BOWLING
Johnson gets fourth WNY Queens title
Liz Johnson is arguably one of the 10 best women bowlers in the world. So guess who ended up Sunday as the winner of the top division in the 11th Western New York Queens Tournament at AMF Thruway Lanes?
Johnson, who was the top qualifier with a 224.8 average, started with four strikes and breezed past Terry Zarcone, 230-193, in the championship match.
Having disposed of the local competition again — this was her fourth Western New York Queens title — Johnson soon will be off to the USBC Masters next month in Las Vegas and on to an under-35 women’s tournament in Tokyo.
“My approach now is just to relax and bowl without a lot of stress,” Johnson said. “The scores were pretty high today so I knew it was important to get off to a good start. I had one bad shot [a washout in the fifth frame] but I felt good.”
The top qualifiers also won the titles in Division 2 (180-199 average) and Division 3 (under 180 average).
Jessica Coughlin of Grand Island, an Erie Community College student who does not bowl for the Lady Kats, triumphed in Division 2 over Lisa Tycz, 224-172.
Lynn Dolegala of Lancaster, who had been away from tournament bowling for 15 years, triumphed in Division 3. Dolegala took the title with a 206-183 win over Felicia White, who climbed the ladder from No. 5.
In Division 1, No. 5 seed Sue Jeziorski rolled through her first two match play opponents easily, then she ran into No. 2 seed Zarcone, a fellow Greater Buffalo USBC Association Hall of Famer.
Zarcone, who has resumed bowling within the last month after surgery on her left (non-bowling) elbow, cooled off Jeziorski, 279-239. Zarcone struck in the first six frames to take charge early.
“Considering I just started bowling again, I’m not disappointed at all,” Zarcone said of her performance. “I couldn’t pick up the ball from the rack because of the surgery on my left arm, so I couldn’t bowl until about three weeks ago.”