Fietek, McEwan emerge victorious in 2009 Teen Masters TV finals
08/19/09
Their paths to victory were different, but for 18-year-old Brandon Fietek (pictured left with promotor Gary Beck) of Eden Prairie, Minn., and 17-year-old Danielle McEwan of Stony Pointe, N.Y., the title bestowed upon each under the bright lights of national television was the same: 2009 Teen Masters champion.
In front of a packed audience and bowling on a specially constructed lane inside Las Vegas' glamorous Fashion Show mall, Fietek and McEwan each dispatched their opponents with relative ease and claimed $7,500 first-place scholarships.
After the boys' and girls' championship rounds, McEwan won an additional $1,000 scholarship for beating Fietek in a unique "Battle of the Sexes." In all, the Teen Masters will distribute over $100,000 in scholarship money to contestants from across the country.
Though their paths diverged late in the tournament – with McEwan claiming a higher qualifying position – in retrospect, both bowlers were forced to overcome significant hurdles and to play the underdog card on several occasions.
Fietek, who will attend Mankato State University in the fall, qualified 72nd with a 12-game total of 2241, only 10 pins inside the cut-line. Comparatively, the Farleigh Dickinson-bound McEwan suffered through a disappointing first day on the demanding Teen Masters long oil pattern, tossing a meager 1023 six-game series good enough for 70th place.
Both bowlers, however, responded to adversity and got back in the thick of things with superb sets. A day after finishing 177 pins under par, McEwan found herself in fifth place after firing 1336 for six games on a short pattern that gave many bowlers fits.
Fietek, meanwhile, survived the match play cut to 32 boys by scoring 1247 for six games on combined long and short lane conditions.
Seeded apart – Fietek qualified 26th, whereas McEwan maintained her spot in fifth – after 18 games, the pair of eventual champions continued their hot streaks during match play, beating several higher ranked bowlers and scraping by in tense games en route to the Fashion Show.
There, Fietek and McEwan took center stage with six other semi-finalists as a television crew from the Versus network filmed the tournament's finale. The semifinals and finals will be tape-delayed and broken into seven segments, and will air in November.
In the unique setting, high percentage spare shooting and clutch strikes enabled Fietek and McEwan to emerge victorious.
In his first match, Fietek squared off against tournament favorite Kyle King of Glendale, Ariz., who qualified third. As the higher seed, King – the Junior Bowlers Tour active leader for career wins with 31 – exercised his option to select the lane condition for the one-game match, picking the short pattern.
Even this supposed advantage, however, could not help King, as he shockingly missed four convertible spares including two single pins. Aided by such auspicious breaks, Fietek marked in the 10th frame to secure the win, 175-170.
McEwan, meanwhile, topped Catherine Rawsthorne of Federal Way, Wash., after rebounding from two opens with three-straight strikes. An unlucky pocket 7-10 late in the game by Rawsthorne allowed McEwan to win easily, 202-180.
Also advancing to the finals were Jon Lippert of Sioux Falls, S.D., and Allie Ijams of Flagstaff, Ariz. Lippert beat Matthew Helmick of Rio Rancho, N.M., 190-156, while Ijams beat Michelle Secours of Brockport, N.Y., 208-202, after Secours missed a single-pin spare in the 10th frame.
In the finals, Fietek and McEwan's paths to victory again diverged.
Fietek struggled in first two frames, opening in both, but stayed the course with a pair of doubles. Lippert, who will attend Mankato State as a freshman with Fietek, put pressure on his future teammate with a double in the 10th frame. Needing a third strike, though, to force Fietek to get nine pins on his first ball in the 10th, Lippert left three pins standing. Lippert's seven-count allowed the Minnesota native to win, 170-167, even with another open in the final frame.
McEwan (pictured right with the trophy), on the other hand, jumped out to an early lead and cruised to victory against Ijams. Two opens from the New Yorker in the second half of the game made things interesting, but Ijams could not complete the comeback, as her 158 failed to match McEwan's 180.
After the respective champions in the boys' and girls' divisions had been crowned, a special Teen Masters "Battle of the Sexes" between Fietek and McEwan was contested and filmed. With an additional $1,000 scholarship on the line, McEwan won handily against her male counterpart with an assault of strikes, 232-181.
The Teen Masters is America's premier high school bowling tournament. Hosted annually by Killer 'B' Promotions, the Teen Masters is presented by tournament sponsors Ebonite International, Dexter Shoes and Kegel.
