World

Team USA Bowlers Collect Eight Medals on Final Day of Competition at 2024 Champion of Champions

Published

2 years ago

October 14, 2024

Team USA bowlers Bryanna Coté, Crystal Elliott, Matt Russo and Chris Via collected eight medals during Wednesday's final day of competition at the 2024 PANAM Bowling Champion of Champions in Lima, Peru Credit: The Sport of Bowling – USBC

LIMA, Peru (FNN SPORTS) – When Team USA traveled to Peru to compete in the 2024 PANAM Bowling Champion of Champions, it had the opportunity to collect a total of 12 medals, four in doubles, four in singles and four in all-events.

After the last shots had been thrown at the VIDENA Bowling Center of La Villa Deportiva Nacional (VIDENA) in Lima on Wednesday night and the final scores had been calculated, the Americans had managed to walk away with 10 of those 12 available medals.

Eight of those 10 were secured during Wednesday’s final day of competition when all four Team USA bowlers reached the podium two times each.

Bryanna Coté of Tucson, Arizona, was the most decorated American bowler on the day as she earned a gold medal in women’s all-events and a silver in women’s singles.

The other three Americans brought home one gold and one bronze medal each, which were earned as follows: Crystal Elliott of Palm Bay, Florida (women’s singles – gold; women’s all-events – bronze); Matt Russo of Ballwin, Missouri (men’s all-events – gold; men’s singles – bronze); Chris Via of Springfield, Ohio (men’s singles – gold; men’s all-events – bronze).

Team USA’s other two medals at the 2024 Champion of Champions were secured on Monday night when Russo and Via teamed up to capture silver in men’s doubles.

But Wednesday was all about individual action as the final eight-game blocks in each division determined both the singles and all-events medalists.

The women kicked things off during the morning session, and it didn’t take long to realize that the singles competition was going to be a two-player battle between Coté and Elliott from start to finish.

The American teammates pushed one another throughout the block, but, in the end, it was Elliott who emerged victorious, posting an eight-game mark of 1,602 (201, 198, 184, 202, 203, 204, 211 and 199) on Wednesday to finish with a 16-game total of 3,202 (a 200.13 average).

Coté finished just 21 pins behind at 3,181 (a 198.81 average) after a 1,568 final-round effort that included scores of 190, 225, 176, 204, 186, 171, 223 and 193.

Colombia’s Juliana Franco brought home the women’s singles bronze medal with a 16-game total of 3,112.

The singles victory allowed Elliott to win the battle – and her first gold medal as a member of Team USA – but Coté managed to win the war by topping her American teammate and the other 28 players in the field en route to the women’s all-events gold medal.

Coté earned her place atop the overall standings thanks to a three-day, 24-game total of 4,758 (a 198.25 average), which included 3,181 in singles and 1,577 in doubles.

Aruba’s Kamilah Dammers was next in line, authoring a 4,735 total (3,086 in singles and 1,649 in doubles) to walk away with silver in women’s all-events while Elliott used 3,202 in singles and 1,519 in doubles to post a mark of 4,721 (a 196.71 average) and capture bronze.

By earning gold and bronze this week at the Champion of Champions, Elliott not only doubled her career Team USA medal count, but she also continued a run of incredible bowling that started with a win at the 2024 U.S. Amateur, continued during the 2023-2024 collegiate season and culminated with her earning Rookie of the Year honors during the 2024 Professional Women’s Bowling Association Tour season.

But even though Elliott should be accustomed to success by now, she had a hard time figuring out what to say when asked how it felt to add an international singles gold medal to her list of accolades.

“I’m not really sure of the proper words to describe how I feel right now, but I would definitely say honored, fortunate and thankful,” Elliott said. “This past year has been nothing short of a dream, but that comes down to the hard work I put in because it’s not an easy sport. However, it helps to have a support system behind you that is always pushing you to be the best you can possibly be in practice and competition.”

In addition to trying to author a strong performance of her own, one of Coté’s primary goals for the 2024 Champion of Champions was to make sure Elliott knew that she could count on her for that support from start to finish.

It was a responsibility that Coté took very seriously, and it’s one that she clearly lived up to as both she and Elliott bowled well throughout the 24-game event.

“I think the idea of ‘having fun’ while doing work helped to ease Crystal’s mind on what was really going on around her,” Coté said. “We made a game plan the entire time. Being the veteran and leader for her felt rewarding. I felt like I did my job to help guide and push her while also maintaining my own composure and fight on the lanes. It just proves that you can do both.”

