Yachio Kato captures the title in first JPBA Ladies event after the great earthquake

In the first tournament after the great earthquake, Yachio Kato (pictured left) of Tokyo captured her 13th career Japan Professional Bowlers Association women's title in the Miyazaki Pro-Am Open Tournament which was held in the Kyushu Region in South Japan from April 21-24, 2011.

The 59-year-old ended a five-year title draught with a 225-217 victory against Hiromi Matsunaga en route to earn the 1.200.000 Yen winner's check or approximately US$14,627.

Matsunaga (right), who was targeting for back-to-back JPBA titles after winning the season-opening Kansai Open Ladies Bowling Tournament, received 620.000 Yen ($7,557) for second place.

Matsunaga started the game with an open frame after failing to convert the 4-6-7 split followed by a spare before she reeled off a four-bagger to take a 30-pin lead. Kato alternated strikes and spares in the first four frames, spare a 10-pin in the fifth and countered with a four-bagger to regain the lead.

Working on a strike, Matsunaga was unable to connect for a double in the ninth frame, then struck in the tenth but left a 7-pin standing on her next shot failing to force Kato to strike on her first ball in the tenth frame. Needing to mar, Kato spared a 7-pin for the win before the left the 4-6-10 split on her fill ball.

The top 16 players were seeded into two pools (A and B) of eight players each to determine the finalist in single-elimination head-to-head matches. In the final of Pool A, Kato eliminated Tomoe Yoshikawa (left), 235-212, while Matsunaga topped Masami Abe (right) in the B Pool final, 203-195. Yoshikawa and Abe tied for third place worth 370.000 Yen ($4,510) apiece.

Junia Yoshida of Japan Bowling Promotion reports that the third stop of the 2011 JPBA Ladies Tour, the 2011 Pro Test originally scheduled for March/April, was postponed and is now scheduled for the beginning of May.

With target on her back, Kelly Kulick looks to defend Queens title

When Kelly Kulick of Union, N.J., arrives at the Oncenter Convention Center to defend her United States Bowling Congress Queens title, she knows every bowler in the field will have their sights set on sending her home empty handed.

Last year, Kulick won not only the Queens (pictured left), but the U.S. Women's Open and beat the men in the PBA Tournament of Champions, so she knows each event she competes in there's a target on her back.

Kulick's Queens title defense begins Saturday with the first round of qualifying. As the defending champion, she's guaranteed a spot in the double-elimination match-play bracket.

"I think my recent success and past performances will always make me a target," said Kulick, who defeated Tennelle Milligan (right) of Arlington, Texas, 232-188, to win the 2010 Queens. "I still look at Carolyn (Dorin-Ballard), Liz (Johnson), Shannon (Pluhowsky) and other top-notch bowlers as fierce competitors. I see them as a threat as much as they see me as a threat."

Kulick's victory at the PBA Tournament of Champions gave her an exemption on the Lumber Liquidators PBA Tour for the second time in her career. The last time Kulick was exempt on the PBA Tour in 2005-06, she put that experience to use and won the 2006 Queens.

"People will assume my season on tour will give me an advantage," said Kulick (left), who will look to join Millie Ignizio and Wendy Macpherson as a three-time Queens champion.

"It should give me an edge, but there is no guarantee of winning. I will use my knowledge and experience to give myself the best opportunity possible. At the end of the day, all I can do is my best. Some days it's good enough and others it's not enough."

The Queens kicks off with 10 qualifying games over two days on April 23 and 24 before the field is cut to the top 80 for five additional qualifying games the morning of April 25. The top 63 then advance to join Kulick in the double-elimination match-play bracket, which begins at 1:30 p.m. Eastern on April 25. The final five players will advance to the televised stepladder finals, which will be broadcast live on ESPN2 at 7 p.m. Eastern on April 27.

Should Kulick come away with another victory, she would become just the fifth woman to successfully defend a Queens title, joining Katsuko Sugimoto (1981, 1982), Donna Adamek (1979, 1980), Dorothy Fathergill (1972, 1973) and Millie Ignizio (1970-71).

