Our event this weekend was at Mesa East Bowl. There was a lot of other things going on so we were happy to have a decent turnout still. We know that many people like to watch football on Sundays and we appreciate everyone who still decided to come out and bowl with us. We had 73 total entries with 54 qualifying entries and 19 economy parlay entries! The event had a total of 21 cashers, a 1 in 3.5 cash ratio and paid out over $3,500 in main and side event prize funds. The event was bowled on the 41ft Turnpike oil pattern which was pretty low scoring the entire weekend. The average cut score for the weekend was around +30 which means bowlers only had to bowl 5-10 pins over average per game. The pattern's medium length allowed bowlers to play it from all angles and have a good amount of success.
We also want to congratulate Eric Flick, Ron Schloss, and Gary Hamm on being this weekend's parlay power players! It's been awhile since we had someone from each average division all win the parlay and go on to make the quarterfinals. Would all three meet in the finals? Now that would be a definite first! We also want to congratulate Ron Schloss, Tawna McDonald, and Jerry Knight on advancing to the quarterfinals after a long hiatus! Congrats guys!
The quarter finals was on a fresh 41ft Turn Pike oil pattern and it was fairly low scoring like they had been all day. We had an average cut to the semi-final round of around +30 in the A and C divisions, but in the B division we had a very exciting finish. Because the division only had 5 quarter finalists, it meant that they would only advance the top bowler instead of the top 2. Brian Roever and Chuck Lucas ended up tying at -3 for the top spot. This meant they had to have a 9th and 10th frame roll off to determine who would advance. Chuck being the higher seed determined he would finish the match last. This meant that he would start first. Brian got 4.8 pins of handicap and Chuck 6.8. In these 9th and 10th frame roll offs handicap still comes into play and so they player gets 1/5th the handicap since they are bowling a 1/5th of the frames. Chuck went first, and converted a difficult spare to start the match with a 6 spare. Brian got up, threw a great shot only to stone a 9 pin and then MISS IT to give up a huge lead in the 2 frame match. He then got very lucky crumbling a bunch of pins on a bad shot to get the first strike in the 10th and then went brooklyn on the second shot for the double and finished off his 10th frame with a good shot to finish with a score of 39 and 43.8 with handicap. Chuck on his spare in the 9th only need a mark and good count to win. He got his mark and came back and asked me what he needed to win. I told him he needed 9 to win and 8 to tie. His shot was a bit right off of his hand, and since he is lefty it meant it was heading right for the nose. One of the spectators yelled "TIE", but in fact he got 6 pins leaving the 2-4-7-8 giving Brian the win and his first title match in a few months.
In the other divisions, it was Michael Dragon vs Sean Ashley for the A division title, and Tawna McDonald vs Jerry Knight in the C division. In A, it was a battle of the titans. Both players have several titles and a lot of experience and is was anyone's guess on who would win. In the C division, it was the same, but for a different reason, neither player has been on much of a streak for the season, but had been on fire all day long. It was a close one in the A division, but Michael Dragon was able to get a small lead and keep it, defeating Sean Ashley 208 to 192. In the C division, Jerry Knight had a good lead for the entire game. He got up going into the 9th and 10th with a good 30 pin lead. His 9th frame went high, leaving the 4-7 and he wasn't able to convert. In the 10th frame he had a pretty good shot that didn't strike, but left the 9 pin. He then missed it to the outside by less than an inch, leaving back to back open frames and new life for Tawna. Tawna needed a spare and good count which she was able to do in a big upset in the final two frames.
This meant our final match would be between Tawna, Brian and Michael. Tawna looking for her first title, Brian his 3rd and Michael his 3rd. The final match was a close one with all players having a chance to win going into the 10th frame. Brian had the lead going into the 10th and was on a strike. He threw some great shots under pressure to shut the other players out and take home his 4th SFT AHT title and $800! Michael and Tawna went all the way to the fill shot to determine the winner where they both struck to give Michael the 2nd place finish. We won't mention that he went brooklyn and Tawna threw a good shot, but none the less, he got 2nd and Tawna 3rd!
Thanks to everyone for coming out this weekend! We will see you at Lakeview next weekend!
