Indiana bowler sets two USBC scoring records

Matt Cannizzaro and Aaron Smith
USBC Communications
Published: February 16, 2016 | Bowl.com
ARLINGTON, Texas – Erica Cutler of Fort Wayne, Indiana, threw 34 consecutive strikes Sunday at the Fort Wayne USBC Women’s Bowling Association City Tournament, and the performance helped her break two national scoring records.

The 33-year-old right-hander started her doubles set with a 4-7 spare conversion and then struck on her next 34 shots, before leaving a 7 pin on her final attempt.

Cutler recorded games of 290, 300 and 299 for an 889 series, besting the previous mark of 879, shared by Katie Verbil of Wichita, Kansas, and Bryanna Coté‚ of Red Rock, Arizona.

Cutler’s memorable day at Thunder Bowl I also helped her and Fort Wayne’s Brittney Haneline post the highest three-game total for two women with 1,615. Haneline added a 726 series to the effort.

Angela Brick and Sue Jeziorski of Endicott, New York, set the doubles mark with 1,591 in 2005.

Both achievements are pending approval from the United States Bowling Congress.

“I was just trying to stay smooth and hit my mark,” said Cutler, who was inducted into the Fort Wayne USBC WBA Hall of Fame in 2014 and now owns four perfect games and three 800 series. “We all had great lines, and everybody was striking, and I felt like that really kept us motivated to keep it going.”

Cutler already owned the Fort Wayne USBC WBA three-game women’s record after rolling an 864 series in 2011, and she relied on that experience in beating her own record on the way into the national record books.

Cheering her along the way at Thunder Bowl I were her husband, Doug, and daughter, Brooklyn.

“It’s an amazing accomplishment,” Cutler said. “My husband and daughter were there, and that was great, especially since my husband had never seen me shoot 300.”

The achievement also was bittersweet for Cutler, whose mother died in October.

“The hardest part was not being able to call her afterwards, since she was the reason I started bowling,” Cutler said. “I’m very thankful to my family and friends who have supported me throughout my bowling career. We really have a great bowling family here in Fort Wayne.”