The qualifying and match-play portions of the Queens are open to the public at no charge. A limited number of tickets for the televised finals will be sold for $10 and can be purchased on BOWL.com.

Judy Gurney takes home Golden Ladies Classic title

Judy Gurney of Omaha, Neb, defeated tournament leader Terri Ward of Loveland, Col., 265-194, to take home the 2011 Golden Ladies title and the $2,000 first prize. The 57-year-old systems analyst for an insurance company, a former Women's International Bowling Congress doubles champion, topped a field of 84 women - all over the age of 50 - in the 21st edition of the scratch bowling event for ladies held annually at The Orleans Casino and Bowling Center in Las Vegas.

L-R Storm representative Lee Upp, tournament organizer Jeanette Robinson, champion Judy Gurney, and tournament director Darryl Smith of the Orleans.

The stepladder finals for the top five bowlers began with Char Hammel of Las Vegas, defeating former Team USA member Luci Sandelin, Tampa, FL, 234-205. Sandelin hit her ankle so hard in her third frame delivery that play had to be stopped momentarily to determine if she could continue. Sandelin gamely converted her spare but couldn't regain any momentum.

In match two Hammel defeated qualifying leader Jeanne Naccarato of Tacoma, Wash, 257-214, after Naccarato left a pocket 7-10 in the eighth frame. Naccarato had led the qualifying with a 15 game average of 237.

Hammel looked to having the semifinal match against Gurney well in hand, needing only a mark in the tenth frame to win but a slight error in her downswing caused her to leave the 8-10 split. Gurney s(right) ealed the deal by striking out in the tenth frame to win the match, 247-235.

The championship match pitted Gurney against tournament leader Ward, a first timer in the event who had been steady all through qualifying and match play but the pressure proved to be the undoing of Ward who rolled one of her lower games of the week against Gurney.

For her stellar performance Gurney received $2,000, the trophy, and a free entry into next year's event. Runner-up Ward was awarded $1,150. Third place Hammel received $800, fourth place Naccarato $700, and fifth Sandelin $550.

Other finalists were: sixth - Debbie McMullen, Denver, $380; Virginia Norton, Cypress, CA $375; 8th Pam Lawrence, Pflugerville, TX, $370; 9th Terri Stynes, Mountain View, CA, $365; 10th Pam Buckner, Reno, NV, $360; 11th Karen Miller, Las Vegas, $355; 12th Jan Thomas, Urbandale, IA, $350; 13th Carole Jones, Englewood, CO, $345 14th Joan Reilly, Wilmington, NC, $340;15th Lisa Vint, Troy, WI, $335; 16th Karen Smith, San Marcos, CA/Paula Vidad, Sun City, CA(Vidad replaced Smith – injury) $330 17th Sandy Postma, Lansing, IL, $325; 18th Dee Price, Stockton, CA, $325.

In the Super Senior division (bowlers over age 60) Connie Palmer (pictured left) of El Cajon, Calif, outpaced the field to take home the trophy and $1,000. Other finalists were second Lela Larkin, Medford, OR, $700; third Angela Scott, Moreno Valley, CA, $550; fourth Vesma Grinfelds, San Francisco, $450; fifth Bennie Gemello, Tucson, AZ, $400; sixth Sue Mivelaz-West, Tujunga, CA, $375; 7th Loretta Hoffman, Wichita, KS, $350; 8th Olivia Rice, Baltimore, $325; 9th A Rose Williams, Yorba Linda, CA, $300; 10th Donna Donohue, La Mesa, CA, $275; 11th Jude Ann Cobler, Las Vegas, $250; 12th Gloria Frazier, Vidor, TX $225.

Winners in the Second Chance Sweeper were Candy Sylvia, Felton, CA, $250; Jackie Wyckoff, Campbell, CA $225; Lori Wilkinson, Temecula, CA, $175; Marci Williams, Wichita, KS, $145; Lil Johnson, Lawton, OK, $115; Janine Ditch, Chino Hills, CA, $90.

Story, photos and results courtesy of Fran Deken.

