Ryan Ciminelli (pictured left) of Cheektowaga, New York, fired games of 237, 265, 243, 279, 230, 258, 232 and 259 to dominate the opening round of match play at AMF Garland Lanes in Dallas/Fort Worth, Texas, to recapture the lead at the 2015 Bowlmor AMF U.S. Open on Friday night.

The 29-year-old left-hander averaged more than 250 on his way to a 7-1 match-play record and 9,348 total, including bonus pins, to put himself nearly 300 pins ahead of two-time U.S. Open champion Norm Duke (right) of Clermont, Florida, who is second with 9,053.

Five-time U.S. Open champion Pete Weber (left) of St. Ann, Missouri, is third with 8,978, two-hander Anthony Simonsen (right) of Princeton, Texas, is fourth at 8,917 and defending champion Wes Malott (below right) of Pflugerville, Texas, rounds out the top five with 8,916.

Ciminelli, who led after the second round of qualifying, quickly ascended back to the top of the standings after starting the block in third place.

The three-time Professional Bowlers Association Tour titlist has found continued success on the low end of the 58-lane AMF Garland Lanes this week, and he took advantage of his comfort level as the event transitioned to match play.

"I've liked the low end of the house and bowled on a lot of pairs that I felt comfortable on tonight," said Ciminelli, the lone left-hander to advance into match play. "I was just able to get into that zone where you go blank and start repeating shots. Every decision I made was with confidence. A lot has to go right to bowl a block like that, especially at the (U.S.) Open."

Ciminelli now has 16 more games of match play standing between him and his first championship round appearance at the U.S. Open.

Competition resumes Saturday at 11 a.m. Eastern. The top five will advance to Sunday's stepladder finals based on their 56-game totals, including bonus pins. The finals of the 2015 U.S. Open will be televised live on the CBS Sports Network on Sunday at 1 p.m. Eastern. The winner will take home a top prize of $50,000.

"I'm trying my best not to look at the leaderboard, but I'm a leaderboard watcher," said Ciminelli, who finished 24th at the 2013 U.S. Open.

"I'm doing everything I can not to peek over at it and see what's going on. There are still a lot of games left, so I have to be focused at all times. I'm taking nothing for granted and hoping to get every pin I can. At the end, hopefully when I look at the leaderboard, I'm still in the show. Leading would be a bonus, but making the show would be a huge accomplishment for me."

The final round of qualifying took place earlier Friday, as the 92 players who advanced after Thursday's third round bowled an additional eight games to determine the top 24 players who would continue to match play.

Team USA's John Szczerbinski (left) of North Tonawanda, New York, paced the field through 32 games, while Marshall Kent (right) of Yakima, Washington, earned the final spot with a 215.13 average.

While Kent used a 6-1-1 won-lost-tied record to leap into 12th place on 8,804, including bonus pins, Szczerbinski crashed out of the top 5 into a tie for 10th place with 8,832 total after averaging 191.13 for the round, including a 1-7 match play record.

All qualifying and match-play rounds are being broadcast live on the PBA's online bowling channel, Xtra Frame.

 

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2015 Bowlmor AMF U.S. Open - Match Play Round 1 (fifth round overall)

Players with position, hometown, won-lost-tied record and 40-game total; 30 bonus pins for a win, 15 bonus pins for a tie; (a) denotes amateur

For complete results, click here.

