Our event this weekend was quite a bit of a change from our normal event. This event started an hour later, but only had two squads instead of the usual 3. It also didn't feature a re-oil before the quarter finals due to the reduced number of squads. It resulted in squads concentrated with people and a sprint to the quarter finals. It also created for a little bit more of an "in and out" fashion for some as the event didn't take as long as usual. All in all, I think this new format will be a nice addition to our normal format to mix things up a little bit. There won't be too many more events on Saturdays only, but this format will be used more often on Sundays. We are using this format to try and have events at some centers that we normally can't. These centers are much more interested in hosting our events if they don't take up the entire day. It becomes a win win, where the members get a slightly different format/event to mix up the repetition, while also getting to bowl in new centers that we haven't seen in quite some time. The next center that fits that bill, is AMF Peoria in February! We haven't been there in quite some time and it should be a lot of fun!
This event had 66 entries (41 qualifying entries & 25 economy parlay), which was fantastic with only two squads. It also had 20 cashers, paid out over $3,000.00 and had a 1 in 3.3 cash ratio. The players bowled on the 42ft Kegel Autobahn oil pattern which yielded some interesting results. For the most part, it seemed that the straighter players had the best look, with a few exceptions in there (the winner). The more interesting thing was that the highest cut scores came out of the A division which is fairly uncommon. However, we saw more good signs at this event regarding some of our rule changes. We saw another tournament with really similar entry numbers in all three divisions, which is a sign the division break down changes are working well. We also saw some new bowlers do well, but not all o f them do well. This means the entering average rules seem pretty fair so far. Lastly, we are seeing reduced cut scores like +40 and +50 advancing to the quarter finals, which means 90% of 215 has helped lower our cut scores a little bit. Every year, the members (when working together) do a great job of coming up with amazing ideas and solutions! Let's hope they keep going!
The new bowlers we got to welcome to the SFT AHT family were Jonah Tafoya, Travis Rairden, Dan Krueger, and Justin Perry. We want to welcome all of you, and look forward to seeing you at your next event! A special congrats to Jonah and Dan on advancing to the quarter finals in their first event. As always, we also like to congratulate our parlay power players, which were Derek Acuff and Phil Glass at this event.
The quarter finals were fairly exciting with the B division being extremely close. The top 3 were as follows +120, +119, and +118. However, only the top player advanced, so it was Ernie Mendoza's lucky day to squeak by Phil Glass and Aaron Halash who were close to being in the title match. We also had some nail biting semi-final matches with Larry Mires giving yet another on fire C division player a run for their money, only to leave a very unlucky 5-7 in the 10th frame. This took any pressure off Jonah, who became our C division champion. Lastly, we had a battle of the titans between Ron Gonzales and Dylan Taylor in the A division. A open in the 8th frame by Ron gave Dylan life. However, Dylan still had to mark in the 10th to win. He threw a great shot, but left a ringing ten pin. You could see his nerves, but he converted the spare to be the A division title.
The title match, however, wasn't as exciting. It appeared that Ernie was ready to finally get his 2nd SFT AHT title and the other two players thought they were playing golf (the lowest score wins). Well, it's easy to give them a hard time, but sometimes the final match can be a lot of pressure, and we all know the conditions at SFT events aren't the easiest. Ernie came way with his 2nd title defeating Jonah and Dylan with a score of 241 with handicap. Jonah was 2nd with 207 and Dylan 164. Congrats to all of the cashers and finalists! We look forward to seeing everyone at our next event at Brunswick Kyrene in TWO WEEKS! That is right, we are taking weekends off this year! Mainly to help more people have a shot at the season points races without having to bowl so many events! See you all there!
