Danielle McEwan

Last updated
Danielle McEwan
Personal information
Born (1991-09-01) September 1, 1991 (age 32) [1]
Height1.73 m (5 ft 8 in)
Bowling Information
Affiliation PWBA, PBA
Dominant handRight (stroker delivery)
Wins9 PWBA Tour (2 majors)
2 WBT Women's Finals
Sponsors Storm Products, Turbo, KT Tape, High 5 Gear
Personal blog facebook.com/Danielle-McEwan-448468321945327/

Danielle McEwan (born September 1, 1991) is an American professional ten-pin bowler from Stony Point, New York. She currently competes on the PWBA Tour and in some events on the PBA Tour. She has been a member of Junior Team USA, and is a multi-year and current member of Team USA. [2]

Contents

McEwan received national-level NCAA accolades during her college years, and joined Team USA beginning in 2012. Since the rebirth of the PWBA Tour in 2015, McEwan has won nine titles, including major wins at the 2015 Smithfield PWBA Tour Championship and 2019 U.S. Women's Open. She is also a two-time winner of the World Bowling Tour (WBT) Women's Finals.

McEwan is currently a member of the Storm, Turbo Grips, High 5 bowling gear and KT tape pro staffs. [3] [4]

Early life and amateur career

In high school, McEwan chose bowling over tennis as her preferred sport. [5]

In her freshman year at Fairleigh Dickinson University (FDU), McEwan was named MVP of the NCAA National Championships as her team won the title. [6] McEwan was named FDU Female Athlete of the Year in 2012 and 2013, [1] [7] and NCAA All American (2011–2013), [1] [8] receiving the Professional Bowlers Association’s 2012 Billy Welu Scholarship. [7] She was also named Northeast Conference Bowler of the Year (2012) [7] and NCAA Player of the Year (2012 and 2013). [1] [8]

Through her junior year, McEwan had maintained a 3.5 grade point average while majoring in psychology. [7]

McEwan has competed for Team USA since 2012. [1] [9] In December 2015, McEwan and teammate Kelly Kulick won the gold medal in the doubles competition at the Women's World Bowling Championship (WBC) in Abu Dhabi, [10] and both women were on the Team USA team that won the gold medal in the WBC team(-of-five) competition. [11] Individually, McEwan won a bronze medal in the Masters competition. [12]

In July 2017, McEwan won a silver medal at The World Games 2017 in Wrocław, Poland. On December 3, 2017, she earned the Women's All-Events gold medal at the World Bowling Championships in Las Vegas. [13]

Professional bowling career

2015

McEwan was one of the first beneficiaries of the 2015 re-launch of the Professional Women's Bowling Association (PWBA). [5] On September 13, 2015, shortly after her 24th birthday, [9] [14] McEwan won the 2015 Smithfield PWBA Tour Championship, considered her first major title. [1] [15] At that championship, which concluded the first full season of women’s professional bowling since 2003, [9] McEwan ranked fourth for 2015 PWBA Player of the Year. [15]

On October 23, 2015, McEwan became the ninth woman to win a Professional Bowlers Association (PBA) regional title (the South Point PBA West Challenge held in Las Vegas, NV), qualifying her to compete in the (Jan-Feb) 2016 FireLake PBA Tournament of Champions. [9] On October 23–24, 2015, her team "Dead Money" was the upset winner in the PBA Team Challenge. [7] She earned a spot in the three-woman field for the PBA's World Bowling Tour (WBT) Women’s Finals, held in December, 2015. [5] McEwan went on to win the WBT Finals ($20,000 first prize), the event's finalists being chosen and seeded based on PBA International-WBT events over a two-year rolling WBT points competition. [16]

2016

As the leading female bowler in the South Point events and the 2015 U.S. Open, McEwan was invited to participate in the 2016 DHC Japan Invitational tournament, along with 13 male PBA bowlers. [17]

McEwan was selected for the "Barbasol Motown Muscle" PBA League team, one of two women drafted for the 2016 season. [5]

On March 2, 2016, McEwan won the 2016 PBA-WBT H.H. Emir Cup (Doha, Qatar; $20,000 prize); however, because she accepted the eight handicap pins per game offered to female bowlers, she became ineligible to earn a PBA or World Bowling Tour title. [18]