1, Ryan Ciminelli, Cheektowaga, N.Y., 7-1-0, 9,348
2, Norm Duke, Clermont, Fla., 5-3-0, 9,053
3, Pete Weber, St. Ann, Mo., 5-3-0, 8,978
4, Anthony Simonsen, Princeton, Texas, 5-3-0, 8,917
5, Wes Malott, Pflugerville, Texas, 5-3-0, 8,916
6, Walter Ray Williams Jr., Oxford, Fla., 4-4-0, 8,907
7, Francois Lavoie (a), Wichita, Kan., 3-5-0, 8,864
8, Dominic Barrett, England, 4-4-0, 8,851
9, Bill O'Neill, Langhorne, Pa., 5-3-0, 8,834
10, Sean Rash, Montgomery, Ill., 6-2-0, 8,832
(tie) John Szczerbinski, N. Tonawanda, N.Y., 1-7-0, 8,832
12, Marshall Kent, Yakima, Wash., 6-1-1, 8,804
13, Tommy Jones, Simpsonville, S.C., 3-5-0, 8,800
14, Ronnie Russell, Marion, Ind., 3-5-0, 8,741
15, Brad Angelo, Lockport, N.Y., 4-4-0, 8,733
16, Amleto Monacelli, Venezuela, 4-3-1, 8,725
17, Nathan Bohr, Austin, Texas, 3-4-1, 8,694
18, Danielle McEwan, Stony Point, N.Y., 3-5-0, 8,658
19, Mika Koivuniemi, Howell, Mich., 4-4-0, 8,644
20, DJ Archer, Kingwood, Texas, 2-5-1, 8,636
21, Jason Sterner, Cocoa, Fla., 3-5-0, 8,628
22, Aaron Lorincz, Saginaw, Mich., 3-5-0, 8,615
23, Cameron Weier, Tacoma, Wash., 4-4-0, 8,601
24, Stuart Williams, England, 2-6-0, 8,470

 

2015 Bowlmor AMF U.S. Open - Round 4 Qualifying

Players with position, hometown and 32-game total; top 24 advance to round-robin match play; (a) indicates amateur, S indicates senior

For complete results, click here.

1, John Szczerbinski, North Tonawanda, N.Y., 7,273. 2, Norm Duke, Clermont, Fla., 7,143. 3, Ryan Ciminelli, Cheektowaga, N.Y., 7,135. 4, Pete Weber, St. Ann, Mo., 7,118. 5, Walter Ray Williams Jr., Oxford, Fla., 7,052. 6, Dominic Barrett, United Kingdom, 7,049.

7, Ronnie Russell, Marion, Ind., 7,013. 8, Wes Malott, Pflugerville, Texas, 7,012. 9, Jason Sterner, Cocoa, Fla., 6,976. 10, Francois Lavoie (a), Wichita, Kan., 6,971. 11, Tommy Jones, Simpsonville, S.C., 6,970. 12, Danielle McEwan, Stony Point, N.Y., 6,969.

13, (TIE) Bill O'Neill, Langhorne, Pa., and Cameron Weier, Tacoma, Wash., 6,961. 15, Aaron Lorincz, Saginaw, Mich., 6,954. 16, Amleto Monacelli, Venezuela, 6,953. 17, Sean Rash, Montgomery, Ill., 6,942. 18, DJ Archer, Kingwood, Texas, 6,937.

19, Anthony Simonsen, Princeton, Texas, 6,925. 20, Brad Angelo, Lockport, N.Y., 6,913. 21, Nathan Bohr, Austin, Texas, 6,904. 22, Stuart Williams, Phoenix, 6,902. 23, Mika Koivuniemi, Howell, Mich., 6,886. 24, Marshall Kent, Yakima, Wash., 6,884.

Missed Cut:
25, Ryan Shafer, Horseheads, N.Y., 6,878, $1,135. 26, Miguel Lopez, Wichita, Kan., 6,876, $1,130. 27, Osku Palermaa, Finland, 6,868, $1,125. 28, Mike Wolfe, Floyd Knobs, Ind., 6,843, $1,120. 29, Mitchell Katic (a), Hammond, Ind., 6,840, $1,115. 30, (TIE) Dick Allen, Columbia, S.C., and Erin McCarthy, Omaha, Neb., 6,830, $1,107.

32, Jason Belmonte, Australia, 6,823, $1,100. 33, Shawn Maldonado, Houston, 6,814, $1,095. 34, Andres Gomez, Hollywood, Fla., 6,798, $1,090. 35, Eric Traylor (a), Cypress, Texas, 6,796, $1,085. 36, (TIE) Michael Edwards, Tulsa, Okla., Connor Pickford, Charlotte, N.C., and Michael Haugen Jr., Phoenix, 6,778, $1,075.

