Cherie Tan Wins First PWBA Title at 2016 Storm Sacramento Open

7/20/2016

L AS VEGAS - Cherie Tan capped an impressive four-week stretch for her and her teammates from Singapore as she delivered in the final frame to capture the 2016 Professional Women's Bowling Association Storm Sacramento Open.

Tan, who earned the top seed for the stepladder finals by posting a 6-0 record in match play, connected on two strikes in the 10th frame of the title match to outlast Shannon Pluhowsky of Dayton, Ohio, 208-205, to win her first PWBA title. The stepladder aired nationally on CBS Sports Network.

The back-and -forth championship match saw Tan make the first mistake, leaving a 4-6-7-10 split in the fifth frame, but Pluhowsky, who also attacks the lanes from the left side, returned the favor in the seventh when she was unable to convert a 7 pin.

Trailing by five pins heading into the 10th frame, Pluhowsky, who also was looking for her first PWBA title, stepped up first and recorded two strikes to force Tan to match the double for the top prize of $10,000.
The 28-year-old Tan trusted the ball change she made on the right lane in the eighth frame and matched Pluhowsky with two strikes and six pins to secure the win.
"The ball I was using was going a tad longer on that lane and wasn't kicking out the 7 pin," said Tan, the runner-up at the 2014 QubicaAM F World Cup ."I decided to move to something that reads up earlier, and it ended up kicking out the corners for me. It was intense. I just stuck to my routine and took it one shot at a time."

Pluhowsky earned her spot in the finals by defeating Hui Fen New, one of six members o f Team Singapore in the 80-player field, in an exciting semifinal match, 248-246. New needed to record a strike on her opening shot of the 10th frame to advance to the championship round but left a 10 pin to end her run up the stepladder. New, the only right-hander on the show, recorded a 257-199 win over Anggie Ramirez Perea of Austin, Texas, in the opening match.

Ta n's victory also marked the first win for a southpaw on the PWBA Tour since June 2003, when Tiffany Stanbrough captured the second of back-to-back victories to start the 2003 season at the Pepsi Rockford Classic in Rockford, Illinois. The PWBA went on hiatus later in the 2003 season but returned in 2015 after a commitment from the United States Bowling Congress and Bowling Proprietors' Association of America.

The talented group from Singapore returned home after a successful opening quarter to the 2016 PWBA Tour season.
Bernice Lim captured the 2016 USBC Queens in Las Vegas, while New recorded a pair of championship-round appearances. "It feels great, " Tan said . "Singapore has two wins, so this bodes well for our country and proves our program is doing well. We owe a big thanks to our federation and sponsors for their support."

Article was posted with permission from Stars & Strikes, America's Bowling Newsmagazine. www.starsandstrikesbowling.com