That composure and fight allowed Coté to secure her fourth and fifth career medals in Champion of Champions competition – she won gold in doubles and bronze in singles and all-events at the 2022 event in Brazil.

When asked what it is about this tournament that always seems to bring out her best, Coté pointed to its similarities to another event she’s quite fond of.

“The Champion of Champions reminds of the U.S. Women’s Open,” Coté said. “It’s an eight-game block, which can be long, grueling, mentally exhausting and hard. You really have to force yourself to stay patient and present. I knew going in that it was going to be hard and that execution and patience would be the key. Winning my first all-events gold medal here feels amazing.

“This week, like any week representing Team USA, is an absolute honor. I’m grateful for the opportunity and will always strive to be my best.”

Once the women’s competition had ended, Russo and Via took to the lanes for their final eight games and were hoping to call upon their best as well.

Via certainly accomplished that, putting up scores of 226, 191, 230, 195, 169, 223, 223 and 209 on Wednesday to add 1,666 pins to his total and bring home the men’s singles gold medal with a two-day, 16-game mark of 3,393 (a 212.06 average).

Canadian Francois Lavoie earned silver with 3,372.

The remaining spot on the men’s singles podium went to Russo, who used an eight-game total of 1,635 (208, 179, 245, 193, 238, 155, 201 and 216) on Wednesday to come in with a final score of 3,312 (a 207 average), which was good enough for third place in the 34-player field and the bronze medal.

Russo would get a gold of his own shortly thereafter, however, as the 3,312 from singles was added to the 1,623 he put up during doubles on Monday to give him a three-day, 24-game total of 4,935 (a 205.63 average), which was good enough for first place in the men’s all-events competition.

Mitch Hupe of Canada finished second and brought home silver thanks to a mark of 4,911.

Via collected bronze after posting 3,393 in singles and 1,509 in doubles to finish with a grand total of 4,902 (a 204.25 average).

Wednesday’s strong performances allowed both Russo and Via to finish the 2024 Champion of Champions a perfect three for three as both men medaled in all three events in which they competed.

Success at international events is certainly nothing new for Via as he came to Peru having already captured more than 10 medals during his tenure competing for Team USA and Junior Team USA; nevertheless, this week’s accomplishments in Lima are not something he will take for granted.

“Adding three medals to the trophy case is an amazing feeling,” Via said. “After missing out on a few close calls last year in the Dominican Republic, this was a nice rebound for me. A good performance like this, especially when the environment is so tough, is definitely rewarding and will be something I can use to build some confidence moving forward.”

But according to Via, that performance would not have happened if it weren’t for the support of his teammates and the contributions of another unsung hero.

“The work that Team USA Head Coach Bryan O’Keefe put in with us this week was incredible,” Via said. “He was at the bowling center for at least 12 hours each day working with us and the ladies. Those are long, hard days, especially with the grueling environment of how hard the lanes were here. A lot of the success from this tournament can be attributed to Coach O’Keefe and the work he did with me here and at camp a few weeks ago in Texas.”

For more information on Team USA, visit BOWL.com/TeamUSA.

United States Bowling Congress
The United States Bowling Congress serves as the national governing body of bowling as recognized by the United States Olympic & Paralympic Committee (USOPC). USBC conducts championship events nationwide including the largest participation sporting events in the world – the USBC Open and Women’s Championships – and professional events such as the USBC Masters and USBC Queens.

Founded in 1895, today USBC and its 1,449 state and local associations proudly serve more than a million members. USBC is headquartered in Arlington, Texas, working toward a future for the sport. The online home for USBC is BOWL.com.

Related Topics:AFFTS Bowling GoBowling TeamUSA USBC

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Tech

NASA’s Artemis II Astronauts Begin Historic Journey Around the Moon After Key Orion Engine Burn

Published

4 weeks ago

April 3, 2026

Willie David

Earth's crescent is seen from a solar array camera on the Orion spacecraft on the first flight day of the Artemis II mission. Credit: NASA

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (FNN) — For the first time in more than 50 years, astronauts on a NASA mission are headed around the Moon after successfully completing a critical burn of the Orion spacecraft’s main engine.

The approximately six-minute firing of Orion’s service module engine Thursday — known as the translunar injection burn — accelerated the spacecraft and its crew beyond Earth’s orbit, placing them on a trajectory toward the Moon.

Aboard the spacecraft are NASA astronauts Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover and Christina Koch, along with Canadian Space Agency astronaut Jeremy Hansen.

