Ryan Ciminelli (pictured left) of Cheektowaga, N.Y., bowled a seven-game 1,769 pinfall (252.7 average) Saturday to top a field of 99 non-exempt players competing for 12 berths in the Professional Bowlers Association World Series of Bowling Cheetah Championship at Thunderbowl Lanes.

The 12 qualifiers from Saturday's PBA Tour Qualifying Round will join 60 exempt players for the Cheetah Championship which begins Aug. 11.

"I have a good feeling about bowling the TQRs here this month," said the 23-year-old Ciminelli, who has bowled on Tour the last three seasons but has had to qualify for fields through TQRs. "In general I'm more relaxed and I don't feel as much pressure as I have previously on Tour."

Ciminelli, a former collegiate All-American for Erie Community College, has a best Tour finish of seventh which came in last season's CLR Carmen Salvino Scorpion Championship.

Joining Ciminelli as qualifiers from the TQR are: Billy Oatman, Chicago, 1,733; Mason Brantley, Detroit, 1,680; Rudy Kasimakis, Baldwyn, Miss., 1,663; Jeffrey Roche, Dearborn, Mich., 1,655; Ken Simard, Greenville, S.C., 1,650; Brian LeClair, Athens, N.Y., 1,648; Steve Rogers, Bourbanais, Ill.; 1,643; Scott Newell, Deland, Fla., 1,635; Paul Moor (pictured right), England, 1,628; Andres Gomez (below left), Colombia and Lee Vanderhoef, Greenville, S.C., 1,586.

Oatman, who must now qualify for tournament fields through TQRs after having been exempt the last three seasons, admitted to taking a lot for granted last season.

"I wasn't really prepared for the lane patterns last season and tried to overpower them instead of adjust to them," said Oatman, whose best Tour finish was second two seasons ago. "On top of that I was feeling the pressure of being an exempt player, now I'm like whatever happens happens."

Two extra berths were awarded when exempt players Patrick Allen and Tommy Delutz withdrew because of injury.

The 72-player Cheetah Championship field will bowl two seven-game qualifying rounds on Aug. 11 beginning at 8 a.m., which will determine the 28-players who will compete in single-elimination best-of-seven game matches beginning Aug. 12 and continuing Aug. 13. Competition culminates with the championship round Aug. 13 at 7 p.m.

In a departure from traditional Lumber Liquidators PBA Tour telecasts, the entire Cheetah Championship will be taped by ESPN with the highlight-driven telecast airing Nov. 8 at 1 p.m.

Next on the World Series of Bowling schedule at Thunderbowl Lanes will be Tour Qualifying Rounds for the upcoming Viper and Chameleon Championships on Sunday. The Viper Championship runs Aug. 14-16 and the Chameleon Championships Aug. 18-20.

 

PBA WSOB Cheetah Championship Tour Qualifying Round

Players with position, hometown and 7-game total. The tTop 12 advance to the Round of 72 for Cheetah Championship qualifying Aug. 11.

1, Ryan Ciminelli, Cheektowaga, N.Y., 1,769
2, Billy Oatman, Chicago, 1,733
3, Mason Brantley, Detroit, 1,680
4, Rudy Kasimakis, Baldwyn, Miss., 1,663
5, Jeffrey Roche, Dearborn, Mich, 1,655
6, Ken Simard, Greenville, S.C., 1,650
7, Brian LeClair, Athens, N.Y., 1,648
8, Steve Rogers, Bourbonnais, Ill., 1,643
9, Scott Newell, Deland, Fla., 1,635
10, Paul Moor, England, 1,628
11, Andres Gomez, Colombia, 1,607
12, Lee Vanderhoef, Greenville, S.C.

