The event this weekend was another great turn out for the 2-squad format. We also added a second check-in person and 30 mins to each squad length to make sure we ran on time and things went great. There were 74 total entries for the day (43 qualifying, and 31 economy parlay), which means there were about 40 bowlers on each squad. There were 22 cashers, a 1 in 3.6 cash ratio, and paid out nearly $3,000.00 in main and side event prizefund. We saw another great balance of entries in all three division, a lot of new bowlers, and some of the new bowlers bowling well and some not bowling well. Things are looking very very good regarding some of the new rules the members voted in for this season.
The players bowled this Sunday on a 43ft Chameleon oil pattern that had some very high scores. The center characteristically hooks quite a bit, so when combined with a longer pattern, it gave the players a little bit of free hook and a little bit of hold. However, the key was to be playing the lane closer to the middle of the lane. The average cut scores for the weekend were around +100 for each division, which means players needed to bowl about 20 pins over average per game.
As always, we like to welcome the new bowlers to the SFT AHT family! Michael Reich, Taylor Brown, Michael Molland, Alvin Kennedy, and David Burns, thanks for coming out this weekend to bowl with us! We hope you all had a good time and/or improved your game on the harder lane conditions. We look forward to seeing you at the next one! A special congrats to Damon Larue and Jason Tunay on being this event's parlay power players!
Well the cut scores to the semi-final and final matches were some of the highest we have seen in quite some time. Fairly new comer Dominic Cororissi posted a huge +170 in the quarter finals to lead his division, Joe Ashley at +179 in the B division and Jason Tunay in C at +150. It was clear that not having a re-oil at this event allowed the scores to really sky rocket. The bowling balls of today really chew up the oil pattern and slowly scuplt it into a condition that has a lot more miss room. Our events having both re-oil quarter finals, and no re-oil will really force versatility out of the players if they want to have consistent success in the quarter finals rounds of our events.
The A division was the only division with enough quarter finalists to have a semi-final round. This put Dominic Cororissi against Aaron Halash for the A division title. This was also an opprotunity for Aaron to make a surge in the season points races. He has just made a title match at AMF Peoria lanes and is in the hunt for overall player of the year. While Dom opened in the 5th frame to give Aaron a slight lead, he threw a string from the 6th to 9th frame to regain the lead. Aaron tried to string a few too, but two 10 pins in the middle held him back. Then missing his spare in the 10th frame guaranteed Dom the A division title.
The final match had Dom starting off a little shaky with a couple more opens then his opponents. This was was especially bad for him since he was getting the least amount of handicap. However, his very good friend, and also opponent Joe Ashly started off with the least amount of opens which gave him the early lead. While Dom tried to string a few late, he was never really able to get back in it. Additionally, Jason who was also close to trying to make a run, also opened late in the game which allowed to Joe to cruise comfortable to his very first SFT AHT title! Nice bowling Joe!
We loved being back at AMF Tempe Village lanes and look forward to our return! We look forward to seeing everyone at our next event at AMF Desert Hills next Sunday the 19th. It will be a fun baker doubles event! See you all there!
