23rd October, Riga: Shannon Pluhowsky of USA, who led from the start of the 2002 AMF Bowling World Cup at Riga, Latvia since Day 1, cruised into the top 24 second round comfortably ahead of second place Pascale Moynot of France and Mexico's Teresa Piccini in third.

Pluhowsky's record-breaking 1230 in the final 5 games of the 20-game first round gave her an easy entry into the top 24 second round when the tournament resumes in intense competition. The 20 year-old Phoenix resident, who led from the word "go" on Sunday amassed a total of 4700 for her four day effort. She was 309 pins clear of France's Pascale Moynot in second with 4391 while Mexico's Teresa Piccini picked up her pace in the last five to finish third overall with 4304.

England were celebrating when Nikki Harvey, like her teammate Wayne Greenall in the men's division, made the cut for the next round in fourth with 4279 ahead of 1999 Worlc Cup champion, Amanda Bradley of Australia dropping a place to fifth with 4254. The biggest mover on this block was Japan's Mari Kimura who shot up from 13th yesterday to sixth just two pins behind the Australian. Malaysia's Wendy Chai also joined her teammate to qualify in 7th with 4245.

The top 24 women who qualified today, will bowl 12 more games Thursday to make it to the next round of top 8 quarterfinals which will be played on Friday.

AMF Bowling Products Inc. is a world leader in the manufacturing and marketing of high quality bowling products. AMF Bowling Worldwide, Inc., its parent company, is the world’s largest bowling company, owning and operating 490 bowling centers around the world. Information about AMF is available on the Internet at www.amf.com.

For detailed scores, please click here.

23rd October, Riga: England's Wayne Greenall, scorer of the second perfect game of the 2002 AMF Bowling World Cup at Riga, Latvia topped the field of 24 second round qualifiers at the end of the 20-game first round from overnight leader, Kai Guenther of Germany in second with Australia's Paul Trotter in third.

Greenall's superb 1211 in the final 5 games took him to the top with a total of 4740 averaging 237.0 on lines of 256, 242, 207, 279 and 227. Germany's Kai Guenther, the surprise leader after 15 games yesterday, did well with 1130 for a total of 4729 in second just 11 pins away. Australia's Paul Trotter, who scored the first perfect game and the championship's 16th on day one, maintained his third position with 4665 for the next round.

Singapore's Remy Ong, the star of the 14th Asian Games in Busan with three Gold medals, finished strongly in fourth spot with 4662 ahead of the consistent Filipino, Christian Jan R. Suarez in fifth with 4594. 1999 World champion, Ahmed Shaheen of Qatar, who led after 10 games, qualified for the next round despite dropping to sixth with 4565.

2000 World Cup runner-up and 2002 World Tenpin Masters champion, Tore Torgersen of Norway surprisingly missed the cut in 25th place, just two pins shy of the final qualifier, Chen Chao-Yu of Chinese Taipei with 4264.

The top 24 men who qualified will bowl 12 more games Thursday to determine the top 8 to advance to the Round of 8 quarterfinals action Friday.

AMF Bowling Products Inc. is a world leader in the manufacturing and marketing of high quality bowling products. AMF Bowling Worldwide, Inc., its parent company, is the world’s largest bowling company, owning and operating 490 bowling centers around the world. Information about AMF is available on the Internet at www.amf.com.

For detailed scores, please click here.

22nd October, Riga: Shannon Pluhowsky of USA continued to dominate the 72-woman field at the 2002 AMF Bowling World Cup, at Toss Boulinga Halle in Riga, Latvia building up a 144-pin over second place Pascale Moynot of France and 1999 champion, Amanda Bradley of Australia in third.

Pluhowsky, a resident of Phoenix who competes for the University of Nebraska bowling team, amassed 1,190 more pins in her five-game set Tuesday night to compile a 15-game total of 3470 pins and a 231.33 average. She holds a 144-pin edge over nearest challenger Pascale Moynot of France. Moynot is averaging 221.73 with 3326 pins, 115 pins ahead of the 1999 Bowling World Cup champion Amanda Bradley of Australia.

