The battles for eight PBA Regional, eight PBA Women’s Regional and eight PBA50 Tour berths in the PBA World Series of Bowling VI is almost over with the Sunday, Oct. 12, qualifying deadline rapidly approaching.
In each case, eight players will earn paid entries into the World Series and they will compete in eight-game round-robin match play events on Friday, Oct. 24, at South Point Bowling Center in Las Vegas to determine the top two individuals who will advance to the new PBA Challenge Finals which will be contested on Sunday, Nov. 2, at 10:30 a.m. PT for delayed telecast on ESPN. All three match play qualifying events will be covered simultaneously live on PBA’s Xtra Frame online bowling channel, starting at 2:30 p.m. PT (5:30 p.m. ET).
The fourth PBA Challenge Finals match will pit 2014 Teen Masters boys’ champion Michael Coffey of Melbourne, Fla., against girls’ champion Kelly Skalacki of Coram, N.Y., for the Teen Masters Grand Championship.
The PBA Challenge telecast will conclude with a special Knockout Bonus Round in which the four winners will each bowl one shot, with the lowest score per round eliminated until a champion remains.
In the season-long PBA Regional Finals points races, seven of eight berths are already decided. Regional points winners are: Ryan Shafer, Horseheads, N.Y. (East Region); Connor Pickford, Charlotte, N.C. (South); Tom Hess, Urbandale, Iowa (Midwest Region); Shawn Maldonado, Houston, Texas (Southwest); David Haynes, Las Vegas (West); Josh Blanchard, Gilbert, Ariz. (Northwest), and Pat Nolan (Japan).
The Central Region berth will be decided this weekend in the PBA Fishing & Hunting USA Central Open at Northway Lanes in Muskegon, Mich. E.J. Tackett of Huntington, Ind., will take a 3,600-point lead over Eugene McCune of Munster, Ind., into the region’s final qualifying event.
In the new PBA Women’s Regional competition, points winners already confirmed are: Kristina Wendell, Poughkeepsie, N.Y. (East); Christina Hardee, Mt. Dora, Fla. (South); Clara Guerrero, Pflugerville, Texas/Colombia (Southwest); and Yuka Tsuchiya (Japan).
Unresolved heading into their final Central Region qualifying event in Muskegon this weekend, Shannon Pluhowsky of Kettering, Ohio, holds a 6,300-point lead over Jessica Stephens of Greenwood, Ind., and a 6,500-point lead over Liz Johnson of Cheektowaga, N.Y. In the Midwest Region, Amanda Greene of Romney, W.Va., will take a modest 300-point edge over Kayla Stram of Grand Rapids, Minn., into this weekend’s Calvert’s Express Auto Midwest/Southwest Open at Aaron’s Family Fun Center in Belton, Mo. The women’s field will be finalized on Oct. 12 in the PBA Battle at Black Oak Casino West Open in Tuolumne, Calif. Missy Parkin, Laguna Hills, Calif. (West), and Lindsay Boomershine, Brigham City, Utah (Northwest) have big leads, but haven’t clinched their berths.
The PBA50 Tour field of eight was settled at the conclusion of the senior tour’s 2014 season. The top eight in competition points who will bowl in Las Vegas are: Walter Ray Williams Jr., Ocala, Fla.; Pete Weber, St. Ann, Mo.; Tom Baker, King, N.C.; Norm Duke, Clermont, Fla.; Parker Bohn III, Jackson, N.J.; Amleto Monacelli, Venezuela; Harry Sullins, Chesterfield Twp., Mich., and Ron Mohr, Las Vegas.
MOTIV TO GIVE AWAY FREE BOWLING BALLS IN PBA XTRA FRAME, WSOB PROMOTIONS
MOTIV, PBA Product Registered Company and promotional partner, has announced it will give away several high-performance bowling balls in a series of promotions in partnership with the PBA World Series of Bowling VI and PBA’s Xtra Frame online bowling channel.
