Local bowler qualifies for Senior Queens in 2019
Local bowler Lisa Corbett described winning the Jeanette Martinich Scratch Classic at Star Lanes on March 3-4 in Butte and qualifying for the 2019 Senior Queens Tournament in Wichita, Ks. as more accelerating than throwing a 300-game, something she’s continued to pursue but never attained in her career.
Corbett, who is a 45-year veteran bowler, decided to admit winning the tournament was a “little emotional” as she captured her first-ever scratch tournament individual title in her bowling career.
“I’ve never rolled a 300-game and my parents bought this bowling alley,” Corbett said. “I’ve rolled a 298 but never a 300 and to win something like this tournament, I don’t care if I ever roll a 300 because winning this tournament is pretty gratifying.”
In order to qualify for the Senior Queens Tournament, Corbett had to throw 17 bowling gamees to qualify for Sunday to advance to what is referred to as the “step ladder finals.”
With multiple variables dictating the condition of oil patterns on the lanes, Corbett said it is hard to find consistency but throwing in the tournament at Star Lanes just flowed.
“I bowl in three leagues on Thursday and Friday and threw horrible a couple of days prior to the tournament,” Corbett said. “Every day bowling is just different. In Butte, I found that groove and everything just felt all right.”
Corbett, who threw in a state senior division back in 2012 in Vegas, said performing in the tournament is “nerve wracking.”
“I didn’t bowl very well the first day of the tournament but I did a lot better on my second day,” Corbett said. “When you bowl in national tournaments like the Senior Queens, it is very nerve wracking and when you participate in tournaments like this, it can also be very nerve-wracking. Last Sunday in Butte, bowling just felt right.”
Though Corbett has been a bowler for a long time and just won a $1,000 purse and a pearl necklace, she admits she doesn’t have aspirations to try to achieve her pro card.
“I am bowling the best that I can but every time I bowl, it’s a struggle and every day is different,” Corbett said. “Someday ‘yes,’ I would love to bowl a 300. Not throwing a 300 used to bother me but now I just do the best I can every time I get on the approach.”
Corbett said she doesn’t want to pursue a career as a professional bowler.
“I enjoy the sport of bowling and bowling is a lifetime sport. That is why our bowling alley tries to get young people interested in the sport because it is a sport they can take up for a lifetime. It is something they can do when they are young adults because most kids don’t go on to play football, basketball and baseball. They can still pursue the sport of bowling. We have many bowlers at the alley that do this for 50-plus years.”
As Corbett continues to work on her game, she says her primary objective in her career is to “just improve.”
“I just strive to get better by hitting my mark and rolling the ball properly,” Corbett, who throws a 15-pound ball, said. “My husband thinks I need to go down to a lighter ball because 15 pounds is too heavy to throw. I may have to go down in weight to help benefit my game.”
Tim Corbett, husband of Lisa Corbett and owner of Lucky Strike Lanes in Ronan, said the tournament is a “big deal.”
“The trip to the Queens Tournament is a big deal,” Tim Corbett said. “She has been in the game all of her life and qualifying for the Queens Tournament is a cool deal because there will be a lot of state senior tournaments and the Queens tournament has the best senior ladies basically in the world.”