ELLIOTT & GRAMLY NAMED PLAYERS OF THE YEAR AS NTCA ANNOUNCES ALL-AMERICANS

May 5, 2021 For Immediate Release

NASHVILLE, TN---Crystal Elliott of Nebraska and Hope Gramly of McKendree headline the 2020-21 All- America team, which was revealed today by the National Ten Pin Coaches Association (NTCA). Elliott and Gramly were named their respective divisions Player of the Year and were part of the five-woman first- team honorees that also include Denise Blankenzee of Sam Houston, Jenna Henderson of Fairleigh Dickinson and Faith Welch of Arkansas State. Elliott, a sophomore transfer from Palm Bay, Fla., anchored the national champion Cornhuskers. She led her team with a season average of 213.47 and had three top-five and five top-10 finishes. She was previously named to the All Central-Region first team. Gramly, a junior from Prospect, Tex., had previously been honored as a third-team and honorable mention selection by the NTCA. Her outstanding year included winning four tournaments and finishing in the Top 10 six times. She was the Most Valuable Player at the Flyer Classic, the Columbia 300 Music City Classic, the Bearcat Hammer Open and the Big Red Invite. Blankenzee, a freshman from Julianadorp, Netherlands, was named the Division I National Rookie of the Year in addition to her first-team All-America status. She earned the Southland Bowling League Newcomer of the Year and the Bowler of the Year honors, sweeping both awards for the first time in league history. She placed among the top 5 in five of her team’s seven regular season tournaments, winning the La Tech Invitational. Blankenzee’s traditional scoring average of 210 established a new school record. Henderson, the first-team’s lone senior, is a native of Washington, N.J. She won two events, finished in the top five four times and averaged 210.69 for the Knights. Henderson led the Northeast Conference in individual scoring average and was named the conference's Bowler of the Year, where she was also named to the NEC's first team all-conference. Welch, a sophomore from Savannah, Tenn., had a 213.4 overall average for the national runner-up Red Wolves. She was all-tournament in three events, finishing second at the Big Red Invitational and the Lady Techster Invite. Isabel Allen of McKendree was cited as the Division II/III Newcomer of the Year. The Tamworth, England native won the ITC sectionals with 1,262 pin fall. She was an honorable mention all Central Region pick by the NTCA. The NTCA second-team consists of Rachel Bamford of Sacred Heart, Mabel Cummins of Vanderbilt, Taylor Davis of Arkansas State, Cameron Strombeck of North Carolina A&T and Kayla Verstraete of Nebraska. The third team selections include Rebecca Dodson of Mount St. Mary’s, Melanie Katen of North Carolina A&T, Maranda Pattison of McKendree, Ericka Quesada of North Carolina A&T and Cassidy Ray of Nebraska. Paul Klempa was honored as the Division I Bill Straub Coach of the Year after leading his team to the NCAA title. McKendree’s Shannon O’Keefe repeated as the Division II/III Coach of the Year after taking the Bearcats into the NCAA Final Four.

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2021 NTCA All-America Teams

First Team Denise Blankenzee Freshman Sam Houston State University Julianadorp, Netherlands Crystal Elliott Sophomore University of Nebraska-Lincoln Palm Bay, Fla. Hope Gramly Junior McKendree University Prosper, Tex. Jenna Henderson Senior Fairleigh Dickinson University Washington, N.J. Faith Welch Sophomore Arkansas State University Savannah, Tenn.

Second Team Rachel Bamford Senior Sacred Heart University Rochester, N.H. Mabel Cummins Sophomore Hermitage, Tenn. Taylor Davis Senior Arkansas State University Davison, Mich. Cameron Strombeck Senior North Carolina A&T Durham, N.C. Kayla Verstraete Freshman University of Nebraska-Lincoln Loves Park, Ill.

Third Team Rebecca Dodson Junior Mount St. Mary’s University Panama City, Fla. Melanie Katen Freshman North Carolina A&T San Jose, Calif. Maranda Pattison Sophomore McKendree University Redwood Valley, Calif. Ericka Quesada Junior North Carolina A&T Heredia, Costa Rica Cassidy Ray Junior University of Nebraska-Lincoln Herrin, Ill.

Honorable Mention Isabel Allen Freshman McKendree University Tamworth, England Carlene Beyer Junior Stephen F. Austin University Ogdensburg, Wisc. Amanda Chrzanowski Senior Fairleigh Dickinson University Schenectady, N.Y. Samantha Gainor Senior Vanderbilt University Chesterfield, Mich. Sarah Gill Senior Stephen F. Austin University Attleboro, Mass. Allie Leiendecker Sophomore Tech University Wooster, Ohio Madison McCall Senior Myrtle Beach, S.C. Sarah Radt Sophomore Medaille College Orchard Park, N.Y. Kiearra Saldi Sophomore Duquesne University Taylor, Pa. Tamera Stanton Junior Mount St. Mary’s University Baltimore, Md.

Player of the Year Division I Crystal Elliott University of Nebraska-Lincoln Palm Bay, Fla. Division II/III Hope Gramly McKendree University Prosper, Tex.

Rookie of the Year Division I Denise Blankenzee Sam Houston State University Julianadorp, Netherlands Division II/III Isabel Allen McKendree University Tamworth, England

Coach of the Year Division I Paul Klempa University of Nebraska-Lincoln

Division II/III Shannon O’Keefe McKendree University

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