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2117 ALL EVENTS TOTAL IN CORPUS CHRISTI

Just days after being announced as the Professional Bowlers Association East Region Rookie of the Year, Liz Johnson of Cheektowaga, N.Y., turned in a record performance at the 2006 Open Championships.

With 736 in team, 696 in doubles and 685 in singles, Johnson's 2,117 all-events total is the highest ever posted by a woman at the Open Championships. She is currently tied for ninth place in Regular All-Events, while Shane Keefauver of Canton, Ill., leads with 2,171.

Johnson recently switched to Etonic Shoes and used the Etonic
Stabilite Plus in Corpus Christi.

"I love the Etonic shoes," said Johnson after the performance.

Johnson, a 31-year-old right-hander, averaged 235.2 at the American Bank Center Exhibit Hall this weekend and was clean in 87 of 90 frames, missing only two washouts and a single-pin spare during her nine games.

"It's always great to strike, but I know I need to fill frames too," said Johnson, who claimed the all-events title at the 1998 USBC Women's Championships. "It also helps to stay loose by trying to have fun and by bowling with people who are supportive and encouraging."

To keep the pressure on, Johnson, who won 11 titles on the PWBA Tour, surrounded herself with a roster of teammates that included two USBC Hall of Famers and numerous professional titles.

Joining Johnson on Storm Chasers was hall of famer and 1994 USBC Queens champion Anne Marie Duggan, who also holds the USBC record for career 800 series by a woman with 15, and the Texas state record for the highest series by a woman with 865.

Duggan posted an 1,809 all-events total and was joined by 1999 PWBA Rookie of the Year Tiffany Stanbrough (1,916), hall of famer Carol Norman (1,762) and two-time PWBA Southwest Player of the Year Donna Conners (1,731).

"Sure we have a great time and they're a fantastic bunch of bowlers, but really, it's an honor just to be on that team," said Johnson, who made her second Open Championships appearance. "It's a great feeling to know that you'll have people in your corner cheering you on no matter what."

Johnson hasn't slowed down since the PWBA ceased operations in 2003, and thanks to a televised second-place finish to Tommy Jones in the 2005 PBA Banquet Open, Johnson has become one of most recognizable female faces in the PBA.

As a trailblazer, Johnson became the first woman to qualify for a standard PBA Tour event and became the first woman to make match play in a national event before breaking ground again with her television appearance. She made history one more time when she became the first woman to pick up a PBA Regional title.

Now, the two-time U.S. Amateur champion is looking to make history again as she prepares for the 2006 PBA Tour Trials, where nine bowlers will earn an exemption for the 2006-07 season.

"I can't slow down because I feel like I'm in the prime of my career," Johnson said. "First, I'm doing some clinics in Japan, and then it's on to the PBA Tour Trials. But nothing is as big as the upcoming USBC Queens. I've got a lot to be proud of so far, but a Queens title is the one missing piece I'm really striving for."