PBA Hall of Famer Brian Voss wins his second EBT title in Catalonia Open

PBA Hall of Famer Brian Voss (pictured left), United States, defeated Jesper Agerbo (right), Denmark, 235-190, in the title match of the 9th Catalonia Open - Trofeu Galasa Sunday at Bowling Pedralbes in Barcelona, Spain,.
The 25-time PBA champion, seeded first, claimed his second career European Bowling Tour title after his victory in the Barcelona Int'l 2005 in the same center and pocketed the 6.000 Euro top prize.

Agerbo, seeded third, eliminated his compatriot, defending Catalonia Open champion Thomas Larsen (below left) in the semifinal match, 237-184. Agerbo received 3.000 Euro for second place while Larsen garnered 2.000. Thanks to the 70 ranking points for the third-palce finisher, Larsen overtook the lead in the European Bowling Tour Men's rankings.

Sixth placed Joline Persson Planefors (right), Sweden, has won the women's rankings, for the first time in her career.

2011 EBT Men's Ranking
2011 EBT Women's Ranking

The 9th Catalonia Open - Trofeu Galasa was the fifth tournament on the 2011 European Bowling Tour schedule and the second of total seven "Silver" events this season.

The Catalonia Open, which was held from March 15-20, 2011 at 14-laner Bowling Pedralbes in Barcelona, Spain, offered total prize money of 44.700 Euro (approx. US $62,345) with 6.000 Euro going to the winner, 3.000 to the runner-up and 2.000 to the third place finisher.

Since the Viborg International in Viborg, Denmark originally scheduled for July 30-Aug. 7, 2011 has been cancelled, the 2011 European Bowling Tour consists of 21 tour stops in 17 countries including two Platinum, six Gold, seven Silver and six Satellite tournaments.

The top 50 men and the top 50 women in each event receive ranking points. The winner of a Platinum tournament receives 250 ranking points, the winner of a Gold tournament gets 150, the winner of a Silver tournament such as the Catalonia Open earns 100, and the winner of a Satellite tournament gets 50 ranking points.

The top 16 men and the top 16 women at the end of the 2011 season qualify for the 5th EBT Masters to be held at Dream-Bowl Palace in Unterföhring near Munich, Germany on April 30 and May 1, 2012. The event will become the first EBT Masters to be contested on lane condition.

Qualifying ran from Tuesday, March 15 through Saturday, March. 19. Women receive 8 pins handicap each game throughout the entire event, a standard for women on the European Bowling Tour.

A total of 48 players, the top 42 qualifiers including all squad leaders plus the next six women advanced to the finals and carried forward 50 per cent of their respective qualifying total into Final Round One.

Those 48 players bowled four games to cut to the top 24 with the pinfall total being carried forward into Final Round Two. Those 24 determined the top three players for the stepladder finals in another four-game block.

In the semifinal, the No. 3 seed took on No. 2 for the right to bowl the top seeded player for the title and the 6.000 Euro top prize.

Seaman girls win first state bowling title

Seaman coach Geoff Poston sat by himself at the south end of Northrock Lanes on Thursday morning, nervously fiddling with a cell phone.

The Vikings’ girls bowling team opted for group therapy, huddling and holding hands as team scores from the Class 5-1A state meet were read over the public-address system in ascending order.

When eighth through second places were announced with no mention of Seaman, junior Alexis Hackler closed her eyes tight and squeezed two teammates’ hands tightly to launch her celebration. With a three-game team pinfall total of 2,423, the Vikings edged Buhler by eight pins to capture their first state bowling title.

Hackler’s 643 series, highlighted by a team-best 243 in the second game, set the pace for Seaman. With a new postseason scoring format in place in which the top four individual scores from a team counted in each game, Seaman sandwiched Game 1 and 3 scores of 796 around an 831 in the middle game.

Hackler finished fourth individually. Senior Shelby Shaw (621), a ninth-place finisher, and junior Courtney Bigger (576), who was 15th, also earned individual medals.

