ROCKFORD, ILLINOIS - Carolyn Dorin-Ballard, N. Richland Hills, Texas, was selected by her peers as the 2001 Professional Women's Bowling Association's Player of the Year. A runner-up for the honor for the past four years, Dorin-Ballard garnered 100 percent of the PWBA player ballot.
"I guess perseverance paid off," said Dorin-Ballard. "I knocked on the door for the last four years and finally it opened up."
Recently chosen by the Bowler's Journal International as the industry's Person of the Year, Dorin-Ballard reigned supreme in 23 PWBA tournaments this season. The 12-year pro tied Patty Costello's 1976 record for the most professional women's bowling titles in a single season with seven and closed the 2001 campaign as the tour leader in earnings ($135,045), competition points (17,415) and averages (214.73). In addition she led all PWBA'ers in televised finals appearances with a PWBA-record 18 telecasts and broke or set eight other PWBA records.
"Not in my wildest dreams did I ever expect to have a season like this past year," she said. "Our tour has so many great players. In many ways the other athletes helped me perform at such a high level because I had to bowl extremely well every week to compete with them."
Known as one of the most consistent players on tour, Dorin-Ballard finished no lower than 15th in any tournament this season extending her streak to 46. She also cashed in all 23 tournaments bringing her consecutive "cashed" streak to 70.
"I know it's a cliché but my main focus this year was to take each day, week and tournament one step at a time. I think if you start to think about awards and other accolades you lose focus. I had some lucky breaks this year and I had some misfortunes, but I always was ready to try to take advantage of an opportunity to win."
Selected as the Player of the Year Runner-Up was Australia's Cara Honeychurch. Also voted on by the players, Honeychurch received 53.5 percent of the vote to beat out Liz Johnson (39.2), Cheektowaga, N.Y. and Michelle Feldman (7.3), Skaneateles, New York.
A winner of four titles, Honeychurch completed the season ranked fourth in earnings ($92,565), second in competition points (15,150) and third in averages (212.36). She led the tour with the best match-play winning percentage (.610) and appeared in 13 televised finals.
Honeychurch cashed in 21 of 23 events and started the season with seven straight top ten finishes en route to 17 by the end of the year.
The Professional Women's Bowling Association, founded in 1981 as the Ladies Professional Bowlers Tour, provides a professional tournament program for the most skilled women bowlers in the world. The PWBA's key sponsors include the Women's International Bowling Congress (WIBC), Travelodge Hotels Inc., Riverside Resorts and more than a dozen other bowling industry sponsors. For the latest information on the PWBA go to www.pwba.com.
