Barnes entered the championship round as the top seed and survived seven consecutive matches without a loss to claim the title. She rebounded from a 2-4-10 split in the sixth frame and struck on five of her next six shots to win the title.

"This is a tough tournament, and I've been very fortunate because it takes the luck of the draw and bowling the right people at the right time," Barnes said. "I feel lucky to even have made it to this position."

While Barnes was competing in the championship match, her husband was calling the action for the live telecast on ESPN2, creating a unique situation for Barnes.

"I could hear him throughout the show, and I could hear some of his comments," said Barnes, the mother of 5-year-old twin boys, Ryan and Troy. "It was actually reassuring for me because I could hear him and it let me know I was doing the right things. Plus, I had the picture of my kids on the table, so between the two it really kept me focused."

After Barnes stepped up in the final frame and delivered three strikes, Stolz had an opportunity to tie the match if she could match with a three-bagger of her own. But on her first shot, she left the 2-5 spare to finish second.

"I just wanted to step up and throw a good shot," Stolz said. "Usually I'm great under pressure and I didn't throw a bad shot, it just didn't quite make it to the pocket. It felt really good off my hand, but it just hung out there a bit."

On the way to the title match, Stolz took out Australian Carol Gianotti, 217-179, and then defeated second seed Liz Johnson of Cheektowaga, N.Y., 234-232, in the semifinal. Gianotti defeated Joy Esterson of Annapolis, Md., 237-222 in the opening match.

Barnes took home $30,000 for first place in addition to the Queens tiara, pendant and crystal trophy. Stolz earned $18,000 for second.

POSTMA BECOMES FIRST THREE-TIME USBC SENIOR QUEENS CHAMPION

Sandy Postma of Lansing, Ill., swept all three games against challenger Marliss Tapp of Portage, Mich., to become the first three-time United States Bowling Congress Senior Queens champion at Skore Lanes on Wednesday.

Postma, the 2004 and 2006 Senior Queens champion, defeated Tapp, 604-556, to win the $3,000 first prize while completing the tournament without a loss in the three-game, double-elimination match play finals.

"Every time I've won, I've done it like this," Postma said. "It's the best way to do it. The pressure's always on the other person when they have to beat you in two three-game matches, especially when the shot's as tough as it was here."

Postma, who also won the 1995 USBC Queens, also will try once again to be the first to win back-to-back Senior Queens titles.

"I don't know why, but it's getting to be if you put the word queens in the title, I win," she said. "A few years ago I won the Chicago Queens. I've won the Indiana Queens, the regular USBC Queens, this one...

"But two in a row would be cool," she added. "It's just so hard to repeat. All you have to do is run into two players who are really bowling well in match play and you're history. So far I've been pretty fortunate."