Our event this weekend was at AMF Chandler Lanes and we had good turnout with 67 total entries (49 qualifying and 18 economy parlay), 22 total cashers, and a 1 in 3.1 cash ratio and paid out over $3,100.00 in main and side event prize funds. Players bowled on the Kegel 42ft Autobahn oil pattern. Most of the players played in the middle of the lane trying to push their ball out past the 2nd arrow. This house typically has a lot of friction and it didn't take very long for the pattern to break down which forced players to move further left resulting in some very high scores. Congrats to Charlie Price on shooting an impressive 805 series (258, 279, 268) today with his Track Precision bowling ball. Since Charlie used a Track bowling ball to shoot his honor score, he will receive a free Track bowling ball of his choice. Thank you to Track bowling for the continued support and sponsorship of our tournament club.
As always, we want to welcome our first-time bowlers to the SFT AHT family! Welcome Mark Durben, Franciska Jenne and Michael Duncombe to our little bowling family! We hope you all had a good time at your first event and we look forward to seeing you at the next one! Congrats to Franciska Jenne and Michael Duncombe on advancing to the quarterfinals in their very first event! Also, congrats to Mike Miller on advancing to the quarterfinals through the economy parlay! We almost always have 1 bowler that advances by winning the parlay and bowling well again. Your winner of the free Track plastic ball raffle was Dan Lanious.
The quarter finals, like the rest of the event, was medium to high scoring with the standings tight and being determined by the final game of the quarters. In the A Division, your #1 seed would be Ron Gonzales and he would have to face off against Correen Lieber, who has been on quite a good run lately. In the B Division, you would see newcomer and #1 seed Franciska Jenne taking on SFT regular Derek Hamm. The C Division was led by Brandon Bailey, but he would have to wait to see who he would face because both Patrick Sheridan and Tee Smythe tied at +45. This would lead to a 9th/10th frame roll off between them to see who would advance to the semi-finals. Patrick would start the 9th frame with a strike and Tee chopped his 6-10 spare, but Tee would still have a small advantage in handicap. Tee’s first shot in the 10th went a little wide hitting only the 6-9-10, but he would pick up his spare and strike to fill out the frame. Patrick would need to fill out the tenth in order to win. His first shot when a bit high leaving the 6-10, but he was able to pick up the spare and strike to punch his ticket to the C Division semi-finals and face Brandon Bailey.
In the semi-finals, Derek Hamm went on a tear putting up a huge 268 game scratch to defeat Franciska Jenne, who had been bowling extremely well all day. The A division semi-final would be a back and forth affair with Correen and Ron both stringing strikes together early on. Ron would end up leaving a split in both the 4th and 6th frames which would give Correen a bit of an opening to try and take the lead, but Correen would split in the 6th frame tying up both bowlers. It would all come down to the tenth frame. Correen would finish out her tenth frame with a three bagger, to finish at 203, and put pressure on Ron to fill in the 10th. Ron would calmly get up and put two solid shots together for a 209 game and put himself into the Finals. The C Division semi-final would also come down to the tenth frame as Brandon had built up an early lead, but Patrick was able to stay clean and keep pace. Brandon would split in the tenth frame leaving the 4-6-10 and wasn’t able to convert, leaving Patrick to fill his tenth frame to get to the Finals. Patrick’s first ball went a bit too far outside landing in the gutter for a zero. He would need to strike on his spare attempt or else Brandon would be going to the Finals. Patrick’s spare attempt went straight up the middle going Brooklyn, but was able to kick out the pins and pick up his spare, giving him a chance at winning his first ever SFT AHT title.
In the Finals, the favorite to win would have to be Ron Gonzales, who had been bowling well all day and was looking for his 9th SFT AHT title. Ron would start off the match with a strike, while Derek and Patrick struggled to get lined up. Derek was able to pick up his spares and stay clean through the first three frames. Patrick struggled early on, but was able to put together a few strikes to get himself back into the match. Ron would split in the 5th frame, leaving the 4-6-10, giving both Derek and Patrick a chance to catch up. Patrick threw an errant shot in the 5th frame, but was able to pick up his spare. Midway through the match it was neck and neck. Patrick then would strike on his next three shots to build up a small lead. Derek too was able to figure out the lanes and put together a few strikes to keep pace with Patrick. Ron began to struggle with carry leaving 7 pins, but was able to convert on his spares. It would all come down to the final few frames. Both Ron and Derek would leave splits in the 8th frame. Ron left the 7-10 and Derek would leave the big four 4-6-7-10. Patrick, in the 9th, would leave a weird 1-2-7-10 split and wasn’t able to convert, while Ron and Derek both struck in the 9th frame. Ron was up first and threw three great shots to finish out at 205. Derek would get up and fill out his frame to finish at 228. Patrick would need a strike on his first ball in the tenth to secure his win. Patrick’s first ball looked good off his hand, but hit a little light leaving a 10 pin giving Derek Hamm his 3rd SFT AHT title and $650.00! Congrats to Patrick Sheridan on 2nd place and also to Ron Gonzales for finishing in 3rd place.
Thank you to everyone for coming out this weekend and supporting the event. We look forward to seeing you all next Sunday for our 2-Squad Standard event at Bowlero Gilbert! Have a great week!