McEwan captured her second PWBA Tour title at the PWBA Wichita Open on June 26, 2016. Her 823 in match play was the first 800 series by any player since the 2015 re-launch of the PWBA Tour. [19]

2017

On February 26, 2017, McEwan repeated as World Bowling Tour Women's Finals champion, defeating Liz Johnson in the final televised match to cash $20,000. [20] On August 6, 2017, McEwan won her third PWBA Tour title at the Nationwide PWBA Rochester Open. [21]

McEwan was unsuccessful in her bid for a third straight World Bowling Tour Women's Finals championship, falling to top seed Diana Zavjalova of Latvia in the final stepladder match held on November 19, 2017.

2018

McEwan won her fourth PWBA title on May 12, 2018 at the PWBA Fountain Valley Open (Fountain Valley, CA). As of this season, she was one of three players (with Liz Johnson and Shannon O'Keefe) to have won at least one title every season since the re-launch of the PWBA Tour in 2015. [22] She finished runner-up to Shannon O'Keefe for 2018 PWBA Player of the Year honors, [23] also finishing second in championship round appearances (6) and third in Tour average (216.39).

McEwan won the PBA International-WBT Thailand tournament on September 28, 2018, topping England's Stuart Williams in a two-game final to win ฿1,000,000 ($31,908 USD). Because McEwan accepted the eight pins per game handicap offered to female competitors, she was not credited with a PBA or WBT title. [24]

2019

On June 23, 2019, McEwan won her fifth PWBA title and second career major at the U.S. Women's Open, defeating top seed Tannya Roumimper of Indonesia in the final match. [25] For a second straight season, McEwan finished runner-up to Shannon O'Keefe for PWBA Player of the Year honors. [26]

2021

On August 1, 2021, McEwan and partner E. J. Tackett won the PBA-PWBA Striking Against Breast Cancer Mixed Doubles tournament, leading the event wire-to-wire (from opening round of qualifying through the finals). [27] The win earned McEwan her sixth PWBA Tour title, and continued her streak of winning at least one PWBA title per season since the 2015 rebirth (there was no 2020 PWBA Tour season due to the COVID-19 pandemic). Only Shannon O'Keefe has matched McEwan's streak. On August 21, McEwan won her second title of the 2021 season and seventh overall, defeating Liz Johnson in the final match of the PWBA Spokane Open. This marks her first PWBA Tour season with multiple titles. [28]

2022

McEwan qualified as the #1 seed in back-to-back 2022 tournaments (PWBA BVL Classic and U.S. Women's Open), but was unable to win the title in either event. [29] In a hard-luck season, McEwan placed second in several 2022 season categories (points, earnings, average and championship round appearances), but did not win a title. [30] This ended her streak of winning at least one title per season since the PWBA re-launch in 2015.

2023

On July 30, 2023, McEwan won the Storm Striking Against Breast Cancer Mixed Doubles tournament with partner Anthony Simonsen. McEwan earned her second title in this event and eighth PWBA title overall. [31]

McEwan qualified for the inaugural (2023) PBA LBC Champions Clash on September 28 in Portland, Maine. This was a special non-title event featuring 12 bowlers, a mix of male-female and amateur-professional, who were part of the PBA's League Bowler Certification (LBC) program and won their division championships. It aired October 1 on Fox Sports 1. McEwan made it to the tenth and final round, where she was defeated by PBA star Tom Daugherty, 10 pins to 7. In the elimination event, McEwan struck on 9 of her 13 shots, which included a strike in a double roll-off to survive the first round. She won $10,000 for her second place finish. [32]

2024

On July 28, 2024, McEwan and partner Anthony Simonsen repeated as champions at the Storm Striking Against Breast Cancer Mixed Doubles event. This earned McEwan her ninth PBA Tour title. McEwan's last three PWBA Tour titles have all come in this event. [33]

PWBA Tour titles

Major championships are in bold text.

