June 2017 -
27
Saturday, July 15th
Restrepo Set To Defend Her First PWBA Title At The
PWBA Greater Detroit Open
By Emil Williams
Athletes in any sport will tell you there are certain venues where they feel comfortable
and always perform well, while other places simply have their number.
The Super Bowl in Canton, Michigan probably wasn’t a favorite place for Colombian
native Rocio Restrepo until last year. The Louisville, Ohio, resident returns to the familiar
venue June 15-17 to defend her first Professional Women’s Bowling Association title, the
PWBA Greater Detroit Open, which she won last season.
While this will be Restrepo’s third visit to Super Bowl for a PWBA event, it will not be
her third visit overall. The long-time Team Colombia member was a frequent competitor
at various events held by The National Bowling Association (TNBA) at Super Bowl, but
prior to 2016 success was hard to come by at every level.
In 2015, Restrepo finished tied for 35th at the Greater Detroit Open, her lowest finish on
tour that season as she missed match play and struggled with her confidence at the
venue. Restrepo was persistent and determined to figure out how to be successful,
which helped her ultimately capture the women’s title at the 2016 TNBA Central Regional
Bill Rhodman Singles Classic at the Super Bowl.
The TNBA title came just one month prior to the start of the 2016 PWBA season and
helped make the difference when Restrepo returned to Super Bowl for the PWBA event.
“I had bowled a few tournaments in that house before and I always left the bowl disap-
pointed with my performance,” Restrepo said. “I could never strike much. But last year,
before the start of the PWBA season, I won a TNBA title. For once, I was able to strike a
ton, so my bad memories in the house were replaced with a sense of accomplishment
and realization that you never quit because there is always something better if you are
persistent. “If I had not been persistent and given myself one more chance, I would
probably had never won in this house. Therefore, I think I would probably still be chasing
my first PWBA title.”
Restrepo’s 2017 season is off to a good start. She captured her third career title at the
QubicaAMF PWBA Sonoma County Open, finished third at the PWBA Storm Sacra-
mento Open and tied for fifth last week at the Pepsi PWBA Lincoln Open.