“Today, for the first time since Apollo 17 in 1972, humans have departed Earth orbit,” said Dr. Lori Glaze, acting associate administrator for NASA’s Exploration Systems Development Mission Directorate. “Reid, Victor, Christina and Jeremy now are on a precise trajectory toward the Moon. Orion is operating with crew for the first time in space, and we are gathering critical data and learning from each step.”

NASA’s Space Launch System rocket and Orion spacecraft lifted off from Launch Pad 39B at Kennedy Space Center at 6:35 p.m. EDT on April 1, beginning a planned 10-day test mission around the Moon and back.

Successful Launch and Spacecraft Activation

Shortly after reaching space, Orion deployed its four solar array wings, allowing the spacecraft to generate power from the Sun. The crew and mission controllers then began transitioning the spacecraft from launch to normal flight operations while checking critical onboard systems.

About 49 minutes into the flight, the rocket’s upper stage fired to place Orion into an elliptical orbit around Earth. A second burn propelled the spacecraft — named “Integrity” by the crew — into a high Earth orbit extending roughly 46,000 miles above the planet for nearly 24 hours of system testing.

Following the maneuver, Orion separated from the upper stage and began flying independently.

System Tests and Crew Operations in Space

During the early phase of the mission, the astronauts conducted a manual piloting demonstration to evaluate Orion’s handling capabilities using the Interim Cryogenic Propulsion Stage as a docking target.

After the test, Orion executed an automated departure burn to safely move away from the stage. The propulsion stage later performed a disposal burn before re-entering Earth’s atmosphere over a remote area of the Pacific Ocean.

Before its re-entry, four small CubeSats were deployed from the rocket’s Orion stage adapter to conduct separate scientific missions.

Mission teams also transitioned communications to NASA’s Deep Space Network while the crew adjusted to the space environment. Astronauts completed their first rest periods, performed onboard exercise routines, restored the spacecraft’s toilet to normal operations and prepared the spacecraft for the translunar injection burn.

Lunar Flyby and Artemis Program Goals

The crew is scheduled to conduct a lunar flyby Monday, April 6, when astronauts will capture high-resolution images and make observations of the Moon’s surface — including portions of the lunar far side rarely seen directly by humans.

Although the far side will only be partially illuminated during the flyby, the lighting conditions are expected to cast long shadows across the terrain, highlighting ridges, slopes and crater rims that are difficult to observe under full sunlight.

After completing the flyby, the astronauts will return to Earth and splash down in the Pacific Ocean off the coast of San Diego.

The mission marks a major milestone for NASA’s Artemis program, which aims to send astronauts on increasingly ambitious missions to explore the Moon, advance scientific discovery, stimulate economic growth and prepare for the first crewed missions to Mars.

Sports

Karolina Muchova Dominates Alexandra Eala 6-0, 6-2 at Miami Open to Advance

Published

1 month ago

March 24, 2026

FNN SPORTS

Karolina Muchova Cruises Past Alexandra Eala in Straight Sets at Miami Open. Roman D. Garary / Florida National News

MIAMI, Fla. (FNN SPORTS) — No. 14-ranked Karolína Muchová delivered a dominant performance at the Miami Open, defeating the Philippines’ Alexandra Eala in straight sets, 6-0, 6-2.

The Czech star controlled the match from the opening game, racing to a 6-0 first-set victory before maintaining her aggressive play in the second set to close out the match in convincing fashion.

Muchova Takes Early Control

Muchova wasted little time asserting control, quickly building momentum and dictating play from the baseline. Her consistent groundstrokes and aggressive approach left Eala struggling to find rhythm throughout the match.

The 29-year-old Czech player dominated the opening set without dropping a game and carried that momentum into the second set, allowing just two games before sealing the win.

Karolina Muchova Cruises Past Alexandra Eala in Straight Sets at Miami Open. Roman D. Garary / Florida National News

Post-Match Reaction

Speaking in an on-court interview with Tennis Channel, Muchova said she focused on controlling the match against a dangerous opponent.

“I just wanted to control the game because I know she can be very dangerous, especially here where she had an amazing result last year,” Muchova said.

“So I tried to control the game, keep myself at the baseline and play aggressive — and it worked pretty well,” she added.

Alexandra Eala at Miami Open. Roman D. Garary / Florida National News

Impact on Eala’s Ranking

The loss marked Eala’s second defeat to a Czech player in two weeks. She previously fell to Linda Nosková in the Round of 16 at the Indian Wells Open on March 11.