  1. 2015 The Smithfield PWBA Tour Championship (Arlington, TX)
  2. 2016 PWBA Wichita Open (Wichita, KS)
  3. 2016 PWBA Spokane Open (Spokane, WA)
  4. 2017 Nationwide PWBA Rochester Open (Rochester, NY)
  5. 2018 PWBA Fountain Valley Open (Fountain Valley, CA)
  6. 2019 U.S. Women’s Open (North Las Vegas, NV)
  7. 2021 PBA-PWBA Striking Against Breast Cancer Mixed Doubles w/E. J. Tackett (Houston, TX)
  8. 2023 PBA-PWBA Striking Against Breast Cancer Mixed Doubles w/Anthony Simonsen (Houston, Texas)
  9. 2024 PBA-PWBA Striking Against Breast Cancer Mixed Doubles w/Anthony Simonsen (Houston, Texas)

Source: [34]

Additional (non-title) professional wins

  1. 2015 PBA Team Challenge
  2. 2015 World Bowling Tour Women's Finals
  3. 2016 PBA H.H. Emir Cup
  4. 2017 World Bowling Tour Women's Finals
  5. 2018 PBA International-WBT Thailand

Training

In addition to bowling practice and gym work (cardio, foam rolling, stretching, and core), McEwan works on her mental game by working with a sports psychologist and by researching books and articles. [5] She says she tries to "make it into the gym every day I can." [4]

Personal life

Aside from bowling, Danielle enjoys outdoor activities such as golf, tennis, snowmobiling, shooting her bow and playing with her dog. She also says, "I love to travel and am very fortunate that my career incorporates so many opportunities to do so. I love seeing different countries and experiencing their culture, sights and food." [4]

From 2013 to early 2018, McEwan dated PBA bowler Marshall Kent. The two initially met when both were members of Junior Team USA, but did not officially become a couple until representing Team USA at an event in Bangkok, Thailand. [35] After almost five years of dating, McEwan and Kent went their separate ways for unspecified personal reasons.

Related Research Articles

Diandra Hyman Asbaty is an American bowler who represented Team USA for fifteen years and was United States Amateur Champion in 1999 and 2006. She is also an official youth bowling spokesperson for the United States Bowling Congress (USBC). She competed in the PBA Women's Series from 2007 to 2010, winning two titles in that span. She also won the 2012 USBC Queens major tournament and continues to compete in PWBA tournaments. Asbaty has been elected to the USBC Hall of Fame.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Clara Guerrero</span> Colombian ten-pin bowler

Clara Juliana Guerrero Londoño is a right-handed Colombian ten-pin bowler who has won Colombian championships and multiple international championships. She has been a member of Team Colombia for twenty years, and another half dozen years on Junior Team Colombia. She has one title on the PWBA Tour since the rebirth of the Professional Women's Bowling Association in 2015.

Lynda Barnes is one of the world's leading female tenpin bowlers. She is a former member of the PWBA. Bowling as an amateur, Lynda won the 1998 USBC Queens championship, then known as the WIBC Queens. In 1999, Lynda married Chris Barnes, a leading bowler on the Professional Bowlers Association (PBA) tour. The couple's twin sons, Troy and Ryan, were born in May 2002. Lynda is a former member of Team USA.

Kelly Kulick is an American professional bowler, bowling coach and sportscaster. She has won ten professional women's bowling titles, one PBA Tour title and a professional mixed doubles title. Kulick is the first woman ever to win a regular Professional Bowlers Association tour title and the only woman to win a major PBA Tour tournament. She is a 16-time member of Team USA. Kulick is currently a pro staff member for Storm Bowling, Vise grips and High 5 gear. In 2019, Kulick was inducted into the USBC Hall of Fame, Superior Performance category.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Professional Women's Bowling Association</span>

The Professional Women's Bowling Association (PWBA) organizes and oversees a series of annual tournaments for the top competitive women ten-pin bowlers. The series is often referred to as the "women's tour" of bowling.

