Austrian couple Thomas & Ivonne Gross take early lead in 13th Columbia 300 Vienna Open

    09/29/15

    2015 European Bowling Tour #14

    Former European champion shoots first 1400-series to lead Singles and teams with his wife to for the Doubles lead

    2015EBT14IvonneandThomasGrossBanner.jpg

     

    Austria's top bowling couple, Thomas & Ivonne Gross (pictured above), took the early lead in the 13th Columbia 300 Vienna Open, a European Bowling Tour "gold" tournament, after the opening day of qualifying Monday at Plus Bowling in Vienna, Austria.

    2015EBT14ThomasGross2.jpgThomas (left), a four-time European Bowling Tour titlist who won gold in Doubles (with Thomas Tybl) at the 2007 Men's European Championships in this bowling center, started the first qualifying squad with a huge 279 game and added 236, 227, 194, 233 and 243 to lead the 81-player field from six countries with 1412 and an average of 235.33 for six games.

    Qualifying for the main event in Vienna is traditionally contested as a Doubles tournament. Thomas teamed with his wife Ivonne, who rebounded from a slow start with 225, 267 and 212 for 1297 (208.17 average) including 48 pins women's handicap, to set the pace in Doubles with 2707 total.

    2015EBT14MichaelRauscherRomanFurbacher.jpgJiri Hindrak, Czech Republic, had six consistently high games between 209 and 238 to take second place with 1354 (225.67). Despite finishing with a low game of 151, Roman Fürbacher (right, with Michael Rauscher, left) of Austria topped Squad 2 with 1335, including a high game of 278, to sit in third place.

    2015EBT14IvonneGross2.jpgBy virtue of leading one of the first eight squads, Gross and Fürbacher will earn automatic berths in Sunday's finals in case they will not finish in the top 52. If they finish in the top 52, the automatic spot goes to the next qualifier in order in the respective squad.

    Karel Kutina, Czech Republic, was fourth with 1305. Rounding out the top 5 was Gozo Matus, Slovakia, with 1301. Ivonne Gross (left) was the best of 14 women on the opening day in sixth place with 1297. Hindrak & Kutina were second in Doubles with 2658, while Fürbacher and partner Michael Rauscher (1164) took third place with 2499.

    Qualifying commences on Tuesday, September 29, with Squads 3 & 4 scheduled to start at 2 and 6 p.m. Central European Summer Time (CEST).

    2015ViennaOpenLogo_small.jpg The 13th Columbia 300 Vienna Open is the 14th tournament on the 2015 European Bowling Tour and the last of just three EBT "gold" events this season, the second-highest of the four EBT tournament categories.

    The VO 2015 will be held from Sept. 28 - Oct. 4 at Plus Bowling, a 32-laner in Vienna, Austria. Players will compete for total prize fund of 73.130 Euro - 62.900 € in Singles and 10.230 € in Doubles.

    BowlingdigitalBanner.gif For the 13th consecutive year, Bowlingdigital.com will provide onsite coverage of the 13th Columbia 300 Vienna Open commencing Thursday, Oct. 1, all the way through to the stepladder finals on Sunday afternoon, Oct. 4. All qualifying squads on Oct. 2 & 3 and Sunday's finals are being broadcast live on Bowlingdigital's YouTube channel.

    The singles champion will take home the 7.000 € top prize, the first runner-up earns 5.000 € and the third and fourth-place finishers get 3.500 € and 2.500 €, respectively. 64 players will cash in Singles, which has a last-to-cash payout of €. The doubles tournaments will pay a 1.600 € first prize and a 20-place prize list (300 € last-to-cash).

    All tournament details can be found here:
    Vienna Open Preview
    2015 Vienna Open Brochure
    Online Registration
    Tournament Information
    Schedule
    Prize Fund
    Special Awards
    9-pin no tap

    2015EBTLogo_small.jpg The 2015 European Bowling Tour currently consists of 16 tournaments in 12 countries featuring three "Platinum" events, three "Gold", three "Silver" and seven "Satellite" events. All 16 tournaments together offer total prize fund of 850.000 Euro.

    The top 50 men and the top 50 women in each event receive ranking points. Those points will be tabulated throughout the season to determine the top 12 men and top 12 women, who will compete in the 9th EBT Masters July 25, 2016 at Rose'n Bowl in Serravalle, San Marino following the 12th San Marino Open.

     


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    2015 Vienna Open Singles - Standings after Qualifying Squad 2/16


    The top 52 qualifiers, the highest-positioned player who was not among the top 52 from each of the first 8 squads and the top 4 from the Desperado Squad will advance to the finals.

    Doubles - Overall Standings
    Singles Squad 1
    Doubles Squad 1
    Singles Squad 2
    Doubles Squad 2

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