Jessica Earnest, Kelsey Muther, Amanda Greene and Danielle McEwan of the United States (pictured left) captured the coveted four-player Team gold medal at the 12th World Youth Championships Sunday at Blu-O Paragon Bowling Center in Bangkok, Thailand.

The U.S. girls, who took the fourth and last spot for the finals after six games preliminaries, defeated No. 2 seed Singapore with New Hui Fen, Ilma Nur Jannah, Krishna Darshini and Bernice Lim in the title match, 850-799.

It was the second gold medal of the championships for the United States and the first in the Girls Division. Singapore had to settle for silver, while South Korea and England shared the bronze medal.

Junior Team USA stunned defending team champion Korea (left) in the opening match ousting top-seeded Kim Ga-Ram, Kim Seon-Jeong, Hwang Yeon-Ju and Oh Nuri, 924-846.

In the other semifinal match, Singapore topped England's Autum Chamberlain, Katrina Maciver, Danielle Hopcroft and Bethany Hedley (right), 787-765.

Action shifts to Masters match play on Monday and Tuesday. The top 24 in All Events will bowl six games in the Round of 24 is slated for Monday, July 2nd, at 12.30 p.m. The top eight will advance to Round Robin on Tuesday, July third, at 9 a.m. with the previous pinfall being carried forward.

After seven games round robin with bonus pins, the top 4 meet in the one-game semifinals (No. 1 vs. No. 4 and No. 2 vs. No. 3). The winners will bowl for the last gold medal of the Championships while the losers share bronze. The semifinals and finals are scheduled for 1 and 3 p.m., respectively.

Asian bowlers grabbed 14 of the 24 spots, while American girls took six and European players the remaining four spots. Team gold and silver medalists United States and Singapore are the only countries who have the entire team in the top 24.

Korea, Malaysia and Japan will be represented by three players, Colombia has two and Israel Latvia, Philippines, Russia and Sweden one each in the Masters finals.

12th World Youth Championships takes place at Blu-O Paragon Bowling Center in Bangkok, Thailand, from June 22 - July 3, 2012.

274 girls and boys from record 48 countries, who must not have reached their 21st birthday on January 1, 2012, will compete will compete for gold, silver and bronze medals in Singles, Doubles, four-player Team event, All Events and Masters in the ten-day event.

The WTBA patterns "Mexico City" and "Atlanta" will be used in Bangkok. The 45-foot Mexico City pattern is the second-longest of the twelve WTBA certified lane pattern (four short, four medium and four long). With a length of 38 feet, the Atlanta pattern is the shortest of the four medium pattern.

Singles is being played on "Mexico City" and Doubles will be contested on "Atlanta", while the Team event will feature both oil patterns (3 games on each pattern). The Masters will be staged on dual lane condition (one lane dressed with the medium pattern and the other lane dressed with the long pattern).

The top four players and teams after six games in Singles, Doubles and Team, respectively, will advance to the semifinals. The No. 1 meets No. 4 and No. 2 takes on No. 3. The winners will determine the World Youth Champion, while the losers will share the bronze medal. All matches are single-game matches.

Photos courtesy of Thai Tenpin Bowling Association (TTBA).

 

12th World Youth Championships - Girls Team Finals

Championship Round:
1. United States (Jessica Earnest, Kelsey Muther, Amanda Greene and Danielle McEwan)
2. Singapore (New Hui Fen, Ilma Nur Jannah, Krishna Darshini and Bernice Lim)

3. South Korea (Kim Ga-Ram, Kim Seon-Jeong, Hwang Yeon-Ju and Oh Nuri) and
England (Autum Chamberlain, Katrina Maciver, Danielle Hopcroft and Bethany Hedley)

Click on the image to enlarge it.

Playoff Results:
Semifinal Match 1:

No. 4 United States (Jessica Earnest 256, Kelsey Muther 199, Amanda Greene 238, Danielle McEwan 231) def.
No. 1 Korea (Kim Seon-Jeong 225, Oh Nuri 195, Kim Ga-Ram 234, Hwang Yeon-Ju 192), 924-846
Semifinal Match 2:

No. 2 Singapore (New Hui Fen 224, Ilma Nur Jannah 180, Krishna Darshini 191, Bernice Lim 192) No. 3 England (Danielle Hopcroft 180, Katrina Maciver 208, Bethany Hedley 165, Autum Chamberlain 212), 787-765
Title Match:

United States (Jessica Earnest 217, Kelsey Muther 206, Amanda Greene 215, Danielle McEwan 212) def.
Singapore (New Hui Fen 223, Ilma Nur Jannah 195, Krishna Darshini 177, Bernice Lim 204), 850-799.