Pluhowsky credited her steady performance to the presence of her college coach, Bill Straub, in Riga for the tournament. "Coach knows my game better than anyone. If anything is going wrong, he can spot it the quickest, because he works with me every day. It gives me an extra level of comfort and security for him to be here," said Pluhowsky.

"Being the tournament leader is nice, but the goal here is to make it to the top 8, for the quarterfinals. Still, being the leader shows me that my hard work and preparation is paying off."

Malaysia's Wendy Chai, bowling in her first World Cup, also did well to recover from a poor second block. Chai made up four places from 8th back to fourth, which she occupied on the first day. Chai scored 1093 for a 3173 total.

Mexico's Teresa Piccini, who was third after 10 games, dropped two places to fifth with 3165 while Austria's Ivonne Altmuller continued to slide further back to sixth with 3161. England's Nikki Harvey moved three notches up from 10th to 7th with 3158 followed by Colombia's Sara Vargas (3135), Philippines' Josephine L. Canare (3101) and Finland's Heidi Larnia (3092) in 8th to the top 10th places respectively.

Qualifying for all bowlers continues through Wednesday night, when the fields are cut to the top 24 men and women. Those players bowl 12 more games Thursday to determine the top 8 who advance to the Round of 8 quarterfinals action Friday.

AMF Bowling Products Inc. is a world leader in the manufacturing and marketing of high quality bowling products. AMF Bowling Worldwide, Inc., its parent company, is the world’s largest bowling company, owning and operating 490 bowling centers around the world. Information about AMF is available on the Internet at www.amf.com.

Story by Lydia Rypcinski, AMF Bowling World Cup Media Coordinator. For detailed scores, please click here.

22nd October, Riga: Germany’s Kai Guenther, bowling in his first international championship, surprised the 83-man at Toss Boulinga Halle by grabbing the lead in the 2002 AMF Bowling World Cup, underway in Riga, Latvia with England's Wayne Greenall in second and first-day leader Paul Trotter of Australia in third.

Guenther’s 1254-pin series for Tuesday morning’s five-game block pushed him past England’s Wayne Greenall by 70 pins, 3599-3529. Guenther is averaging 239.93 for 15 games and is confident he can continue the pace to make it to the Round of 8 and the quarterfinals that begin Friday.

"I surprised myself a little, because it seemed so easy today," Guenther said. "I felt very comfortable on the lanes. I think that making it to the top 8 will not be a problem, but once you get there, anything can happen. So I just have to see if I can keep performing well."

Monday’s leader, Ahmed Shaheen of Qatar, dropped to fifth after a subpar performance Tuesday. He currently totals 3471 pins with a 231.4 average. "It was not my day. Nothing I tried worked. I left 10-pins or splits [instead of strikes]. Maybe I was too relaxed after doing so well yesterday."

Australia’s Paul Trotter, who together with Greenall owns one of the two 300 games rolled in the tournament thus far, is in third place with 3491 pins and a 232.73 average. Christian Jan Suarez of the Philippines is in fourth, with 3479 pins and a 231.93 average.

Qualifying for all bowlers continues through Wednesday night, when the fields are cut to the top 24 men and women. Those players bowl 12 more games Thursday to determine the top 8 who advance to the Round of 8 quarterfinals action Friday.

AMF Bowling Products Inc. is a world leader in the manufacturing and marketing of high quality bowling products. AMF Bowling Worldwide, Inc., its parent company, is the world’s largest bowling company, owning and operating 490 bowling centers around the world. Information about AMF is available on the Internet at www.amf.com.

Story by Lydia Rypcinski, AMF Bowling World Cup Media Coordinator. For detailed scores, please click here.

21st October, Riga: Qatar's Ahmed Shaheen, the 1999 Bowling World Cup champion, averaged 261.4 Monday to take the lead in the men's division of the 2002 AMF Bowling World Cup at Toss Boulinga Halle in Riga, Latvia from England's Wayne Greenall in second and Philippines' C.J. Suarez in third.