● During the preliminary rounds of WSOB VI at South Point Bowling Center in Las Vegas, Oct. 25-Oct. 30, MOTIV will give away one bowling ball each day (a total of six balls) to new Xtra Frame subscribers. To be eligible for the daily random drawings, visit pba.com and click on the Xtra Frame link for subscription information. New subscribers who sign up between now and Oct. 24 will be eligible. Subscriptions are available for $7.99 for one month or $64.99 for a full year.
● During the WSOB VI ESPN television finals Nov. 1-2 in the new South Point Bowling Plaza, spectators on hand will be eligible to win a free MOTIV ball. One ball will be given away each day of the television finals. There is no admission charge to attend the ESPN finals, but spectators must obtain a ticket either on-site at South Point Bowling Center, or by visiting pba.com (http://www.pba.com/Tickets/). A limited number of tickets will be available for each event on a first-come basis.
● Following the World Series, MOTIV will give away one free bowling ball each month to a new Xtra Frame subscriber. The November winner will receive a new MOTIV Jackal ball.
PBA REGIONAL SUMMARY: BAILEY SPOILS JENSEN’S BACK-TO-BACK BID
Mike Bailey from Allen, Texas, de-railed Tyler Jensen’s bid for back-to-back titles, 257-162, and won $2,500 along with his third PBA Regional title Sunday in the inaugural PBA Tomball Southwest Open at Tomball Bowl in Tomball, Texas.
Jensen, who won the previous week in Odessa, Texas, advanced to the finals by defeating Colombia native Clara Guerrero, who resides in Pflugerville, Texas, 2-0, in the Round of 12; Chris Barnes of Double Oak, Texas, in the Round of 8, 2-0, and Anthony Simonsen of Mesquite, Texas, 277-191, in the semifinal round. With her 12th-place finish, earning $625 in the final PBA Women’s Southwest Regional qualifying event, Guerrero locked up a berth in the PBA Women’s Regional finals along with a paid entry into the PBA World Series of Bowling VI at South Point in Las Vegas, Oct. 24-Nov. 2. Kimi Davidson of Azle, Texas, also cashed, finishing 17th for $460.
● Mike Moore of Oviedo, Fla., and non-member partner Shawn Naumann of Orlando won seven of their 10 matches and finished with an 18-game total of 8,292 pins to win the $4,000 first prize in the PBA South Region Member/Non-Member Doubles at Break Point Alley Bowling Center in Tavares, Fla., Sunday.
Moore and Naumann defeated Jason Couch and Doug Becker, both of Clermont, Fla., by 163 pins to claim the title.
● Chad Lusche of Arvada, Colo., climbed the stepladder from bottom to top, defeating Blake DeMore of Springfield, Mo., 217-186, in the final match to win $2,500 and his first PBA title in the Midcontinent Communications Midwest Region Open at Empire Bowl in Sioux Falls, S.D., Sunday.
Lusche started his climb with a 277-201 victory over amateur Jason Polreis of Sioux Falls, 277-201; defeated Dave Dentlinger of Adel, Iowa, 227-213, and eliminated amateur Russ Oviate of Sioux Falls, 268-214, to advance to the championship match.
● Harry Sullins of Chesterfield Township, Mich., defeated Dale Csuhta of Wadsworth, Ohio, by 77 pins to win the PBA50 Mel Westrich Memorial Central/Midwest Open presented by Storm at Delphos Recreation Center in Delphos, Ohio, Sunday.
Sullins finished with a 6-5-1 match play record and a total of 4,522 pins for 20 games, including match play bonus pins, to claim his second Central Region title of the year, his 28th overall Regional title, and the $1,400 first prize.
● Michael Haugen Jr. of Phoenix posted an 8-2 match play record and an 18-game total of 4,060 pins Sunday to win his 18th PBA Regional title in the PBA Fog City West Open presented by Roto Grip at Classic Lanes in Daly City, Calif. Scott Norton of Mission Viejo, Calif., was second, 243 pins behind.