“Our parents started adding it up, and we knew it was really close,” Hackler said. “We got really nervous there toward the end right before they announced the scores.”

With Centennial League and regional champion Shawnee Heights experiencing a rare off day in defense of its 2010 team title, Seaman capitalized. The Vikings were in fourth place — 63 pins behind leader Buhler — after the first game. But behind Hackler’s 243 and Bigger’s series-best 204, Seaman sliced its deficit to 18 pins heading in to the final game.

“We stressed spares and filling frames,” said Poston, whose entire team finished in the top half of the 72-bowler field. “We told them if you have a bad game, shake it off and someone will pick you up.”

Bowling in the same lanes with Buhler, Seaman competed amid the cheers of a large contingent of Crusader fans throughout the meet. There were plenty of roars in the final game. But with Hackler (227), Shaw (215), Britni Thoman (178) and Katie Brazda (176) contributing, Seaman’s 796 pinfall total in the final game was 26 better than Buhler.

“One thing you really learn to do is block things out,” Shaw said. “You’ve really got to focus when you’re up there, so you just learn not to listen to all of it.”

There was plenty of yelling for Carroll freshman Hollyann Johansen, who won the individual title with a 756 series and led the Eagles to a third-place finish. Johansen rolled a 289 in the second game, opening with 10 consecutive strikes before leaving a 10-pin with her second attempt in the 10th frame. That matched Garden Plain’s Elizabeth May for the tournament’s high game.

Shawnee Heights finished sixth with a 2,216 pinfall score. Junior Jessica Thompson, last year’s individual champion, rolled a 635 series to finish sixth. She was the T-Birds’ lone individual medalist. Junior Kristi Renyer, the 2009 state champion, rolled a 537 and was 26th.

“The girls have had a fantastic year,” Shawnee Heights coach Nick Harris said. “Every now and then, you have one of those days where somebody else has a better day.

“Congratulations to Topeka Seaman. When I’ve said our league is one of the better ones In the state, I meant it. And that held true today.”

Topeka West junior Rachel Barber, who won last week’s regional meet, finished 21st with a 553 series.

TEAM SCORES

Topeka Seaman 2,423; Buhler 2,415; Carroll 2,370; Andover Central 2,306; Lansing 2,267; Shawnee Heights 2,216; Great Bend 2,181; KC Turner 1,978.

INDIVIDUAL RESULTS

1. Johansen, Carroll, 221-289-246 – 756; 2. Ladigo, Andover Central, 233-203-247 – 683; 3. Carter, KC Sumner, 189-237-236 – 662; 4. Hackler, Seaman, 173-243-227 – 643; 5. Allan, Buhler, 234-203-206 – 643; 6. Thompson, Shawnee Heights, 233-198-204 – 635; 7. Angello, Lansing, 222-246-157 – 625; 8. Mason, Andover Central, 226-152-246 – 624; 9. Shaw, Seaman, 233-173-215 – 621; 10. Bartel, Buhler, 226-177-205 – 608.

11. Reed, KC Sumner, 162-208-233 – 603; 12. May, Garden Plain, 161-289-137 – 587; 13. Kirmer, Great Bend, 192-156-235 – 583; 14. Eckert, Lansing, 177-180-224 – 581; 15. Bigger, Seaman, 200-204-172 – 576; 16. Kuckelman, Carroll, 208-189-178 – 575; 17. Bailey, Buhler, 199-204-172 – 575; 18. Hejny, Great Bend, 170-225-176 – 571; 19. Gulick, Circle, 157-223-184 – 564; 20. Hunt, Buhler, 200-202-161 – 563.

Other Seaman — 25. Thoman 170-194-178 – 542; 30. Ross 190-190-145 – 525; 34. Brazda 153-188-176 – 517.

Other Heights — 26. Renyer 176-185-176 – 537; 31. Breitkreutz 186-142-194 – 522; 40. Crawford 126-181-187 — 494; 57. Welch 154-138-164 – 456; 67. Oliva 150-139-109 – 398.

West results — 21. Barber 167-187-199 – 553; 32. Wolfley 177-184-158 – 519.