Shaheen's 1307 pins for five games give him a 10-game total of 2449 pins and a 244.50 overall average. The Qatari champion, who finished second in last year's tournament in Thailand, holds a 25-pin lead over England's Wayne Greenall, who rolled a perfect 300 score in his final game of the night.

"Yesterday I played well but I had two not-so-good games, and I knew I needed to make them up today," Shaheen said. "I kept telling myself, and my coach kept telling me, that I needed to relax, stay smooth, and just hit my mark; if I did those things, the pins would do the rest.

"I really want to win this year, because there are many good young bowlers coming up the ranks in my country, and I am afraid that this might be the last time I can win our qualifying tournament. This is my chance, and it might be my last chance."

Greenall's 300 game, the second of the 2002 tournament, pushed his 10-game total pinfall to 2424 pins. His last-game binge pushed him into second place with a 242.4 average. The Philippines' Christian Jan Suarez dropped one spot into third, with 2368 total pins and a 236.8 average.

Sunday's leader, Paul Trotter of Australia, tumbled to seventh place following Monday's play. His 10-game total pinfall stands at 2274 pins.

Ethiopia's late arrival in the tournament Monday night boosted the country total to 85. Tamrat Kebede missed Sunday's round due to travel and visa problems. He went into Monday's action in last place, with a score of 0. He tallied 848 pins Monday for a 169.6 average to remain in 83rd and last place.

Competition resumes at host center Toss Boulinga Halle Tuesday, when the first men's squad takes the lanes at 8 a.m. Qualifying for all bowlers continues through Wednesday night, when the field will be cut to the top 24 men and women. They will bowl 12 more games Thursday to determine the top 8 who advance to the Round of 8 quarterfinals action Friday.

AMF Bowling Products Inc. is a world leader in the manufacturing and marketing of high quality bowling products. AMF Bowling Worldwide, Inc., its parent company, is the world’s largest bowling company, owning and operating 490 bowling centers around the world. Information about AMF is available on the Internet at www.amf.com.

Story by Lydia Rypcinski, AMF Bowling World Cup Media Coordinator. For detailed scores, please click here.

21st October, Riga: U.S. national amateur champion Shannon Pluhowsky continues to set the pace for the 72-woman field at the 2002 AMF Bowling World Cup, underway at Toss Boulinga Halle in Riga, Latvia by a comfortable 80 pins over second place Ivonne Atlmuller of Austria while Mexico's Teresa Piccini shot up to third.

Pluhowsky increased her tournament average to 228 with a 1159 total for five games in the morning rounds. Her 10-game total of 2280 puts her 80 pins ahead of Austria's Ivonne Altmuller, who tossed a 279 game Monday morning on her way to a 1081 series. Altmuller is averaging 220 on the strength of her 2200 10-game total.

Pluhowsky revealed a unique form of motivation working for her this week. "Andrew [Cain, the USA's representative in the men's division and a lifelong friend] and I have a friendly rivalry going this week. We haven't made a bet or anything, but he knows he'll never hear the end of it if I beat him on any given day!"

Teresa Piccini of Mexico rose five places to third on the strength of a 1076 series Monday. She has 2177 pins and a 217.70 average. France's Pascale Moynot dropped one spot to fourth place; she has 2163 pins and a 216.3 average.

Italy's Raffaella Fusco is in fifth place with 2,112 pins and a 211.20 average. Latvia's Renata Blauma is in 37th place with 1842 pins and a 184.2 average.

The women return to host center Toss Boulinga Halle for their third five games Tuesday morning, beginning at 8 a.m. The men will be starting their second block shortly, beginning at 2 p.m. All bowlers will roll 20 games before the fields are cut to the top 24 Wednesday.

AMF Bowling Products Inc. is a world leader in the manufacturing and marketing of high quality bowling products. AMF Bowling Worldwide, Inc., its parent company, is the world’s largest bowling company, owning and operating 490 bowling centers around the world. Information about AMF is available on the Internet at www.amf.com.

