One-On-One with Hope Gramly: PWBA 2023 Rookie of the Year
After a decorated collegiate career in bowling (and volleyball), at age 23, Hope Gramly stormed onto the PWBA tour and would end up taking home the 2023 PWBA Rookie of the Year award. Hope brings with her a competitive tenacity and desire to win. The PWBA is already full of great talent, and it just got a lot more competitive.
Bowling One-On-One had the privilege of meeting up with Hope and I asked her about her bowling journey.
Many in the bowling world might think your very first toy as a child must have been a bowling ball because of the way you’ve impacted the sport at such a young adult age. Talk about your first experience with the sport and how things progressed from the early going.
“I started bowling when I was 10. My family took part in the “kids bowl free” coupons over the summers. We went regularly just with house equipment and soon realized how fun this would be to do regularly and more competitively. So, we got our own shoes and plastic balls and joined a family league on Saturday mornings. As a very competitive person by nature, I hated being bad at bowling so I would work and work to improve my game, get reactive bowling balls and kept learning. Eventually, it got to the point where I knew I was good enough for a collegiate team and I haven’t looked back since.”
After a successful collegiate career at McKendree University in Illinois, you entered the PWBA tour in 2022 as a non-member and made two stepladder final appearances. There was no way you were going to sneak onto the WPBA tour under radar in 2023. You came onto the scene highly touted, and the members of the tour knew that Hope Gramly would have to be dealt with in competition. You did not disappoint. In your official rookie season this year, you finished in the Top 10, four times. You reached Match-Pay 5 times and made the Championship Stepladder Finals 3 times. For your efforts, you were awarded the 2023 PWBA Rookie of the Year honors. What an incredible start to your PWBA career. Talk about coming into the league with such high-expectations and what this award means to you.
“Following college, and with the two stepladders I made as a non-member, I knew there was already talk about me getting rookie of the year. It was almost like it was expected of me, and that put some pressure on me before the tour even started. After the first stop, my first professional cash, I knew that I didn’t want to compete well for the trophy or for what people expected, but I wanted to do it for me. To prove to myself I had what it took to be out there full time. The award at the end of the season was very rewarding for me. I hadn’t competed well enough to get a tournament trophy, so when Robyn Graves (PWBA Brand Manager) handed me the ROY trophy, it was a tremendously heartwarming and rewarding moment for me.”
Following the PWBA tour this season and having watched you compete in match-play and in finals events, it’s not just your talent and unique abilities that stand out, it’s also the tremendous inner fire, focus and tenacity about your game that stands out. Talk about the competitiveness you bring to your game. Is it a family trait? Where did that come from?
“My volleyball coach in high school asked my team a question once. She asked ‘do you like to win to avoid the punishment if you lose? Or do you just like winning?’ Without second thought I said out loud ‘because I love winning’, while my teammates agreed so they would avoid the punishment of losing. My competitiveness, although not rare considering the ladies I’m bowling against, is special in its own way. I’ve always been this way. Of course, I don’t know for sure where it came from. My dad was a collegiate basketball star so his old competitiveness sure could’ve rubbed off on me. But growing up my brother and I competed over everything, so my guess is that only exaggerated it.”
With the 2024 season not too far off, talk about your goals and your expectations as you prepare for the upcoming season.
“For 2024, my goals stay the same as they were for 2023. Cash in every event and win a title. Already this off season I’ve changed my game in many ways to hopefully elevate my game the way I need to achieve my goals. I know I’m moving in the right direction because I recently bowled in a tournament where it was the first time I took the changes I’ve made to a competition setting and at that tournament I performed very well, score and execution wise.”
Professional bowling requires a year-round commitment to stay on top of your game. But when there is some off time you can enjoy, tell us about other interests and hobbies you might have?
“As many know, I used to play volleyball. Volleyball is still one of my passions, although I’m not able to play it much anymore due to other commitments. I’ve also gotten really big into reading. The last few years I’ve read multiple books, and they’ve just helped me get away from the responsibilities and commitments for a while. Other than that, my life is bowling.”
Bowling all around the globe seems to be gaining momentum both recreationally and competitively at all levels and ages. What words of wisdom would you give to bowlers out there looking to improve their game?
“The best advice I can give anyone wanting to be better is find someone who knows more than you, learn everything you can from them, then find someone else who knows even more and learn from them. There’s always something to learn in this sport and there’s always something to learn from everyone who bowls regardless of their skill level.”
Thank you Hope for taking time out of your schedule to visit with us and sharing some insight into your bowling journey and your incredible first season on the PWBA tour. Bowling fans around the world look forward to watching you compete in 2024. Best of luck to you this upcoming season!
“Thank you very much. I’m always happy to give insight to my career and hope that whoever is reading can take what they need to improve their own game. As always, I’d like to thank my sponsors and teams that support me, including friends and family. Wouldn’t be as successful as I am without everyone involved.”
*Images courtesy of PWBA, USBC and Hope Gramly
PWBA Career
- 2023 PWBA Rookie of the Year
- 2023 Championship Round Appearances: 3, T-5th
- 2023 Match Play Appearances: 5, T-5th
- 2023 Cashes: 8, T-14th
- 2023 Points: 14th
- 2023 Average: 15th (210.19)
Amateur Career
- 2022 Women’s Bowling NCAA DI National Championship
- 2021 National Tenpin Coaches Association (NTCA) Division II Bowler of the Year
- 2021 and 2022 Great Lakes Valley Conference (GLVC) Player of the Year for Bowling and Academic All-Conference Honoree
- 2018 GLVC Freshman of the Year for Volleyball and Second-Team All-GLVC Honors in 2018 and 2019
