Shannon O'Keefe
Shannon O'Keefe is a female professional bowler who has competed in the USA and internationally. She is a five-time member of Team USA, and is the reigning Women's World Champion (Monterrey, Mexico, 2007). O'Keefe competed on the now defunct PWBA Tour and was runner-up rookie of the year in that tour's final season (2003). After giving up her professional status and waiting to regain her amateur status, O'Keefe won the New York State Queens Title, along with two Rochester, New York Queens titles. She earned a spot on Team USA in her first attempt in 2005, and has been a member for the last five years.
Other bowling highlights include a fifth place finish in the 2007 USBC Queens Tournament, and a runner-up finish in the 2007 U.S. Women's Open. She bowled a 299 on television in the U.S. Open quarterfinals, and at the time tied a record for the most consecutive strikes in a row on television (18 over two games). O'Keefe has won numerous gold, silver and bronze medals in international competition as a member of Team USA. She is currently an exempt bolwer in the PBA Women's Series, which is sponsored by the United States Bowling Congress (USBC). She made the quarterfinals of the 2009 PBA Women's World Championship,[1] which was the first women's World Championship under PBA sanction.
Prior to her bowling success, O'Keefe was a first team all-American centerfielder, while attending Portland State University. She had a .411 batting average as a freshman, with 15 outfield assists. As a 15-year old, she was among the final 160 women competing for a spot on the 1996 Team USA Softball Team. O'Keefe was recognized at the Oregon Hayward Awards in 2007 as a finalist for "Professional Woman Athlete of the Year".
She continues to represent Team USA in bowling, along with her day job as International Coordinator for the USBC. O'Keefe was part of Team USA in 2011—the team that went to the WTBA World Women's Championships in Hong Kong and took home gold for the United States in the team event for the first time since 1987.[2]
O'Keefe is a member of the following pro staffs: DV8, Dexter and Vise.