July 26, 2024 Nolan Hughes

After Kris Prather and Hope Gramly led A-squad of the Storm PBA/PWBA Striking Against Breast Cancer Mixed Doubles, commonly known as the Luci, the stakes for Alec Keplinger and Juliana Botero became crystal clear.

“Well, it makes for a really long weekend if we don't make the cut,” said Keplinger, who is dating Gramly. “(Juliana) kept telling me to average 270 and said ‘We’re going to beat them (Gramly and Prather). I went out there and I did all I could. The plan was to beat them. We did that plus more, so it’s nice. We’re sitting in a good position now.”

Keplinger and Botero shot 3,205 (+405) for their 14 combined individual games. Keplinger paced the team with 1,721 to lead all players on A- and B-squads by 60 pins. Botero added 1,484 for her seven games.

“He did all the work,” Botero said laughing. “It was great and we had so much fun. We had great ball reaction and were never lost at any point.”

Keplinger and Botero’s strong chemistry on the lanes dates back to their collegiate careers, where the close friends overlapped for two years at collegiate powerhouse Wichita State.

In 2022, the duo qualified in 19th place with Botero doing the heavy lifting. She shot 1,626 to Keplinger’s 1,463, so Keplinger, who is among the top candidates for the Harry Golden PBA Rookie of the Year award, returned the favor this year.

“I don’t think a whole lot has changed for us. It’s just more fun and we’re better friends,” Keplinger said. “The first year we bowled together, we made a run at match play and the second year we missed the cut. We had expectations to make it and make a good run because we knew how far we could get together.”

The team in second place also perhaps had added motivation to surpass Prather and Gramly.

Andrew Anderson, who won the Roth/Holman PBA Doubles Championship with Prather earlier this season, and Erin McCarthy (+360) climbed into second place.

Sean Riccardi and Karsyn Lukosius (+342), Prather and Gramly (+328), and François Lavoie and Crystal Elliott (+246) round out the top five.

Defending champions Anthony Simonsen and Danielle McEwan sit in sixth place at +239. Simonsen shot 300 the opening game of B-squad.

After A- and B-squads, Nathan Bohr and Lindsay Boomershine (+127) sit in 20th place. The top 40 teams after all four squads advance to Sunday’s semifinals. 

C-squad bowls at 9 a.m. Eastern (8 a.m. local) on Saturday, followed by D-squad at 3 p.m. ET (2 p.m. local).

A- and B-squad Leaders

  1. Alec Keplinger and Juliana Botero, 3,205 (+405)
  2. Andrew Anderson and Erin McCarthy, 3,160 (+360)
  3. Sean Riccardi and Karsyn Lukosius, 3,142 (+342)
  4. Kris Prather and Hope Gramly, 3,128 (+328)
  5. François Lavoie and Crystal Elliott, 3,046 (+246)
  6. Anthony Simonsen and Danielle McEwan, 3,039 (+239)
  7. Kendle Miles and Giselle Poss, 2,999 (+199)
  8. Andrew Hall and Sarah Klassen, 2,991 (+191)
  9. Kyle Troup and Liz Johnson, 2,987 (+187)
  10. Mitch Hupé and Julia Bond, 2,973 (+173)

Full standings are available here.

Tournament Schedule

Copperfield Bowl | Houston, Texas

All times listed in Eastern

Saturday, July 27
9 a.m. — C-squad qualifying (seven games)
3 p.m. — D-squad qualifying (seven games)
Top-fourth of field advances
9 p.m. — Pro-Am

Sunday, July 28
9 a.m. — Semifinals (four games)
Top 12 teams advance to round robin match play
12:30 p.m. — Match Play Round 1 (six games, round robin)
4:30 p.m. — Match Play Round 1 (six games, round robin)
Highest total pinfall wins

More information on the Striking Against Breast Cancer Mixed Doubles tournament is available here.