History was made on Sunday when Kelly Kulick became the first woman to win a Professional Bowlers Assocation event. Kulick rolled 10 strikes in the final of the Tournament of Champions in Las Vegas, beating Chris Barnes by 70 pins.
The PBA opened its membership to women in 2004, after the Professional Women's Bowling Association folded. Kulick and other women have competed in PBA tournaments, but Sunday marked the first occasion that a woman claimed the first-place check.
Kulick has a connection to Central Missouri's bowling program, the subject of a Pitch feature story in 2008. Kulick was a member of the Moorehead State team that defeated Central Missouri in the finals of the 1998 intercollegiate championship. The match showed on EPSN2 at a time when the sports channel was trying to establish an identity different from ESPN the Original.
Kulick, the player of the year, threw a double in the 10th frame that sealed the victory for her school.
Central Missouri won the championship in 2003, the year before bowling became an official NCAA sport.
After college, Kulick turned professional and bowled on the women's tour before it collapsed. Then she made an effort to join the men's tour. She earned a tour card for the 2006-'07 season but did not bowl well enough to retain her status. She returned home in Union, New Jersey, and participated in the handful of women's tournaments the U.S. Bowling Congress stages.
Kulick, who is now 32, told The Pitch two years ago that she wanted to keep competing. "I still feel like there's more ahead of me," she said.
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