2013 Test Series Between Scotland and the United States

From the 2012 World Championships - (click for event website)

Team USA Results

The chart below shows U.S. match results. The schedule is available here. Full details of the Championships results are posted here. Country abbreviations are listed below the chart.

A green background indicates a win - red is a loss - yellow is a tie.

December 3: US wraps up play at World Championships with 4 wins

On the final day of play in Adelaide, the men's pairs came through with two wins to finish with a record of 4-7. The women's fours completed a strong tournament with a win on the final day for a 5-5-1 mark. The men's triples team won their last game to end up 2-7-2. Women's singles battled hard but came out on the short end to finish 2-9.

The US team entered the World Championships seeded between 18-22 out of 24 teams in each of the disciples and finished at or higher than their seeding. Women's fours had the best finish at 11 out of 24 teams, followed by men's fours at 15/24.

US players competed at the top level of lawn bowls and played some awesome bowls against the best in the world. Bowls fans at the venues have been very supportive and appreciative of the US players and the quality of bowls played.

Steve Nelson

December 1: US hopes for medal rest with Women's fours team

After seven games the American women's rink team sits at 4-2-1 and in a three-way tie for 3rd place in section play. The top three teams from each section qualify for the quarter-finals and a shot at a medal. The women have four games remaining against teams that are also seeking to qualify -- Fiji, South Africa, Cyprus and England. Two more wins will greatly improve the US squad's chances to advance.

In other play on Saturday, the men's triples lost to Wales and tied Israel for a record of 1-4-2. The men's pairs lost to New Zealand and Canada and now sit at 2-5. Women's singles lost both games today for a 1-6 mark.

Steve Nelson

November 30: Women's Fours in 2nd place at mid-point

The US women are 4-1 after 5 games in fours play, one game behind Wales in their section. The top three teams advance to the quarter-finals after sectional play of 11 games. Playing as a cohesive unit, the American quartet is jelling with their revised line-up of Janice Bell skip, Eva Lee vice, Myra Wood second and Anne Nunes lead.

After winning their first two games in pairs, the US duo of Neil Furman and Aaron Zangl lost three on Friday. Kim Heiser got her first win in singles over Hong Kong China and sits at 1-4. The US men's triples finally got untracked in the last game of Friday's schedule, coming back from a 4-10 deficit to win 18-13. To date their record is 1-3-1.

The three game schedule on Friday was a grind with the women's fours finishing their final game at 9:30 pm after starting the day at 9:00 am. Three more two-a-days of sectional play continue.

Steve Nelson

November 28: 1st event wrap-up at World Championships

USA men's fours finished 7-3-1 and finished 5th in their section, just missing out on advancing to the quarter-finals. The rest of the US team finished strong - the women's pairs won their last two games in section play for a record of 2-9. The women's triples finished 2-8-1 and men's singles at 3-8. The next events on tap are women's singles and fours, while the men play pairs and triples. Temperatures will be soaring in Adelaide over next days to 100F+. Go USA!

Quote of the day from one of the top bowlers in reference to USA and other smaller bowls nations: "The minnows can't be pummeled anymore."

Steve Nelson

November 26:

Team USA had a rough day on the greens with no wins in eight games, playing many of the teams favored for medals like Australia, New Zealand, Scotland and England.

Heat and wind were the order of the day with temps reaching into the mid 90s. Spirits remain high in the team, though realistically the men's fours are the squad remaining with hopes of reaching post-sectional play. Spectators come to watch our bowlers play and are impressed, offering many kind comments on the quality of play.

Steve Nelson

November 25: US men's fours team sits atop leader board at World Championships

On day two the US fours team came away with three quality wins against Canada, Fiji and Hong Kong to move to a 5-0 record. The rinks team of Neil Furman, Loren Dion, Bill Brault and Aaron Zangl used its strength as a cohesive unit to grind out the wins.

The women's pairs team of Kim Heiser and Eva Lee scored a big victory over South Africa and sit at 1-4. Myra Wood, Janice Bell and Anne Nunes scorched Spain by a score of 34-2 and are 2-3 in play. In men's singles Steve Nelson played well but dropped his three games against Australia, Scotland and Israel.

Section play continues for three more days before moving on to the next disciplines of men's pairs and triples and women's fours and singles.

Steve Nelson

November 22:

Ten players and two managers from Team USA are in Australia preparing for the World Bowls Championships that get underway Nov 24 in Adelaide South Australia. The premier event in lawn bowls, the World Championships are held every four years and feature competitors from 24 nations on six continents.

Team USA is strongly represented by players from the Southwest Division, providing seven of the ten players on the men’s and women’s squads. Representatives from the Central, Northwest and South Central Divisions complete the team.

Test matches against local clubs and training sessions at the venues of play are the order of the day prior to the opening ceremonies and commencement of play on Saturday. Following the opening ceremonies, men’s play begins with Singles (Steve Nelson) and Fours (Neil Furman, Loren Dion, Bill Brault and Aaron Zangl), while on the women’s side Pairs (Kim Heiser and Eva Lee) and Triples (Myra Wood, Janice Bell and Anne Nunes) will be played.

WorldBowls2012.com will be the place to go for tournament news and complete results of games. USLBA.org will provide coverage of Team USA.

Steve Nelson

November 21:

Team USA is competing at the World Championships in Adelaide Australia Nov 24 - Dec 9. As a team-building exercise and to hold each other accountable, the men's squad nominates a player to carry a pacifier on the outside of the player's bag for the day. Infractions that could result in a player being nominated for the pacifier include whining about runny eggs, throwing a wrong bias, complaining about the wind (the "W" word), or leaving a sink full of dishes.

As for the "W" word, any complaint that a bowl was affected by the wind means the player must put $1.00 in a kitty. In other words, the conditions are what they are. Deal with it. 

Both men's and women's squads have been practicing hard under the skillful guidance of Kelli Wray and Lynton Modra. Competition begins Saturday the 24th. All news and results can be found at www.worldbowls2012.com.

Steve Nelson

Opening Ceremony

Team USA member Neil Furman demonstrates Coach Kelli Wray driving technique.
The method involves focusing on a spot on green and avoiding view of the head,
much like ten-pin spot bowling. 

Manager Phil Luth and the Men's Team USA
Steve Nelson - Aaron Zangl - Loren Dion - Phil Luth - Neil Furman - Bill Brault

Manager Brenda Wright and the Women's Team USA
Myra Wood - Anne Nunes - Brenda Wright - Eva Lee - Kim Heiser - Janice Bell