Marcelo Suartz, Liz Johnson cruise to the Singles titles at Champion of Champions

    05/11/12

    United States

    Brazilian, American average 244 and 234 to claim the men's and women's gold medals

    201PC2CoCMarceloSuartzLizJohnson.jpgMarcelo Suartz (left) of Brazil and Team USA's Liz Johnson (right) outaveraged their nearest competitors by more than ten pins to cruise to the men's and women's Singles titles at the PABCON Champion of Champions.

    Suartz and Johnson maintained their round one lead en route to win the first gold medal of the championships Thursday at the Kegel Training Center in Lake Wales, Fla.

    2011WWCPaolaGomez.jpgJohnson, a two-time WTBA world champion, put together games of 180, 237, 253, 278, 280 and 244 for the field-best 1,472 series on the medium oil pattern, an average of 245.33 for the day. The Women's U.S. Open and USBC Queens winner totaled 2,809 pins (234.08) to lead second-place Paola Gomez (right), Colombia, by 136 pins.

    "It always feels great to win the gold medal for your country," Johnson said. "Those last three games I made a ball change, got in the right part of the lane and had amazing ball reaction. It all just came together at the right time."

    2010CACGSofiaGranda.jpgGomes posted the second highest set of the day with 1,469 including six games between 225 and 265 to leap four spots to secure the silver medal. Sophia Granda (left) of Guatemala slipped one place behind a 1332 series to earn the bronze medal with 2,647.

    Fourth place Karen Marcano, Venezuela, was 109 pins off the pace for the medals with 2,538.

    201PC2CoCMarceloSuartz.jpg In the men’s division, Marcelo Suartz (right) continued to dominate the 18-man field on his way to title. Suartz, who held an 80-pin lead after posting a 1,457 series in round one, rolled the highest men's series in round two with 1,471 including games of 228, 264, 258, 245, 269 and 207 for 2,928 12-game total.

    "Within two weeks two of my dreams have come true - winning the collegiate national title (with Webber International University) and winning my first PABCON gold medal," Suartz said. "This was really emotional for me because my parents are here to watch and this is a very hard field. There are still other medals to be won, so now I need to focus on that."

    201112PBAAndresGomez.jpgWith an average of 244, the Brazilian outaveraged second-place Jean Perez of Puerto Rico by almost 13 pins. Perez used the second-highest set of 1,441 to move from fifth to second place to claim the silver medal with 2,773. Andres Gomez (left) of Colombia, who won his first PBA title during the 2011 PBA World Series of Bowling, earned the bronze medal with 2,754.

    Dan MacLelland of Canada and Mexico's Ernesto Franco, who were tied for third place after round one with 1,366 matched each other again in the second round with 1,352 to finish in a tie for fourth place with 2,718.

    2011Kegel30yearLogo_small.jpgThe first round of the Singles competition was played on the short oil pattern (Beijing, 35 ft.) which is being conditioned using Kegel’s battery powered Kustodian Walker Sport Model. Round two featured the medium oil pattern (Montreal, 41 ft.) which is being conditioned using Kegel’s battery powered Kustodian ION Sport Model. Lane conditioner of choice for the tournament is Infinity. Lane cleaner of choice for the tournament is Defense C.

    Action shifts to Mixed Doubles competition on Friday. Each team will bowl six games on two patterns; three games on each pattern; to determine the medalists.

    The top eight men and top eight women in all-events after 18 total games will advance to Singles Masters match-play on Saturday. Additionally, the top eight mixed doubles teams in the national all-events standings will compete in Mixed Doubles Masters.

    In the national all-events race, which combines the all-events totals of both players from each country, Team USA leads the field with 5,460. Colombia follows closely in second with 5,427 while Canada is third with 5,234.

    Medals will be awarded in Men's Singles, Women's Singles, Mixed Doubles, Men's All-Events, Women's All-Events, National All-Events, Women's Singles Masters, Men's Singles Masters and Mixed Doubles Masters.

    2012PCCOCLogo.jpg BOWL.com's BowlTV will provide free live streaming of the 2012 PABCON Champion of Champions from start to finish:
    Friday, May 11 from 8 a.m. to 7.30 p.m.
    Saturday, May 12 from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m.

    Go to the Live Streaming

    Go to the Live Scoring

    A total of 18 countries are represented in the PABCON Champion of Champions, which features one man and one woman from each country.

    The top eight teams in the National All-Events will join Colombia in qualifying for next year's World Games to be held in Cali, Colombia. Bowling is one of more than 30 sports not currently included in the Olympics that are showcased in the World Games.

     


    Related Articles


    Marcelo Suartz, Liz Johnson lead Singles events after first round in PABCON CoC
    Wong, MacLelland to bowl for Canada in PABCON Champion of Champions tournament
    Team USA's Smith, Johnson to compete in PABCON Champion of Champions
    2012 Pan American Champion of the Champions Tournament gets underway Monday
    Kegel to host 2012 Pan American Champion of the Champions Tournament

     


    Men's Singles - Final Standings after Round Two


    First round on short oil; second round on medium oil.

     


    Women's Singles - Final Standings after Round Two


    First round on short oil; second round on medium oil.

     


    National All Events - Standings after 12 of 18 games

     

     

    Â