BUFFALO, N.Y. – Four bowlers earned automatic spots on Junior Team USA in 2015 as qualifying concluded and the first rounds of match play took place Thursday at the 2014 Junior Gold Championships presented by Ebonite, Columbia 300, Track and Hammer.
Michael Preston of Oswego, Illinois, Wesley Low of Palmdale, California, Melanie Hannon of Cheektowaga, N.Y., and Chenoa Rhoades of Lafayette, Ind., all earned automatic spots on Junior Team USA by virtue of their 25-game totals in the 20-and-under division to end qualifying at AMF Airport Lanes.
The top two players in the qualifying standings who were age-eligible earned automatic spots on Junior Team USA. Tylor Green of Davison, Michigan, led the U20 boys qualifying but was ineligible to earn a Junior Team USA spot based on the age requirement.
The top 16 bowlers in the U20 and U15 divisions advanced to match play Thursday night with the first two rounds of competition taking place. Match play results and brackets can be found here.
Archived footage of Thursday’s live streaming can be found here.
Competition resumes Friday morning and continues until the champions have been crowned. The U12 division will also hit the lanes for their match play with the top eight boys and top eight girls advancing.
In addition to the automatic Junior Team USA spots awarded Thursday, additional automatic spots will be given to the winner and runner-up after bracket play in the U20 division. If one or both of the finalists in the bracket already earned a spot through qualifying, the automatic spot becomes an at-large selection.