Stephanie Zavala

Last updated

Stephanie Zavala
Personal information
Born (1996-05-29) May 29, 1996 (age 29) [1]
Bowling Information
Affiliation PWBA
Dominant handRight
Wins6 PWBA Tour (1 major)
Sponsors 900 Global, VISE, BowlerX.com, Coolwick [1]
Personal blog www.facebook.com/Stephanie-Zavala-Professional-Bowler-102368398551476/

Stephanie Zavala (born May 29, 1996) is a right-handed American professional ten-pin bowler from Downey, California, [2] known for winning the 2022 PWBA Tour Championship. [1] She bowls professionally on the Professional Women's Bowling Association (PWBA) Tour, and has bowled internationally as a multi-year member of Team USA. [3]

Contents

Zavala is a member of the 900 Global pro staff. She is also sponsored by VISE grips, BowlerX.com and Coolwick Sportswear. [1] [4]

Amateur career

Zavala finished runner-up to Julia Bond in the 2017 U.S. Amateur Championships. She bowled collegiately for Sam Houston State University from 2014 through 2018, and was an honorable mention All-American for the 2017–18 season. [1]

At a July 7, 2019 session in her Mexican-American Bowlers Association league at Del Rio Lanes in Downey, California, Zavala rolled games of 279, 300 and 280 for a house-record 859 series. The series was the highest recorded by any female bowler in 2019 across the entire United States Bowling Congress. [5]

Zavala was a member of Junior Team USA in 2017, and is a four-time Team USA member (2017, 2022 through 2024). [2] She won a team gold medal with Team USA at the 2022 PANAM Bowling Women's Championships. [1]

Professional career

Zavala joined the PWBA Tour in the 2021 season. She had immediate success, making six championship round appearances (tied for first), winning three titles (also tied for first), and earning PWBA Rookie of the Year honors. She became the first PWBA Tour rookie to win three titles since Leanne Barrette in 1987. [6] Zavala’s best finish in a 2021 major tournament was fourth at the U.S. Women's Open. [2]

After some early struggles in the 2022 season, Zavala won the season's final event, the PWBA Tour Championship, for her fourth PWBA title and first major. She won in dominating fashion, averaging 250.67 over her three stepladder matches. [7]

On June 4, 2023, Zavala won her fifth PWBA Tour title at the BowlTV Classic in Wyoming, Michigan. [8]

On May 29, 2025 (her 29th birthday), Zavala won the PWBA Cleveland Open for the second time in her career. Qualifying as the top seed, she defeated Olivia Komorowski in her lone finals match to earn her sixth PWBA Tour title. [9] For the 2025 season, Zavala placed first in match play appearances (7, tied with Jordan Snodgrass), while placing third in points and cashes. [10]

PWBA Tour wins

Major championships are in bold text.

  1. 2021 PWBA Greater Cleveland Open (Parma Heights, OH)
  2. 2021 PWBA BVL Open (Farmingdale, NY)
  3. 2021 PWBA Reno Classic (Reno, NV)
  4. 2022 PWBA Tour Championship (Dallas, TX)
  5. 2023 PWBA BowlTV Classic (Wyoming, MI)
  6. 2025 PWBA Cleveland Open (Parma Heights, OH)

Personal

Stephanie is a Southern California native and the daughter of Estela and Armando Zavala. [11] In the offseason, she works for The Professional Approach, a pro shop with three bowling center locations in the Greater Los Angeles area. [5]

Stephanie married Chris Porter in November of 2023. [12]

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 "Stephanie Zavala PWBA profile". PWBA.com. Retrieved June 3, 2024.
  2. 1 2 3 "Stephanie Zavala at Bowl.com". bowl.com. Retrieved August 24, 2022.
  3. "Team USA – Team Members". bowl.com. Retrieved February 29, 2024.
  4. "900 Global Athletes – PWBA – Stephanie Zavala". stormbowling.com. Retrieved August 24, 2022.
  5. 1 2 Garza, Jonathan (April 9, 2020). "Stephanie Zavala Goes Global, Signs World Bowling Contract". slausbc.com. Retrieved August 24, 2022.
  6. Smith, Aaron (October 26, 2021). "Zzavala Wins Third Title of 2021 Season at PWBA Reno Classic". pwba.com. Retrieved August 24, 2022.
  7. Smith, Aaron (August 9, 2022). "Stephanie Zavala Wins First Major Title at 2022 PWBA Tour Championship". PWBA.com. Retrieved August 24, 2022.
  8. "Zavala Wins BowlTV Classic for Fifth Career PWBA Tour Title". pwba.com. June 4, 2023. Retrieved June 5, 2023.
  9. Grubaugh, Donovan (May 30, 2025). "Zavala wins PWBA Cleveland Open title, gifting herself a title on her birthday". pwba.com. Retrieved May 30, 2025.
  10. "2025 PWBA Tour Statistics". pwba.com. Retrieved August 15, 2025.
  11. "Sam Houston State 2017-18 Women's Bowling Roster – Stephanie Zavala". gobearkats.com. Retrieved August 24, 2022.
  12. "Stephanie & Chris @Zola". zola.com. Retrieved August 14, 2025.