86 players from various regions qualified for the finals of the 2006 Ukraine National Championships at "Мі 100" bowling center in Lviv, Ukraine, May 25-28.

Two-time defending champion Olga Tarasova (left) of Simferopol, seeded third after round robin match play, defeated Olena Skopelidis, Odessa, in the opening match of the three-player stepladder finals, 226-172.

In the women's championship match over two games total pinfall, hometown favorite Yana Smolentseva took a commanding 34-pin lead after the first game, 205-171. Tides turned in the second game when Smolentseva ended with 171, but Tarasova shot a 216 to capture her third consecutive national title.

The men's title match was a family affair with brothers Mykhaylo and Oleksandr Kalika from Odessa facing off.

Third-seeded Mykhaylo (pictured right), who won a silver medal in Masters and a bronze medal in All Events at the 2004 and 2006 European Youth Championships, respectively, topped Vitaliy Kryvorot, Kyiv, 188-174, in the semi-final for the right to bowl top seeded Oleksandr for the title.

Mykhaylo, who won his first Ukrainian champion ship in 2004, was down by one pin after a low first-game encounter (168-169) but rebounded with a four-pin win in game two (206-202) to secure his second national title.

Mykhaylo Kalika and Olga Tarasova will represent Ukraine at the 2006 European Champions Cup September 25 through October 1 in Riga, Latvia.