Williams gets Queen of the Lanes tiara

Emi Williams picked up where she left off winning the season-ending roll-off Sunday to claim the 2008 Budweiser Queen of the Lanes title at the Saipan Bowling Center.

Williams topped the last three monthly roll-offs of 2008 and extended her winning run to four en route to beating five other female keglers for the Queen of the Lanes award.

The veteran bowler secured the crown when she defeated Yho Villavicencio in the finals, 179-149.

The four other lady keglers who joined Williams and Villavicencio in the step-ladder finals were Diane Camacho (third), Ron Cal (fourth), Gigi Zapanta (fifth), and Elena Soll (sixth).

The six female bowlers advanced to the next round after an eight-game qualifying roll-offs.

Camacho was the top qualifier after earning 1,449 pinfalls in the eight-game roll-offs for an average of 181.13 pinfalls per game.

In second place was Ron Cal (1,376), followed by Villavicencio (1,343), Zapanta (1,315), Williams (1,304), and Soll (1,288).

Seven other lady keglers joined the roll-offs, but failed to make the cut. The list includes Gina Sablan (1,282), Mhel Regis (1,280), Lala Taitano (1,246), Carol McKenzie (1,238), Gloria Omechelang (1,222), Diana Chong (1,195), and Lynn Santos (1,144).

Camacho and Cal automatically moved into the semifinals after claiming the Top 2 spots in the eight-game roll-offs, while the four other qualifiers battled for the two remaining semis berths.

The No. 3 seed Villavicencio was paired with the No. 6 Soll with the former gaining semis entry after an 181-151 win over the latter.

In the other pairing, the No. 5 seed Williams edged the No. 4 Zapanta in the closest game in the step-ladder finals winning by only three pinfalls, 169-166.

In the semis, Villavicencio defeated Camacho, 176-162, dethroning the 2007 Queen of the Lanes title holder and setting a finals duel with Williams.

Williams moved one step away from sitting on her throne when she topped Cal in the other semis pairing, 227-200.

Winning the 2008 title was a big improvement for Williams, who finished last in the step-ladder finals in the 2007 season-finale roll-offs.

In the 2008 season-finale qualifying roll-offs, Williams was impressive in the first two games scoring 193 and 200 pinfalls in Game 1 and 2. But she slowed down in the last six games games (171, 129, 145, 164, 125, 177) to finish only fifth among the 13 participants.

Williams regained her form in the step-ladder finals to join Bing Prince of the Lanes Zack Cruz in the winners’ circle.

Cruz, Williams, and the winner of the season-finale of the King of the Lanes tournament will receive their awards this weekend.

Cruz claimed the Bing Prince of the Lane title after beating Leanne Yarobwemal in the finals, 188-118.