“To be honest, I’ve been bowling pretty terribly this season,” she said. “But I think it’s important to support local tournaments and since I wasn’t bowling well, I felt like I didn’t have anything to lose.”
Hatcher was fifth after the six-game qualifying round Saturday, easily making the top-16 cut. Four straight match-play wins Sunday earned her the top seed for the stepladder finals. But seedings in a tournament like the highly-competitive Queens don’t always carry much weight.
“In a field like that, No. 1 through 16 has as much a chance to win,” Hatcher said. “They are all that good.”
Attitude made all the difference for the mother of two who only has time to bowl in one league a week with a 5-year-old and 18-month-old to keep her busy.
“I don’t have as much time to bowl as I used to, but my whole attitude on life has changed,” Hatcher said. “Lynnley bowls now and when she was at the tournament she was saying, ‘Mommy, you’ve got lots of strikes.’ They look up to me and I want to set an example for them.”
That good example starts with a good attitude.
“Bowling is extremely mental, it’s all about attitude,” Hatcher said. “I knew I just needed to stay calm and be patient. I had a lot of support — with my family there — so it was easy to stay positive even if every shot wasn’t perfect.”
Perfect start: Former champion Mandy Wilson started strong at the Queens Tournament with a 300 game in the first round of qualifying. Wilson was seventh heading into match play and finished in the top 12 overall.
Angie Kreitzer Queens Tournament
Top placers
1. Jessica Hatcher
2. Shannon DeWitt
3. Ashley Bryant
4. Brogan Zengel
5.-6. Lindsey Furnas, Maude Demers
7.-8. Christin DeWitt, Heidi Sanders
9.-12. Andrea Behr, Stephanie Barringer, Heather Stevens, Mandy Wilson
13.-16. Savannah Garrett, Ann Coleman, Raven Cooper, Linda Borns
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