In the companion PBA50 tournament, Noel Vazquez of Sacramento, California, went 5-3 and knocked down 3,495 total pins for 16 games to top Tracy Teeters of Albany, Oregon, for his sixth PBA50 West Region title and $1,200. Teeters had 3,392 pins, 103 pins out of first place.
● Joe Paluszek of Bensalem, Pa., defeated Matt O’Grady of South Amboy, N.J., by 24 pins and Dave Knight Jr. of Folcroft, Pa., by 37 pins to win the PBA Pavlinko Pro Shops Re-entry Classic at Brunswick Zone Turnersville, N.J., Sunday. In the “elimination format” championship match, Paluszek rolled a 248 game to win over O’Grady’s 224 and Knight’s 211 to earn $1,500 and his fourth regional title.
The one-day re-entry tournament involved a five-game qualifying round for all players, followed by a three-game re-entry squad and a one-game “desperado” squad which allowed players multiple chances to advance to the 13-player elimination rounds. The first one-game elimination round eliminated the seven lowest scores and the second elimination round reduced the field of six to three finalists.
● October will be a busy month of PBA Regional competition as players prepare for the PBA World Series of Bowling VI at South Point in Las Vegas, Oct. 24-Nov. 2. The Oct. 3-5 weekend’s regional calendar includes the PBA Maple City Dodge Eastern Open at Maple City Bowl in Hornell, N.Y.; the PBA Calvert’s Express Auto Midwest/Southwest Open at Aaron’s Family Fun Center in Belton, Mo.; a PBA50 Junction City Bowl Southwest/Midwest Open doubleheader in Junction City, Kan., and the PBA Fishing & Hunting USA Central Open – one-day reduced entry fee event – at Northway Lanes in Muskegon, Mich. The Belton, Mo., and Muskegon, Mich., tournaments are the final PBA Women’s Regional qualifying events for the Midwest and Central Regions, respectively.
The Oct. 10-12 PBA Regional calendar includes the PBA50 Centre Lanes Senior/Super Senior Doubles in North Canton, Ohio; the PBA50 Shreveport Southwest Open at All Star Lanes in Shreveport, La.; the PBA50 Dover Eastern Open at Brunswick Doverama in Dover, N.J.; and the PBA and PBA50 Thunderbowl Midwest Opens in Council Bluffs, Iowa, which also will include the PBA/PBA50 Thunderbowl Baker Team Classic. The Tuolumne, Calif., tournament will be the PBA West and Northwest Regions’ final PBA Women’s Regional qualifier.
The weekend prior to the start of the WSOB VI (Oct. 17-19) will include the PBA Young & Pratt Southwest Open at Dart Bowl in Austin, Texas; the PBA Kokomo Central Shootout presented by Security Federal Savings Bank – a one-day, reduced entry fee event on Sunday, Oct. 19, with live coverage on Xtra Frame – at Heritage Lanes in Kokomo, Ind.; the Franklin South Open at Franklin Bowling Center in Franklin, Va.; and the PBA Sands Regency West/Northwest Challenge and Sands Regency West/Northwest Re-Entry Open at the National Bowling Stadium in Reno, Nev.
October’s schedule concludes with the traditional South Point All Regions Open and the South Point Member/Non-Member Doubles at South Point Bowling Center in Las Vegas, Oct. 31-Nov. 2.
For complete PBA Regional schedules, rules and entry information, visit pba.com, open the “schedules” tab and click on Regional Tours to find the event(s) in your area.
QUICK NOTES
● News for the PBA60 set. PBA Hall of Famer Tom Baker of King, N.C., joined the club on Sept. 12, and inactive as a competitor or not, PBA Hall of Famer Marshall Holman of Medford, Ore., reached PBA60 eligibility on Monday, Sept. 29.
● Xtra Frame’s next live event will be the PBA Kokomo Central Shootout presented by Security Federal Savings Bank on Sunday, Oct. 19, starting at 9 a.m. ET and continuing until conclusion. The one-day, reduced entry fee event will be hosted by Heritage Lanes in Kokomo, Ind.