Missed Cut:
13, Timothy Mayer, Harrison Twp., Mich., 1,583, $1000
14, Michael Cimba, Monroeville, Pa., 1,582, $800
15, Nick Weber, St. Charles, Mo., 1,576, $600
16, Donald Hipkiss Jr., Mingo Junction, Ohio, 1,572, $500
17, Anthony LaCaze, Melrose Park, Ill., 1,571, $450
18, Timothy Behrendt, St Louis, Mo., 1,566, $400
19, Walter Schaub II, Schaumburg, Ill., 1,564, $380
20, Dave D'Entremont, Middleburg Heights, Ohio, 1,558, $350
20, John Conroy, Mahopac, N.Y., 1,558, $350
22, Brian Himmler, Cincinnati, 1,555, $320
23, Alex Medveditskov, Russia, 1,553, $310
24, Jason Wojnar, Chicago, 1,548, $300
25, Mike Rose Jr., West Henrietta, N.Y., 1,543
26, Daniel Patterson, Utica, N.Y., 1,540
27, D.J. Archer, Mineral Wells, Texas, 1,522
28, Quinton Bohlen, Decorah, Iowa, 1,521
29, Jesper Agerbo, Denmark, 1,512
30, Randy Weiss, Columbia, S.C., 1,511
31, Josh Chambliss, Charleston, S.C., 1,509
32, Richie Brown, Marion, Ohio, 1,498
33, Bruce Falcon, Bay City, Mich., 1,496
34, Ryan Fuller, Rochester Hills, Mich., 1,492
35, Ed Carter, Akron, Ohio, 1,486
36, Pat Brown, Canton, Mich., 1,481
37, Carleton Chambers, Detroit, 1,477
38, Johnny Petraglia Jr., Youngstown, Ohio, 1,476
39, Chad Kloss, Greenfield, Wis, 1,475
39, Gregg Zicha, Glen Ellyn, Ill., 1,475
41, Jason Poli, West Des Moines, Iowa, 1,472
41, Matt Freiberg, Somerset, N.J., 1,472
43, Mike Keily, Lakewood, Colo., 1,459
44, David Williams Jr., Omaha, Neb., 1,458
45, Thomas Larsen, Assens, Denmark, 1,457
46, Michael Wall, Fayetteville, N.C., 1,453
47, Charlie Whiteman, New Cumberland, W.Va., 1,451
48, Bo Goergen, Midland, Mich., 1,440
49, Nick Kokenos, St Clair Shores, Mich., 1,437
50, Jonathan Van Hees, Charlestown, R.I., 1,436
51, Eddie Graham, Centerville, Ohio, 1,429
52, Tom Stickroe, Hudsonville, Mich., 1,419
52, Tony Campagna Jr., Chesapeake, Va., 1,419
52, Chris Hester, Jeffersonville, Ind., 1,419
55, Bobby Hart, Swayzee, Ind., 1,418
56, James DePlanche, Taylor, Mich., 1,416
57, Joseph Costanzo, Plainview, N.Y., 1,414
58, Tom Daugherty, Tampa, Fla., 1,413
59, Jacob Kent, Newark, N.Y., 1,408
60, Duane Kilts, Cedar Rapids, Iowa, 1,404
61, Dan MacLelland, Saginaw, Mich., 1,402
62, Jay Futrell, Derby, Kan., 1,399
63, Curtis Foss, Medina, N.Y., 1,397
64, Mark Heller Jr., Allentown, Pa., 1,392
64, Paul Gibson, Bunswick, Ohio, 1,392
66, Tim Keeler, Omaha, Neb., 1,382
67, Abed Daher, Brownstown, Mich., 1,380
68, Jerome Penxa, Romeo, Mich., 1,375
69, Vince DeFranco, Chicago, 1,372
70, Jason Zook, Tampa, Fla., 1,371
71, Martin Larsen, Sweden, 1,370
71, George Gohagan III, Dayton, Ohio, 1,370
73, Jesse Buss, Wichita, Kan., 1,369
74, Andrew Cain, Scottsdale, Ariz., 1,366
75, Amos Mathis, Detroit, 1,363
76, Danial Cline, Lansing, Mich., 1,357
77, Steven Black, Phoenix, 1,352
78, Brian Thompson, Flat Rock, Mich., 1,350
79, Toshifumi Kojima, Japan, 1,348
80, Diego Lopez, Colombia, 1,344
81, Thomas Wall III, Fayetteville, N.C., 1,342
82, Anthony Moses, Dearborn Heights, Mich., 1,340
83, Chris Kliczinski, Pinckney, Mich., 1,336
84, Charles Weigt, Ypsilanti, Mich., 1,332
85, Bryan Paul, Brooklyn, N.Y., 1,328
86, Christopher Brennan, Baltimore, 1,316 87, Keith Nichols, Englewood, Fla., 1,304
88, Larry West, Detroit, Mich., 1,292
89, Jeffrey Edwards, Sterling Heights, Mich., 1,254
90, Robert Raymond, Novi, Mich., 1,214
91, Dale Cheer, Commerce, , Mich., 1,211
92, Jeff Klemenswicz, Woodridge, Ill., 1,191
93, Jack Nealon, Bowie, Md., 1,190
94, Brian DiCicco, Agawam, Mass., 1,073
95, Nick Brooks, Cheboygan, Mich., 956
96, Michael Fechke Jr, Pittsburgh, Pa., 811
97, Ivo Raul Chiriboga, Miami, 597 (WD)
98, Johnathan Bower, Middletown, Pa., 504 (WD)
99, Fero Williams, Fairfield, Ohio, 352 (WD)