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Dallas, Texas -- Eight current or former Nebraska bowlers will compete for a spot on the 2005 Team USA beginning Monday Jan. 10 in the USA Bowling National Amateur Championships at the Don Carter’s All-Star Lanes West in Dallas. A field of the nation's top amateur bowlers will roll a total of 24 qualifying games from Jan. 10-12, starting with eight games on Monday. The top 24 women will advance to match play beginning Jan. 13, and will continue the finals on Jan. 14. The top five women will automatically qualify for the 2005 Team USA while a minimum of three other spots will be awarded on an at-large basis.
Reigning AMF Bowling World Cup champion Shannon Pluhowsky (Phoenix, Ariz.) will be competing for a chance for her fifth year with Team USA. Pluhowsky will also be competing to become the first athlete to ever win four consecutive U.S. Amateur titles. She has been a member of Team USA since 2001.
Last year at the U.S. Amateur, Pluhowsky three-peated as champion with an average of 218.625 over 32 games. She earned the title by knocking off Husker teammate, Amanda Burgoyne (Newport, Minn.), on the final day of the tournament. Burgoyne also qualified for the 2004 Team USA with an average of 208.90 for a fifth-place finish.
Joining Pluhowsky, are teammates Burgoyne, Jamie Martin (Omaha, Neb.), Adrienne Miller (Albuquerque, N.M.), and Lindsay Baker (Amherst, N.Y.). Burgoyne served as a member on Team USA for the first time last year, as she came close to defeating Pluhowsky at the 2004 U.S. Amateurs. Burgoyne, who led the tournament after qualifying, earned a fifth-place finish with an average of 205.70.
For Martin, Miller, and Baker, the 2005 U.S. Amateur championship will be an opportunity for them to become a member of Team USA for the first time. In addition to the five current bowlers competing, former Huskers Diandra (Hyman) Asbaty, Kari Schwager, and Jennifer Daughtery also will be looking for a spot on the team.
The Nebraska bowlers return to action on January 21-23 at the Greater Ozark NCAA Invitational in Springfield, Mo.
--Huskers--