Matt Cannizzaro USBC Communications

Round 1 standings: BPAA Women's All-Star | Senior Women's U.S. Open

Jodi Woessner of Oregon, Ohio, leads after the opening round at the Bowling Proprietors' Association of America Women's All-Star Tournament, while Jan Schmidt of Hales Corners, Wisconsin, tops the standings at the 2014 Bowling's Senior Women's U.S. Open.

Woessner, a 44-year-old right-hander, averaged more than 224 on the way to a 1,347 six-game total Monday at The Cherry Bowl to pace the 75-player BPAA Women's All-Star field. Schmidt's 1,192 leads the 28 bowlers competing in the Senior Women's U.S. Open. The two events are being held simultaneously at the 32-lane venue.

Alexis Ijams of Wichita, Kansas, is second in the Women's All-Star standings with 1,346, and former Team USA member Ashly Galante of Palm Harbor, Florida, is third with 1,340. USBC Hall of Famer Linda Kelly of Dayton, Ohio, sits second in the Senior Women's U.S. Open with 1,160, followed by Janet Vincent of Decatur, Illinois (1,160).

Woessner drew on her recent experience at the United States Bowling Congress Queens, where she bowled well on the "burn" squad but struggled when the lanes were fresh. She entered Monday's first round with a simple game plan and made good equipment choices to set the pace on the challenging 39-foot oil pattern.

"I wanted to stay as straight as I could, and that worked out for me today," Woessner said. "I got lined up quickly on a lot of the pairs, and that's something I struggle with from time to time. I knew I wanted to get as much as I could today, but I also came to watch the early squad, so I could get a better idea for the fresh tomorrow."

Schmidt, the 1993 USBC Queens champion, saw the scores from the earlier squad and knew the lanes would be challenging, but she too made good decisions on the way to the top of the leaderboard.

"It definitely wasn't easy," said Schmidt, a member of the USBC Board of Directors. "It was tough to carry, but I made a good ball change along the way that got me through, so I'm happy. I was able to make good shots, and I'm excited to bowl tomorrow."

All competitors will bowl 18 qualifying games over three days before the field is cut. The top 16 BPAA Women's All-Star Tournament participants will bowl 16 games of round-robin match play, and the top eight in the Senior Women's U.S. Open will bowl eight games of match play to determine the stepladder finalists for each event.

The Senior Women's U.S. Open stepladder finals are scheduled for Thursday, and the BPAA Women's All-Star Tournament finals will be Friday.

All qualifying, match play and championship-round competition will be broadcast live on BOWL.com's BowlTV. Competition resumes Tuesday at 11 a.m. EDT.

The Women's All Star Tournament, which began in 1971, was the pre-cursor to Bowling's U.S. Women's Open, which is on hiatus until 2015. This year's event will showcase today's top talent, highlight the history of women's bowling and celebrate the 40th anniversary of formation of the Ladies Pro Bowling Tour.

The Women's All-Star winner will take home $15,000, while the Senior Women's U.S. Open champion will earn $3,000.

The Senior Women's U.S. Open marks the third and final stop of the Senior Women's Triple Crown Series presented by The Orleans. The Triple Crown Series is a special competition for bowlers who compete in the United States Bowling Congress Senior Queens, National Golden Ladies Classic and Senior Women's U.S. Open.

The top 10 players in the Triple Crown standings, which combines qualifying totals from all three events, will take part in the Triple Crown Shoot-Out presented by The Orleans.

The Triple Crown Shoot-Out will be held after the Senior Women's U.S. Open qualifying rounds July 24 at The Cherry Bowl.

Paula Vidad of Sun City, Calif., is the defending champion at the Senior Women's U.S. Open, while USBC Hall of Famer Lucy Sandelin of Tampa, Fla., won the Triple Crown Shoot-Out in 2013.

Bowling's U.S. Open officially will return in 2015 after USBC and BPAA agreed to a three-year deal that will see USBC operate and conduct the U.S. Open for men and women in 2015, 2016 and 2017.

As part of the agreement, USBC and BPAA each will contribute at least $100,000 annually toward operating the events. Further details will be announced at a later date.

For more information on the BPAA All-Star Tournament and Bowling's Senior Women's U.S. Open, visit BPAA.com/tournaments.