We had another great weekend of bowling at AMF Tempe Village this weekend. We got to experience the same great results that are making us so excited about the 2014 season. Another huge turn out, more new bowlers and fresh faces making the final match. I told this story often this weekend, and I have to tell it again. Our first ever SFT AHT event was at this same center nearly 2 years ago. We had a total of 60 entries for the entire event that weekend. Nearly two years later we had 143 entries, 35 cashers, a 1 in 4 cash ratio and paid out over $5,000.00! Through 4 events this season we are averaging over 130 entries per event! It wasn't long ago that that kind of turn out would be a record high! I can't thank the members enough for coming up with some great rule changes for this season, supporting the event no matter where we are at, and spreading the word for each and every event. You guys and gals are incredible! Now let's get to this event's results.
The players bowled on a 35ft Beijing oil pattern that proved to be a roller coaster for just about everyone. The fresh started off with very high scores, but the short oil pattern proved to transition very quickly. The scores on both days went down very quickly for the 2nd and 3rd squads. As the oil carried down the lane where people previously bowled, it became very different from lane to lane. Since the players change pairs after each game, the scores came down due to the large variety of styles and approaches to playing the pattern. The average cut score ended up around 100 over which means the players bowled approx. 10 pins over average each game.
As always we want to welcome the new members to the SFT AHT family. We had a lot of new members once again at this event. Robert Douglas, Duong Hoang, Jeffrey Lewis, Mike Richards, Jeremy Walker, Tim Radney, Jesse Solberg, KJ Martinez, John Valleau, and Bob Kress were all bowling in their first event this weekend! Pretty incredible that two years later we would be introduced to 10 new bowlers at one event! Congrats to Tim Radney and Bob Kress for making it to the quarter finals in their first event. Also congrats to Tim Simonis on making it to his first SFT AHT quarter finals this weekend. Also a shout out to Mike Umstead and Daniel Scott for showing the power of the parlay turning $25 into a quarter finals and semi-finals check! Great bowling to all of you!
The division championship matches were all between three players. The A division had #1 seed Mike Morales, #2 seed Joe Mascio, and #3 seed Dylan Taylor. The #1 seed in the 2014 season has gotten the option of choosing the pair they bowl the semi final match on. This has proven to be a curse so far through first four events. In the A division it was yet again the same fate. Mike ended up finishing third in the match, with Joe Mascio throwing the first strike in the 10th to defeat Dylan Taylor who finished 2nd.
The B division had #1 seed Mike Umstead, #2 Aaron Mendoza, and #3 seed Chuck Kremer. Again, the #1 seed when down in flames with the #3 seed Chuck Kremer coming out as the B division champion, Aaron Mendoza 2nd, and Mike Umstead 3rd. The C division was a little better for the #1 seed but not much. #1 seed Brian Gustafson tied #3 seed Teri Hamilton but both were defeated by Hokey Begay. The final match almost looked like a JBT (Junior Bowler's Tour) final with all three players combined ages being less then some of the players that compete in the events.
The final match proved to be a very exciting one with a lot of striking. Chuck Kremer was the first one run out of pins with a few easy missed spares, but still finished with 246. That is a quick sign as to how high this final match was and how great these bowlers were bowling on the biggest stage. Hokey threw a strike in the 9th to just about seal the match. Joe then left a 10 pin in the first shot in the 10th which all but finished the match. Joe bowled great with a huge 260 game with handicap but no one was stopping Hokey Begay get his 2nd title in his full two year career with the SFT AHT. Hokey recently picked up a part time job on the weekends. He was given the day off on Saturday and ended up making the cut. I believe his boss wants a kick back for giving him the day off! Great bowling Mr. Begay! Also congrats and great bowling to Joe Mascio and Chuck Kremer. They ran into the buzzsaw that is known as smoke signals! Hokey bowled his highest game of the tournament in the final match with a nice 295 with handicap!
Our next event will be at AMF Christown on March 29th and 30th. If you are looking for something to bowl the next couple weekends, check out the Ponderosa Classic at Glenfair Lanes and Phoenix City.