Carolyn Dorin-Ballard is one of the top female ten-pin bowlers in the world. She is a member of the Professional Women's Bowling Association and has bowled in PBA Tournaments as well. She was an exempt competitor in the 2008–09 and 2009-10 PBA Women's Series seasons, which were sponsored by the United States Bowling Congress (USBC). Between the PWBA and the PBA Women's Series, she has won 22 professional titles. Carolyn was a 2008 inductee into the USBC Hall of Fame, and a 2020 inductee into the PWBA Hall of Fame.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Liz Johnson (bowler)</span> American ten-pin bowler

Elizabeth Ann Johnson is an American professional bowler who currently competes on the Professional Women's Bowling Association (PWBA) Tour, and in some events on the PBA Tour and PBA50 Tour. She initially became known as an 11-time winner on the PWBA Tour, which included the first of her six U.S. Women's Open titles in 1996, before that organization suspended operations in 2003.

Shannon O'Keefe is an American professional bowler and bowling coach now living in Jacksonville, Alabama. She has competed in the United States and internationally, and is currently the head coach at Jacksonville State University. She is an 18-time member of Team USA (2005–2022) and an eight-time World Champion. She also won the 54th QubicaAMF World Cup in 2018 in Las Vegas. Shannon also won the 2019 Doubles gold medal at the Pan American Games in Peru.

2016 is the 57th season of the Professional Bowlers Association (PBA) Tour. There were 26 singles title events, two doubles title events, and two team events on the 2016 schedule.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jesper Svensson (bowler)</span> Swedish professional bowler (born 1995)

Jesper Svensson is a Swedish professional bowler. He has been a member of the Professional Bowlers Association (PBA) since 2014, and also competes on the European Bowling Tour (EBT). He has won eleven PBA Tour titles overall, including a major title at the 2016 PBA Tournament of Champions. He also owns six EBT titles and one PBA Regional title. He is known for using the two-handed shovel style delivery with a dominant left hand. He uses non-reactive urethane bowling balls almost exclusively. Svensson is a member of the Storm and Vise Grips pro staffs.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Anthony Simonsen</span> American ten-pin bowler

Anthony Walter Simonsen is an American professional ten-pin bowler. He has been a member of the Professional Bowlers Association (PBA) since 2014. Simonsen became known in bowling fan circles early in the 2016 season, when he earned the distinction as the youngest player in history to win a PBA major championship. He is now the youngest player in history to own five major PBA Tour titles. He uses the two-handed shovel-style delivery with a dominant right hand. At age 25, Simonsen eclipsed $1 million in career PBA earnings during the 2022 season. Simonsen has also bowled internationally as a multi-year member of Team USA.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">E. J. Tackett</span> Professional ten-pin bowler

Eddie Dean Tackett Jr. is an American professional ten-pin bowler. A member of the Professional Bowlers Association (PBA) since 2012, Tackett has won 23 PBA Tour titles, including five major championships, and is one of nine professional bowlers that have completed the PBA Triple Crown. He was named PBA Player of the Year for the 2016 and 2023 seasons, and was runner-up for the award in 2017 and 2018. Tackett is right-handed and uses a cranker-style delivery. He has been called a "unicorn" in the sport, because of his ability to use a one-handed, thumb-in delivery to achieve RPM rates comparable to most two-handed bowlers.

The 2017 Professional Women's Bowling Association (PWBA) Tour retained a similar schedule to the 2016 season, with nine standard tournaments and four majors. The season ran April 27 to September 6. CBS Sports Network aired the final round of all standard PWBA Tour events this season on a tape-delay basis. The final round for the major tournaments aired live or on same-day delay. TV tapings of the non-major stepladder finals were conducted in conjunction with first three major tournaments on May 23, June 25 and August 6.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Marshall Kent (bowler)</span> American ten-pin bowler

Marshall Kent is an American ten-pin bowler from Yakima, Washington now residing in Clarkston, Michigan. He currently competes on the PBA Tour and World Bowling Tour. He has been a member of Junior Team USA, and is a six-time member of Team USA. He has won seven PBA Tour titles and five PBA Regional titles.

The 2018 Professional Women's Bowling Association (PWBA) Tour retains a similar schedule to the 2017 season, with nine standard tournaments and four majors, but includes two changes. First, the final round of each standard tournament will now be contested in the bowling center where the qualifying rounds occurred. Second, the final three standard events of the year will feature an “Elite Field” of 24 bowlers, based on season-to-date points list, that are automatically placed into the top 32 for match play. The remaining players will bowl a qualifying round for the other eight spots in match play.

