LADIES - SQUAD ONE - LONG OIL
Friday, May 4

Now it's the turn of the formidable ladies' division to take to the lanes, bowling their first eight-game block on the long oil pattern, the lanes conditioned to 44 feet.

Who's your choice? Well, Diandra Asbaty is quite a favorite with the crowd but she comes off a disappointing runner-up finish in the USBC Queens in Charlotte, North Carolina and then had to rush down here to Florida.

Then there's the defending champion, Sara Vargas from Colombia. She has the advantage of working here at the Kegel Training Center so is right up to date with the lanes.

There is so much talent assembled here that any other tournament running in the world right now will be wide open for the competitors.

Game 1:
A 278 opener from England's Zara Glover makes her intentions known to this field with just one leftie - no two-handers and no spinners!
The big shockwave is seeing Diandra Asbaty of the United States down in 25th place but it won't be long before she will be back in contention.

Game 2:
The guns they are a'blazing at the Kegel Corrall this morning. Now a 279 from Canada's Caroline Lagrange brings her up into second place but Glover still has four pins advantage.
A 241 from Asbaty brings her up from 25th to 18th and only one bowler, Paola Gomez from Colombia has yet to hit a 200 game.

Game 3:
A very handy 735 over the first three games keeps england's Zara Glover in first place and she has increased her lead to 28 pins over Canuck Caroline Lagrange.

The Canadian's 279 is still the highest game of the day and Gomez is still lacking a 200 game.

Game 4:
Well, Zara is still there at the top, withstanding and repelling all challengers. A 258 this time brings her 49 pins above the constant challenge of Caroline whilst the rest in the top eight chop and change. Now it is five from the American zone, one from Asia and two from Europe in the prestigious top eight.
Four more games to go and the pace is slowing.

Game 5:
It is hard to believe that Zara could dominate the leader board for so long and it is a case of fingers crossed that she doesn't suffer the fate of fellow countryman Paul Moor in the men's division last night. Paul led the field right up to the tenth frame of the last game and was then in a tied total pinfall with Remy Ong of Singapore. The $1,000 squad prize then went to the Asian as he had the highest last game. So one pin cost Paul a thousand dollars.
Diandra Asbaty is slowly climbing back up the leader board and looks a little happier than she did first thing this morning.
Another 278, this time from German Patricia Schwarz, now a resident of Finland, brought her up into fourth place.
It's now v-e-r-y interesting.

Game 6:
Now things are getting a little bit tighter. The gap between the frontrunners has dropped to 19 pins, so the next game will be vital for both players.
Steady bowling by Aumi Guerra from the Dominican Republic has brought her into contention, maybe from the wise coaching of Craig Woodhouse, the WBW Outstanding International Coach of 2007.
There are a lot more sub-200 games creeping into the equation now as the girls feel the pressure and also the fatigue. They've been out there on the lanes for over four hours, now and there are still two games to go.

Game 7:
Well, we thought it was coming and we're proved right. Caroline Lagrange stuck to her guns and a 202 shot her into pole position as Glover hit a lowly 177 after a 185 to surrender the lead.
Now the one to watch is Guerra as her bowling is so consistent and a high final game could promote her into first place to bag that $1,000 squad prize.

It is a genuine case of 'watch this space'.

Game 8:
And what a great final game this was - strings of strikes right across the house and Caroline Lagrange of Canada putting on a great spurt in the home straight with a 289 and a nice fat bundle of $1,000 for leading the squad.
Zara Glover fought back hard with a 269, but it was nowhere near enough to bridge the gap.
One of the last players to finish was Choy Poh Lai of Malaysia and she was on a string of ten strikes and looked really good for the tournament's first perfect game. Unfortunately, a stubborn four-pin stopped that happening ut she matched the 289 of Lagrange.
Perhaps surprisingly, there are just two Europeans in the current top octet. They face three from the Asian zone and three from the Americas.
Caroline Lagrange, a graduate of Wichita State University, which has one of the most comprehensive collegiate bowling programs, may be well known in Europe for her silver medal finish in the World Youth Championships in Berlin.
"The pin carry here is just great," she commented after the squad. "This is a huge event and it is wonderful to be playing alongside the best bowlers in the world. I'm just loving every minute here."
Our photo shows Tournament Director Kim Thorsgaard Jensen happily parting with the thousand dollars to Caroline Lagrange.