Story by Lydia Rypcinski, AMF Bowling World Cup Media Coordinator. For detailed scores, please click here.

20th October, Riga: Paul Trotter of Australia opened his 2002 AMF Bowling World Cup campaign by rolling the 15th perfect 300 game in the tournament's history and assumed a commanding lead in the 83-man field after the first five games from Philippine's C.J. Saurez in second and Finland's Mika Luoto in third.

Trotter, a 30-year-old customer service representative who lives in suburban Melbourne, followed the 300 with scores of 298-298-190-205 for a total of 1291 pins and a 258.2 average. His first three games totaled 896, a Bowling World Cup record, and just four pins shy of the all-time record of 900, which is owned by five people.

"I came here hoping just to place in the middle of the field, maybe make the top 24," Trotter said. "It got to me a little after the third game, when I realized that everyone in the bowling center was watching me. You just want to do well so badly when that happens that you start concentrating on the result instead of the action."

Despite his record-setting effort, Trotter outpaced early leader Christian Jan Suarez of the Philippines by just 48 pins. Suarez sits in second place with 1243 pins and a 248.6 average. Mika Luoto of Finland is third with 1220 pins and a 244 average.

Kai Guenther of Germany did well to finish fourth with 1210 followed closely by Andrew Cain of USA in fifth with 1176.

Bowlers from 84 countries are competing in this year's tournament. Latvia's male and female bowlers, Jury Ryazansky and Renata Blauma, are in 52nd and 32nd places in their respective divisions. Each is averaging 189. The men return to host center Toss Boulinga Halle for their second five games Monday afternoon, beginning at 2 p.m. The women return in the morning, beginning at 8 a.m. All bowlers will roll 20 games before the fields are cut to the top 24 Wednesday.

AMF Bowling Products Inc. is a world leader in the manufacturing and marketing of high quality bowling products. AMF Bowling Worldwide, Inc., its parent company, is the world’s largest bowling company, owning and operating 490 bowling centers around the world. Information about AMF is available on the Internet at www.amf.com.

Story by Lydia Rypcinski, AMF Bowling World Cup Media Coordinator. For detailed scores, please click here.

20th October, Riga: Shannon Pluhowsky of the USA leads the 2002 AMF Bowling World Cup in Riga after the first five games of competition in the 72-woman field just 2 pins ahead of Austria's Ivonne Atlmuller in second with France's Pascale Moynot in third.

Pluhowsky, a 20-year-old Phoenix resident who bowls for the University of Nebraska, rolled a five-game set of 1121 pins and averaged 224.20 to fashion a two-pin lead over Austria’s Ivonne Altmuller. Altmuller posted a near-perfect 299 score in her final game of the morning to capture the second position with a total of 1119 pins; she is maintaining a 223.80 average.

"I'm very happy with the way I bowled," Altmuller said. "I found a good line right away and am having a good time with it."

"I had a 300 game two weeks ago in my hometown and couldn't believe I almost did it again. There is not a big difference between 299 and 300 - it is only one pin, and with a little luck, you have a perfect game."

Pascale Moynot of France, who has competed in several Bowling World Cups, is chasing the leaders with 1101 pins and sits in third place after five games. Wendy Chai of Malaysia is in fourth place with 1096 pins, and the 1999 women’s AMF Bowling World Cup champion, Amanda Bradley, rounds out the top five with a five-game total of 1092 pins.

The women return to host center Toss Boulinga Halle for their second five games Monday morning, beginning at 8 a.m. The men take to the lanes for their first blocks of five games this afternoon, starting at 2:30 p.m.

AMF Bowling Products Inc. is a world leader in the manufacturing and marketing of high quality bowling products. AMF Bowling Worldwide, Inc., its parent company, is the world’s largest bowling company, owning and operating 490 bowling centers around the world. Information about AMF is available on the Internet at www.amf.com.

Story by Lydia Rypcinski, AMF Bowling World Cup Media Coordinator. For detailed scores, please click here.