robin match play, used a barrage of 200+ games to compile a best-in-the-field 12-4 record in match play, averaging just over 207.
After a steady performance throughout the preliminary rounds of the tournament, Lindenwood team mate Emily Huddleston averaged just under 205 and went 7-8-1 in match play, but came up one spot short of an automatic berth to the team, finishing the tournament in 5th place. She had a grand total of 9,490 for the 46 tournament games and match play bonus. A national committee selected two at-large bids for Junior Team USA, but Huddleston was not one of them. She still stayed positive. “No bid, but that's OK,” she said shortly after getting the news, “I'm just thankful that I made it this far.”
Greene's run to the top four hit a snag on the first day of the tournament. In her first of three preliminary six-game blocks, she shot 1,088 for a 181 average and was sitting in 280th place. That would dampen the spirits of any bowler, but Greene stayed confident. “I knew I didn't match up well on the first (lane oil) pattern when everyone else did. I went into the rest of the week as if I had nothing to lose, never gave up and kept fighting all the way to the end.” That mindset paid off as she averaged over 207 the rest of the way moving up 240 spots in just one block alone.
Greene reflected on what making Junior USA Team meant to her, “It's a major accomplishment and it means the world to me! I've always looked up to past team members and wearing the Team USA jersey will be a great honor and privilege.” Greene becomes the 7th Junior Team USA member to also represent Lindenwood on the lanes.
Overall, Lindenwood bowling was well represented at the 2011 Junior Gold Championships as three ladies and three men from the team advanced to the semi-final round which consisted of the top 144 men and top 72 women. Brittney Morton finished 31st in the women's division with a total of 5,842 for 30 games (194.73 average). Jacob Setchell was the highest finishing Lion in the men's division at 35th with a total of 6,082 (202.73 average). Kevin Jones was 50th with a total of 5,984 (199.47 average) and Blake Paris was 116th with a total of 5,787 (192.90 average). The overall field included 1,070 men and 578 women from all across the United States as well as Puerto Rico and Canada.
