THE VOICE AT THE OTHER END OF THE telephone sounds a bit uncertain. Although she is sitting in her own home in Oklahoma City, Tiffany Stanbrough seems a little lost.

And with good reason. Scarcely more than a year ago, Stanbrough was one of the rising stars of the PWBA tour. In the tour's abbreviated 2003 season, she was the only competitor to win twice. After five seasons as a pro, Stanbrough had made it to the winner's circle five times.

Other players talked about her as a potential all-time great, as someone who could take women's bowling into a new era and help assure the sport's future. But as the spring of 2004 turned into summer Stanbrough's future, like that of her sport, was in limbo. Instead of preparing to bowl on tour this spring, she spent her time refurbishing a house that she recently purchased and plans to sell. She also expanded her dog grooming business.

But Stanbrough is a bowler--and what she wants most in the world is to find a place to do that. She competed in the WIBC Tournament in Wichita in May and made it to the second round of match play in the WIBC Queens before a loss to Robin Romeo sent her into the loser's bracket and a loss to Carolyn Dorin-Ballard sent her packing. But whereas in previous years the 1999 Rookie of the Year would use the Queens as a primer for a season of tour competition, this year Stanbrough had little choice but to return home, find the occasional PBA regional or other tournament to bowl in, and think about what to do next.

"The [WIBC and Queens tournaments] gave us something to look forward to this year," Stanbrough says. "Now we have nothing to look forward to."

Stanbrough's feelings are hardly unique. Kelly Kulick is driving down the highway, on her way to bowl in a PBA regional event. Since the PWBA shut down last July, Kulick has been focusing her attention on men's events. She competed in the ABC Masters this spring as well as the WIBC events, and has bowled in several PBA regionals with an eye toward earning a full-time spot on the PBA tour one day, if there is no women's tour for her to bowl on.

When she's not competing or practicing, Kulick helps out in her father's auto body shop in Elizabeth, N.J. While she already has an education degree, Kulick was planning on being back in school this summer, perhaps eventually entering the hospitality business in some capacity.

While she's staying busy, Kulick admits that the demise of the PWBA has left a void. "I describe it as an emptiness inside myself," she says. "I'm dating a gentleman on the men's tour, and when he was out there bowling full time, it really hurt me to know that he was able to do it and I had nothing to go back to myself."

As much as the PWBA's demise was felt by bowling fans, equipment companies, and other bowling industry insiders, the brunt of the impact was absorbed by the players themselves, the hardy band of competitors who made women's professional bowling a viable concept in the first place.

When the tour folded, Stanbrough, Kulick, and many of their peers found themselves at a crossroads--without a road map. While the 27-year-old Kulick has her degree from Morehead Stare, the 26-year-old Stanbrough skipped college to focus on her future bowling career. Now, both women face the troubling question: "Do I have a future bowling career?"

While the likes of Kulick, Stanbrough, and 31-year old Kendra Gaines had their careers halted in mid-frame, Wendy Macpherson could already hear the final bell tolling. The 36-year-old Macpherson turned pro at 18 and has compiled one of the most distinguished records in the history of her sport. Her resume includes 20 victories, three wins at the WIBC Queens, a U.S. Open title, and four BOWLING DIGEST Women's Bowler of the Year awards. But she frankly admits that the PWBA's demise was less traumatic for her than it was for some of the younger players.

"I'm saddened for the bowlers that have only had a couple years [on tour]," Macpherson says. "They want 18 years like I've had. I'm 36 years old. I'm not going to be doing this forever.

"I have a great interest in what's going on because I want to be greedy for a couple more years. [Laughs] All I want is a couple more years, and then I'll be fine. I wasn't quite ready to finish the way our tour forced everybody to finish."

Even without a full-fledged tour to bowl on, Macpherson is still competing. Apart from the WIBC national events, she has competed on the Ladies Classic Tour (a Western regional circuit) and has also traveled to Texas to bowl in tournaments there.

As for making a living, Macpherson has returned to her roots and is working at Sunset Lanes in her hometown of Henderson, Nev., where she's bowled regularly for the past 10 years. When the PWBA shut down, Macpherson huddled with the center's owner, Bud Lang, and soon found herself working both in the pro shop and behind the counter. She's also getting a taste of the casino business, because there is casino attached to the bowling facility.

"It's a whole different avenue than I've ever had to work," Macpherson says, "as far as being on the other side, not bowling but working in the bowling industry. And I'll be honest with you, I have thoroughly enjoyed it. It can be hard sometimes, as far as working with the public and making sure everyone leaves satisfied. I want to make sure they leave the bowling center liking bowling."

Ann Marie Dugan had already been preparing for the end of her career long before the tour ceased operations. As her 42nd birthday approaches in September, Dugan has had to consider the possibility that her full-time bowling career could be over. "I called it my forced retirement," she says without bitterness. "I'm taking it in stride. I don't think there's anything we can do about it."

Dugan has been spending her time giving lessons and, along with her husband, running an online equipment company, Bowlingballmall.com. She is also doing clinics and appearances for Storm, which extended her contract through 2004. Like Macpherson, Dugan's thoughts tend to center on the players younger than herself who may never get the opportunity to spend the 21 years on tour that she has. "It's really bad for them," she says. "They made the commitment to come out, and one or two years later, there's no tour."

During the course of a 13-year professional career, which saw her win 15 PWBA titles, Kim Adler made it a point to carve out a life for herself outside the bowling center. It would be presumptuous to conclude that Adler was subconsciously preparing for the PWBA's collapse, but fair to say that she has prepared herself for life without a tour. Today, she is going to school with the hope of earning a degree in emergency medicine and perhaps next year attending medical school (she's been pre-accepted at the SABA University School of Medicine on the island of Saba in the Caribbean).

But for all her preparation, Adler has had to kick up the gear of her off-lanes life. "I'm making decisions in a quicker fashion than I would if given the opportunity to bowl a few more years," she says. "I'm in school full-time this summer and full-time in the fall. I've already received my EMT national certificate. I spent most of the winter in school as well. I've made some personal decisions over the last couple of years [that] I wanted to do more than just entertain.

"I understand that my position is that of a role model for other players. I do educate in that fashion and I will continue to do that. By no means do I want to leave bowling, but I feel that even with [the active PWBA tour] there was something missing from what I could potentially do."

What Adler, Kulick, Stanbrough, and their peers would most like to do, of course, is to resume bowling on a women's professional circuit. And Jan Schmidt, for one, thinks they will get that opportunity. Schmidt, the longtime marketing director and television voice of the PWBA, is now working for the WIBC as the organization's director of tournaments and marketing.

Some have looked to the WIBC to provide a foundation for the construction of a new tour. Whether or not that happens, Schmidt expects to see the former PWBA players back on the lanes--at least in some form.

"I'm of the belief that there will be a women's tour," she says. "At what level to start with, I don't know. There are a few people out there that do have some interest in it; the PBA or USBC could decide to do some things [but] they haven't made a commitment."

Dugan has been doing some thinking ralong the same lines. "I do feel that the industry thinks [the collapse of the PWBA] is a big loss," she says. "Not just for the industry, but for all of bowling."