2009 Teen Masters
South Point Resort in Las Vegas, Nev. (July 31-August 5, 2009)
Their paths to victory were different, but for 18-year-old Brandon Fietek (pictured left with promotor Gary Beck) of Eden Prairie, Minn., and 17-year-old Danielle McEwan of Stony Pointe, N.Y., the title bestowed upon each under the bright lights of national television was the same: 2009 Teen Masters champion. In front of a packed audience and bowling on a specially constructed lane inside Las Vegas' glamorous Fashion Show mall, Fietek and McEwan each dispatched their opponents with relative ease and claimed $7,500 first-place scholarships.
After the boys' and girls' championship rounds, McEwan won an additional $1,000 scholarship for beating Fietek in a unique "Battle of the Sexes." In all, the Teen Masters will distribute over $100,000 in scholarship money to contestants from across the country.
Though their paths diverged late in the tournament – with McEwan claiming a higher qualifying position – in retrospect, both bowlers were forced to overcome significant hurdles and to play the underdog card on several occasions.
Fietek, who will attend Mankato State University in the fall, qualified 72nd with a 12-game total of 2241, only 10 pins inside the cut-line. Comparatively, the Farleigh Dickinson-bound McEwan suffered through a disappointing first day on the demanding Teen Masters long oil pattern, tossing a meager 1023 six-game series good enough for 70th place.
Both bowlers, however, responded to adversity and got back in the thick of things with superb sets. A day after finishing 177 pins under par, McEwan found herself in fifth place after firing 1336 for six games on a short pattern that gave many bowlers fits.
Fietek, meanwhile, survived the match play cut to 32 boys by scoring 1247 for six games on combined long and short lane conditions.
Seeded apart – Fietek qualified 26th, whereas McEwan maintained her spot in fifth – after 18 games, the pair of eventual champions continued their hot streaks during match play, beating several higher ranked bowlers and scraping by in tense games en route to the Fashion Show.
There, Fietek and McEwan took center stage with six other semi-finalists as a television crew from the Versus network filmed the tournament's finale. The semifinals and finals will be tape-delayed and broken into seven segments, and will air in November.
In the unique setting, high percentage spare shooting and clutch strikes enabled Fietek and McEwan to emerge victorious.
In his first match, Fietek squared off against tournament favorite Kyle King of Glendale, Ariz., who qualified third. As the higher seed, King – the Junior Bowlers Tour active leader for career wins with 31 – exercised his option to select the lane condition for the one-game match, picking the short pattern.
Even this supposed advantage, however, could not help King, as he shockingly missed four convertible spares including two single pins. Aided by such auspicious breaks, Fietek marked in the 10th frame to secure the win, 175-170.
McEwan, meanwhile, topped Catherine Rawsthorne of Federal Way, Wash., after rebounding from two opens with three-straight strikes. An unlucky pocket 7-10 late in the game by Rawsthorne allowed McEwan to win easily, 202-180.
Also advancing to the finals were Jon Lippert of Sioux Falls, S.D., and Allie Ijams of Flagstaff, Ariz. Lippert beat Matthew Helmick of Rio Rancho, N.M., 190-156, while Ijams beat Michelle Secours of Brockport, N.Y., 208-202, after Secours missed a single-pin spare in the 10th frame.
In the finals, Fietek and McEwan's paths to victory again diverged.
Fietek struggled in first two frames, opening in both, but stayed the course with a pair of doubles. Lippert, who will attend Mankato State as a freshman with Fietek, put pressure on his future teammate with a double in the 10th frame. Needing a third strike, though, to force Fietek to get nine pins on his first ball in the 10th, Lippert left three pins standing. Lippert's seven-count allowed the Minnesota native to win, 170-167, even with another open in the final frame. McEwan (pictured right with the trophy), on the other hand, jumped out to an early lead and cruised to victory against Ijams. Two opens from the New Yorker in the second half of the game made things interesting, but Ijams could not complete the comeback, as her 158 failed to match McEwan's 180.
After the respective champions in the boys' and girls' divisions had been crowned, a special Teen Masters "Battle of the Sexes" between Fietek and McEwan was contested and filmed. With an additional $1,000 scholarship on the line, McEwan won handily against her male counterpart with an assault of strikes, 232-181.
The Teen Masters is America's premier high school bowling tournament. Hosted annually by Killer 'B' Promotions, the Teen Masters is presented by tournament sponsors Ebonite International, Dexter Shoes and Kegel.
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