The 2019 Professional Women's Bowling Association (PWBA) Tour retained a similar schedule to the 2018 season, with ten standard tournaments and four majors.

Shannon Pluhowsky is an American left-handed ten-pin bowler who competes in the Professional Women's Bowling Association (PWBA) and internationally. Pluhowsky is a 22-time member of Team USA, and a former four-time member of Junior Team USA (2000–2003). Pluhowsky has eight professional championships, including major wins at the 2006 USBC Queens in Reno, Nevada, the 2014 BPAA Women's All-Star in Rockford, Illinois, and the 2021 PWBA Tour Championship in Reno, Nevada.

The 2021 Professional Women's Bowling Association (PWBA) Tour season had a total of 20 title events scheduled, the most since the 2001 PWBA season. Overall, the season had 16 standard singles title events, three major tournaments, and the Striking Against Breast Cancer Mixed Doubles tournament. All singles events were broadcast on BowlTV, the USBC’s YouTube channel, except for the season-ending PWBA Tour Championship, which was broadcast on CBS Sports Network.

The 2022 Professional Women's Bowling Association (PWBA) Tour season had a total of 12 title events scheduled in eight locations. These included 8 standard singles title events, three major title events, and one mixed doubles event. While the 2022 schedule had a reduced number of tournaments from 2021, there were more events televised and prize funds increased over previous seasons. All qualifying and match play rounds were broadcast on BowlTV, the PWBA's YouTube channel, as were five final rounds. Seven final rounds were broadcast on CBS Sports Network, including the finals of three major events: USBC Queens, U.S. Women's Open and PWBA Tour Championship.