World

Regional Tourism Chief Links Caribbean Resilience to Agricultural Preservation at 54th Annual AgriFest

Published

2 months ago

February 16, 2026

FNN NEWS

ST. CROIX, U.S. Virgin Islands (February 17, 2026) — The future of Caribbean economic stability lies not in the boardroom but in the soil, declared Dona Regis‑Prosper, Secretary-General and CEO of the Caribbean Tourism Organization (CTO), on Saturday.

Addressing a capacity crowd at the opening of the 54th annual AgriFest on St. Croix in the U.S. Virgin Islands, the region’s top tourism official delivered a powerful reminder that modern tourism success remains inseparable from the Caribbean’s agrarian roots.

Framing the three-day showcase of agriculture and technology as a reckoning with regional identity, Regis-Prosper challenged the idea that tourism should eclipse local production.

“Before there were hotels, airports, seaports (and) cruise ships, there was land, soil and cultivation,” she said. “Tourism really began in a garden.”

A foundation of identity

Regis-Prosper, whose career includes work on St. Croix-based energy projects in the 1990s, praised the U.S. Virgin Islands for sustaining agriculture as a core pillar of its social and economic fabric rather than treating it as a secondary industry.

“Here in St. Croix, agriculture is not a side story. It is the foundation of your global identity,” she said, referencing the historical legacies of St. Croix’s sugar, St. Lucia’s bananas, Jamaica’s coffee, and Trinidad & Tobago’s cocoa.

She noted that today’s travelers increasingly seek sensory authenticity over traditional luxury markers — a shift that places local farmers at the center of the tourism value chain.

“Visitors don’t always remember square footage, décor or thread counts,” Regis-Prosper said. “They remember taste, smell, storytelling — or, as I like to say, truth-telling. And they remember how they felt.”

Economic indicators: “Every room is filled”

That vision of agro-tourism was reinforced by real-time data shared by Jennifer Matarangas‑King, Commissioner of Tourism for the U.S. Virgin Islands, who confirmed that AgriFest has become one of the Territory’s busiest tourism weekends.

“Outside of the Crucian Christmas Festival, Agrifest is the biggest weekend that we have,” Matarangas-King said. “Right now, every room is filled. You can’t get a rental car. I think people are probably sleeping on the beach at this point — so that’s good for us.”

She reported that three cruise ships were to deliver more than 8,000 visitors over the holiday weekend, joining thousands of residents and diaspora members, and emphasized that the Territory’s farm-to-table reputation is an authentic cultural asset rather than a marketing trend. “Farm-to-table is not a movement here,” said Matarangas-King. “It’s a way of life that spans generations.”

Policy and resilience

Governor Albert Bryan Jr. used the platform to call for a shift in how the Territory approaches land use, consumption and food security. Praising Agriculture Commissioner Dr. Louis Petersen for his long-standing leadership, the governor framed land ownership as a pathway to generational wealth and resilience.

“We all need to think think about how we live, how we eat and what we grow,” Bryan said. “Good food grows in the yard. Actually, everything grows here.”

He noted that his administration continues to acquire land specifically for preservation and agricultural use, urging young people to see the “garden” as a foundational asset.

The path forward

Referring to the CTO’s Reimagine Plan, which highlights sustainable and regenerative tourism, Regis-Prosper emphasized that technology must serve as an ally to strengthen long-term resilience. “Agriculture plus technology plus strategic foresight equals resilience,” she said. “And resilience is something that St. Croix knows well.”

Her closing message served as a regional directive: “Tourism should never replace the garden. Tourism should protect it.”

Prior to the opening ceremony, the CTO delegation — including Narendra Ramgulam, Deputy Director of Sustainable Tourism, and Marvelle Sealy, Executive Assistant and Office Manager — met with Governor Bryan, Commissioner Matarangas-King and RoseAnne Farrington, Deputy Commissioner of Tourism, to discuss regional cooperation and the expansion of agro-tourism linkages across the Caribbean.

L–R at Government House, St. Croix: Marvelle Sealy, Executive Assistant and Office Manager, Caribbean Tourism Organization (CTO); Dona Regis-Prosper, CTO Secretary-General and CEO; RoseAnne Farrington, USVI Deputy Commissioner of Tourism and Deputy Chair, CTO Cruise Committee; Albert Bryan Jr., Governor of the USVI; and Narendra Ramgulam, Deputy Director of Sustainable Tourism, CTO

CTO Secretary-General Dona Regis-Prosper (right) presents a handcrafted salad bowl to Jennifer Matarangas-King, Commissioner of Tourism, U.S. Virgin Islands at Agrifest 2026.