July 26, 2024 Nolan Hughes

Kris Prather and Hope Gramly set the tone for this year’s Storm PBA/PWBA Striking Against Breast Cancer Mixed Doubles, commonly known as the Luci. The duo finished with a total pinfall of 3,128 (+328) for seven individual games to lead A-squad by 137 pins.

B-squad competes Friday afternoon at Copperfield Bowl in Houston, followed by C- and D-squad on Saturday.

Andrew Hall and Sarah Klassen (+191), Chris Forry and Amanda Broege (+163), Alejandro Ishikawa and Laura Plazas (+161) and EJ Tackett and Diandra Asbaty (+157) round of the top five on A-squad.

Prather and Gramly raced off to a commanding lead, firing 1,899 for their first eight combined games. Gramly shot 234, 268, 254 and 226 (982), while Prather added 233, 237, 223 and 224 (917).

“Hope carried me today. I know my score at the end says that it's higher, but she annihilated them the first four games,” Prather said. “Typically how it goes here is if you find a woman bowler that can go even or even plus a little bit, it's kind of on the guy to make the cut. The fact that she's +157 for her seven games is a huge bonus and made my swing super loose coming down the stretch. Watching Hope strike every ball for four games made it super easy for me to just be like, ‘You know what? If I move six boards here and leave a 2-pin, it's okay. Hope’s got a double in the bag.’”

This marks the third time Prather and Gramly have teamed up in the Luci. The first two attempts resulted in zero made cuts, which means the team has only bowled 14 games together since 2022.

Gramly was still in college in 2022, but has since won the 2023 PWBA Tour Rookie of the Year award and earned the No. 1 seed in the USBC Queens earlier this season.

“I think a lot of (my improved performance) comes from my maturity and my growth that's happened over the last three years. I am more calm headed than I used to be. I am more willing to do things that people tell me to even if I don't really agree with them. I'm more free now and I'm not so worried about striking. Assuming everything stays on track, this will be my first time bowling on Sunday, so that's cool. It’s super exciting just to have the chance.”

This year, Prather said the two have grown more comfortable with each other and have a better understanding of each other as a person, which leads to improved chemistry on the lanes.

"The first year it was a little awkward because we didn't really know each other. I'm almost 10 years older than she is, so it was like what do we have in common?" Prather said. "I think just getting a little bit more comfortable with each other and understanding who she is as a person. (We are) seeing the lanes a lot better and being able to communicate that was a big help. For me, it's easy to read our ball motion because our hands are both really soft at the bottom, so we're not trying to make the ball hook or do anything special. It creates a really consistent ball shape from pair to pair and it's really easy to just make moves off of and communicate.”

The top 40 teams after all four squads will advance to Sunday’s semifinals. Ryan Barnes and Dannielle Henderson (+108) finished 10th on A-squad, serving as a rough projected cutline.

Full standings are available here.

Tournament Schedule

Copperfield Bowl | Houston, Texas

All times listed in Eastern

Friday, July 26
3 p.m. — B-squad qualifying (seven games)
9 p.m. — Pro-Am

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.