While some locations have changed, the 2024 Professional Women's Bowling Association (PWBA) Tour season matches the 2023 season with 12 title events scheduled in eight cities. These include eight standard singles title events, three major title events, and one mixed doubles event. Final rounds of the season's three majors will all broadcast nationally on CBS Sports Network. All other events will be broadcast on BowlTV, the USBC’s YouTube channel.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 "Danielle McEwan / Biography". Professional Women's Bowling Association (PWBA). October 2015. Archived from the original on October 29, 2015.
  2. "TEAM USA - TEAM MEMBERS". bowl.com. Retrieved 29 February 2024.
  3. "Danielle McEwan PWBA Player Profile". pwba.com. Retrieved June 3, 2024.
  4. 1 2 3 "Storm Athletes - Danielle McEwan". stormbowling.com. Retrieved May 3, 2021.
  5. 1 2 3 4 5 Bigham, Terry (December 29, 2015). "Busy schedule is scary, fun for McEwan". bowl.com. United States Bowling Congress. Archived from the original on February 16, 2016.
  6. Adams, Griffin (August 1, 2016). "With new sponsors and TV deal, reborn women's pro bowling tour growing". USA Today. Retrieved November 10, 2017.
  7. 1 2 3 4 5 "McEwan earns 2012 Billy Welu Scholarship". United States Bowling Congress (bowl.com). July 27, 2012. Archived from the original on July 30, 2012.
  8. 1 2 Thompson, Steve (August 8, 2015). "Kuhlkin sweeps finals to claim first PWBA crown". The Topeka Capital-Journal. Archived from the original on September 6, 2015.
  9. 1 2 3 4 Vint, Bill (October 23, 2015). "Danielle McEwan Wins South Point PBA West Challenge, Qualifies for PBA Tournament of Champions". Professional Bowlers Association (PBA). Archived from the original on October 29, 2015.
  10. "2015 WWC Doubles – Final". World Bowling. December 10, 2015. Archived from the original on December 15, 2015.
  11. "Results / 2015 WWC Team Final". World Bowling. December 12, 2015. Archived from the original on December 15, 2015.
  12. "Results / 2015 WWC Masters – Semi Final 1". World Bowling. December 13, 2015. Archived from the original on December 20, 2015. Also: McEwan's PWBA profile.
  13. "USA, Malaysia win team titles at 2017 World Bowling Championships". bowl.com. December 3, 2017. Retrieved December 26, 2017.
  14. Smith, Aaron (September 13, 2015). "McEwan wins Smithfield PWBA Tour Championship". United States Bowling Congress (bowl.com). Archived from the original on October 18, 2015.
  15. 1 2 Thompson, Steve (September 15, 2015). "Schauff still rolling; Wood tosses perfect city bowling season's first youth perfect game; McEwan wins PWBA Tour Championship; Liz Johnson takes season honor". The Topeka Capital-Journal. Archived from the original on October 29, 2015.
  16. Schneider, Jerry (February 21, 2016). "Dom Barrett, Danielle McEwan Win World Bowling Tour Finals Championships". pba.com. Archived from the original on March 2, 2016.
  17. Vint, Bill (January 7, 2016). "PBA Spare Shots: PBA Stars Head to Tokyo for 2016 DHC Japan Invitational". pba.com. Retrieved January 11, 2016.
  18. Vint, Bill (March 2, 2016). "Danielle McEwan Wins HH Emir Cup in Qatar". pba.com. Archived from the original on March 3, 2016.
  19. "McEwan Captures Second Career Title at PWBA Wichita Open". pwba.com. July 5, 2016. Archived from the original on July 27, 2016. Retrieved July 6, 2016. (broadcast July 5, 2016)
  20. Vint, Bill (February 26, 2017). "Anthony Simonsen, Danielle McEwan Win World Bowling Tour Men's, Women's Finals". pba.com. Archived from the original on February 28, 2017. Retrieved February 27, 2017.
  21. "McEwan wins 2017 Nationwide PWBA Rochester Open". pwba.com. August 29, 2017. Retrieved August 30, 2017.
  22. "MCEWAN WINS 2018 PWBA FOUNTAIN VALLEY OPEN". pwba.com. May 12, 2018. Retrieved May 14, 2018.
  23. "STEFANIE JOHNSON WINS 2018 QUBICAAMF PWBA PLAYERS CHAMPIONSHIP". August 25, 2018. Retrieved August 26, 2018.
  24. Vint, Bill (September 28, 2018). "Danielle McEwan Tops England's Stuart Williams in Two Matches to win PBA International-WBT Thailand Title". pba.com. Retrieved September 28, 2018.
  25. "DANIELLE MCEWAN WINS SECOND MAJOR AT 2019 U.S. WOMEN'S OPEN". pwba.com. June 23, 2019. Retrieved June 24, 2019.
  26. Smith, Aaron (September 10, 2019). "O'KEEFE CAPTURES SECOND CONSECUTIVE PWBA PLAYER OF THE YEAR AWARD". bowl.com. Retrieved September 11, 2019.
  27. Goodger, Jef (1 August 2021). "TACKETT AND MCEWAN LEAD FROM START TO FINISH TO WIN STRIKING AGAINST BREAST CANCER MIXED DOUBLES". pba.com. Retrieved 3 August 2021.
  28. Smith, Aaron (21 August 2021). "DANIELLE MCEWAN WINS SECOND TITLE OF SEASON AT 2021 PWBA SPOKANE OPEN". pwba.com. Retrieved 23 August 2021.
  29. Williams, Emil (June 21, 2022). "ERIN MCCARTHY WINS FIRST MAJOR TITLE AT 2022 U.S. WOMEN'S OPEN". PWBA.com. Retrieved June 22, 2022.
  30. "2022 PWBA TOUR STATISTICS". pwba.com. Retrieved 24 August 2022.
  31. "ANTHONY SIMONSEN AND DANIELLE MCEWAN COMPLETE COMEBACK TO WIN STORM PBA/PWBA SABC MIXED DOUBLES TITLE". pwba.com. July 30, 2023. Retrieved July 31, 2023.
  32. Hughes, Nolan (October 1, 2023). "TOM DAUGHERTY WINS INAUGURAL PBA LBC CHAMPIONS CLASH". pba.com. Retrieved October 2, 2023.
  33. Hughes, Nolan (July 28, 2024). "ANTHONY SIMONSEN AND DANIELLE MCEWAN REPEAT IN HOUSTON". pwba.com. Retrieved July 29, 2024.
  34. "McEwan, Danielle". pwba.com. Retrieved 2024-02-15.
  35. "10 Couples Who Found Love on the Lanes". iabowling.com. August 7, 2013. Retrieved July 5, 2017.