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The "String Killer"
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| Women bowlers are immune to the “string killer”. At least that holds true for Rebecca O'Donnell who now has rolled her second 300 of the season while bowling in the 700 club doubles tournament with partner Mike Sheehan. I asked Becca what was going through her head in the tenth frame. She said “I was telling myself to keep my feet slow and don't tug the ball, but honestly, it was the string killer that was really on my mind. I knew that you were hiding somewhere videotaping me”. I'm glad I did because now we can all witness this feat, especially her mother, Diane, and sister, Denise, who weren't there to watch the excitement. For those of you who aren't familiar with the “string killer”, it is the camcorder owned by the local bowling association and has a reputation of ending streaks of strikes. Unfortunately, Tim Bachman Jr. was snake bitten in the first game when having the front ten strikes before leaving a lazy 10 pin. It's not intended to actually break off potential 300 games, but to showcase our bowlers on the website in the event of this great success. When asked what was the big difference between this 300 and the first one, Becca replied that she wasn't as nervous as she was with her first 300, also noting that she was less shaky. Even though this time around she was bowling in a tournament mostly entered by men, and they were all intently watching, she still felt more comfortable, even with the center very quiet. So what is Becca's success this year over previous years? She stated that the biggest reason is now bowling four nights per week keeps her stroke a lot more consistent than ever. Becca bowls full time on Tuesday nights in the Bea Carpenter Memorial League, and on Sunday nights in the Chuck Blaisdell fun-timers mixed league. She also subs every week on Wednesday nights in the Hit N Miss League and on Saturday nights in the Saturday Night Mixed Doubles League, all of which are at Starlite Lanes. Going forward, Becca's goals for this year are to just stay consistent from night to night. She also has her eyes on a third women's Master's crown. Note to all women competing in the Citizen Masters this year, Becca is beatable but you'd better bring your 'A' game because she has her eyes focused on one thing, and that's the Helen Dudek Championship trophy. A note for all men that just sit back and think that she's just a woman bowler, I have a news flash for you, she's quickly becoming one of the area's top bowlers between women AND men. And just to put it in perspective, I've compiled her numbers this year into our Bowler of the Year point system and you might suspect a very high ranking…WRONG!! Becca has earned 40 points so far, which would put her currently in FIRST PLACE, ahead of Gary Feldman Jr, who has 27 points so far and is leading the men!! I'm not saying that by the end of the year, she will be still leading, but if she stopped bowling today, she would still be in the top 20 by the end of April, as most men don't earn that many points in a year. Congratulations Becca, we are all proud of you in your success!! Story by Mike Ryan |
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