39, BJ Moore, Greensburg, Pa., 6,774, $1,065. 40, JR Raymond, Saginaw, Mich., 6,766, $1,060. 41, Martin Larsen, Sweden, 6,763, $1,055. 42, AJ Chapman (a), Wichita, Kan., 6,751, $1,050.

43, Randy Weiss, Columbia, S.C., 6,741, $1,045. 44, (TIE) Greg Ostrander, Freehold, N.J., and Mark Sullivan, Indianapolis, 6,732, $1,037. 46, Clint Johnson (a), Fort Worth, Texas, 6,726, $1,030. 47, (TIE) Dino Castillo, Highland Village, Texas, and Santiago Meija (a), Colombia, 6,721, $1,022.

49, Jon Trzcinski (a), Lake Wales, Fla., 6,718, $1,015. 50, Devin Bidwell, Wichita, Kan., 6,695, $1,010. 51, Ildemaro Ruiz, Venezuela, 6,692, $1,005. 52, Chris Arcaro, Charlotte, N.C., 6,691, $1,000. 53, Thomas Larsen, Denmark, 6,682, $995. 54, Perry Crowell IV, Hoquiam, Wash., 6,662, $990.

55, Chris Loschetter, Avon, Ohio, 6,656, $985. 56, Chris Warren, Grants Pass, Ore., 6,646, $980. 57, (TIE) Scott Newell, Deland, Fla., and Matthew Farber (a), Plainview, N.Y., 6,639, $972. 59, (TIE) Greg Thomas (a), Irmo, S.C., and Patrick Allen, South Salem, N.Y., 6,627, $962.

61, Adam (AJ) Johnson, Oswego, Ill., 6,625, $955. 62, Chad Lusche, Parker, Colo., 6,622, $950. 63, Yannaphon Larp-Apharat (a), Thailand, 6,621, $945. 64, (TIE) Brian Robinson, Morgantown, W. Va., and Chris Johnson (a), Garland, Texas, 6,610, $937. 66, Kamron Doyle (a), Brentwood, Tenn., 6,609, $930.

67, Kyle Troup, Taylorsville, N.C., 6,596, $925. 68, Nobuhito Fujii (a), Japan, 6,594, $920. 69, Brad Miller, Maryland Heights, Mo., 6,586, $915. 70, Marshal Morrison (a), Wills Point, Texas, 6,584, $910. 71, Sam Cooley, Australia, 6,583, $905. 72, Zeke Bayt, Westerville, Ohio, 6,582, $900.

73, Nicholas Pate (a), Inver Grove Heights, Minn., 6,577, $895. 74, Lee Vanderhoef, Canton, Ga., 6,569, $890. 75, Geoffrey Young (a), Keller, Texas, 6,567, $885. 76, John Furey, East Windsor, N.J., 6,554, $880. 77, Christopher Colella, Templeton, Mass., 6,546, $875. 78, Xeno Garcia (a), Fort Worth, Texas, 6,535, $870.

79, Joe Paluszek, Bensalem, Pa., 6,531, $865. 80, Andrew Suscreba, Clifton, N.J., 6,524, $860. 81, Mitch Beasley, Clarksville, Tenn., 6,515, $855. 82, Jakob Butturff, Chandler, Ariz., 6,514, $850. 83, Brandon Hott (a), Redington Beach, Fla., 6,495, $845. 84, Steven Arehart, Chesapeake, Va., 6,481, $840.

85, Mark Myers (a), Phoenix, 6,470, $835. 86, Jake Peters, Henderson, Nev., 6,469, $830. 87, Robert Lawrence, Del Valle, Texas, 6,467, $825. 88, Lynda Barnes, Double Oak, Texas, 6,446, $820. 89, Jesse Buss, Belvidere, Ill., 6,429, $815. 90, Isaac Kim, Lebanon, Pa., 6,419, $810.

91, Andrew Anderson, Henderson, Nev., 6,411, $805. 92, Matthew Staninger (a), Highland, Ind., 6,393, $800.

300 games - (2) Andres Gomez, Sean Rash.