Middle school teacher Rusty Thomsen (pictured left) of Morgan, N.J., defeated Vinny D'Ambrosio III of Staten Island, N.Y., 239-238, to win $2,500 first prize and his second career regional title in the PBA East Region King Pin Open presented by Econo-Lodge, Pistol Pete's Restaurant and Skyy Vodka at King Pin Bowling Center in Egg Harbor Township, N.Y., on May 15.

Thomsen threw three strikes in the 10th frame to force D'Ambrosio to double, but D'Ambrosio threw a nine-count on his first shot in his final frame. D'Ambrosio eliminated four-time PBA Tour winner Ryan Shafer of Horseheads, N.Y., 205-187, in the semifinal round.

In the PBA Central Region, Troy Stus (right) of South Lyon, Mich., defeated amateur Aaron Lorinez of Belleville, Mich., 257-195, to win the Baldo Campana Open benefiting the Lorain County Kids Fund at Rebman Recreation on May 15. The title was Stus' first of the year and the second of his career. He also earned $2,500.

Stus, the son of long-time PBA Senior Tour star Gene Stus, defeated Mason Brantley of Detroit, 225-174, while Lorinez edged 2006-07 PBA Rookie of the Year Billy Oatman of Cleveland, 226-225, in the semifinal round. Lumber Liquidators PBA Tour exempt player Brian Kretzer was eliminated in the Round of 8 while Ronnie Russell, Tom Smallwood and Jeff Zaffino were knocked out in the Round of 16.

PBA Central and Midwest senior players convened at Lynwood Bowl in Lynwood, Ill., where Harv Pallas (left) of Stevensville, Mich. defeated Charlie Tapp of Kalamazoo, Mich. 186-173, to win the PBA Midwest/Central Region Lynwood Bowl Senior Open sponsored by Allstate. The win was Pallas' first of the season and the third PBA Regional title of his career. He also earned $1,500.

Tyler Jensen (right) of Fort Worth, Texas, defeated Nathan Bohr of Wichita, Kan., in a 231-230 nail-biter to win the PBA Southwest Region Macadoodles' Northwest Arkansas Open at Fast Lane Entertainment in Lowell, Ark., on May 15.

Jensen earned $3,000 and his ninth PBA Regional title after trailing Bohr by two pins going into the final frame. Jensen converted a 10 pin in the 10th frame and struck on his fill ball to force Bohr to get a total of 18 pins in his final frame. After sparing the 4 pin, Bohr could only manage seven pins on his final shot, handing Jensen a one-pin victory. Bohr had eliminated PBA Tour exempt player Mike Scroggins in the semifinal round.

In Puyallup, Wash., Chris Warren of Grants Pass, Ore., continued his torrid streak in the PBA Northwest, posting a 9-1 match play record and 4,801 total pins to win his third regional title of the season and the 28th of his career in the Daffodil Bowl Open. Warren, who earned $1,700, defeated Bryon Smith of Roseburg, Ore., by 51 pins for the title.

In the companion Daffodil Bowl Senior Open, Hugh Miller of Mercer Island, Wash., went 3-5 and knocked down 3,761 total pins to top Kevin Croucher of Grants Pass, Ore., for his third PBA Northwest Senior Regional title.

 

U.S. PBA stars dominate PABCON Men's Championships; MacLelland makes a statement for Canada

A Canadian has never won a PBA Tour title, but Dan MacLelland (pictured left) of Windsor, Ontario, continues to suggest he's ready to fill that void with a strong showing in the Pan American Bowling Confederation Men's Championships in Guadalajara, Mexico, where he medaled in all six events, including a gold medal performance in the Masters finale on May 14.

While Team USA, led by PBA Tour stars Bill O'Neill, Chris Barnes, Wes Malott, Mike Fagan, Patrick Allen and Walter Ray Williams Jr., dominated the PABCON event, MacLelland was the only individual to medal in every event: gold in Masters; silver in Singles, Doubles and All-Events, and Bronze in trios and five-man Team.

MacLelland, who made an impression on the American bowling landscape as a four-time All-American at Saginaw Valley State University, made three television appearances as a non-exempt player during the 2010-11 Lumber Liquidators PBA Tour season (fifth in Scorpion Championship, second in GEICO Shark Championship, sixth in Lumber Liquidators U.S. Open), and just missed a fourth when he finished sixth in the $1 million PBA Tournament of Champions.

For Team USA, O'Neill led the group with gold medals in all-events, trios and team, and a bronze medal in Masters. Barnes won three medals: gold in trios and team, and bronze in Masters. Malott won team gold and trios silver. Fagan won team gold, trios silver and singles bronze medals. Allen and Williams each won gold medals in team and doubles, plus silver medals in trios.

 

Quick Notes

Fox News-Chicago business reporter Lauren Simonetti, in a May 11 report on the stock market, noted, "That's a hambone: four strikes in a row for the market."

PBA.com's Jason Thomas, who provided consultation assistance to the "CSI" bowling center murder episode a year ago, also provided as technical expertise for the season-ending bowling-themed episode of Fox-TV's "Bones" which airs Thursday at 9 p.m. ET.

Winners of the 2011 Collegiate Masters, a division of the Teen Masters program, will receive complimentary entries to bowl in the 2011 PBA World Series of Bowling Nov. 4-20 at South Point Bowling Center in Las Vegas. For additional information about the Teen Masters, visit teenmastersbowling.com. The final rounds of the Teen Masters will be webcast on pba.com's Xtra Frame video streaming service.

 

Related Articles

May 11, 2011 - 2011 PBA Spare Shots #15
April 21, 2011 - 2011 PBA Spare Shots #14
April 14, 2011 - 2011 PBA Spare Shots #13
April 7, 2011 - 2011 PBA Spare Shots #12
April 1, 2011 - 2011 PBA Spare Shots #11
March 25, 2011 - 2011 PBA Spare Shots #10
March 17, 2011 - 2011 PBA Spare Shots #9
March 9, 2011 - 2011 PBA Spare Shots #8
March 3, 2011 - 2011 PBA Spare Shots #7
Feb. 19, 2011 - 2011 PBA Spare Shots #6
Feb. 15, 2011 - 2011 PBA Spare Shots #5
Feb. 4, 2011 - 2011 PBA Spare Shots #4
Jan. 19, 2011 - 2011 PBA Spare Shots #3
Jan. 13, 2011 - 2011 PBA Spare Shots #2
Jan. 7, 2011 - 2011 PBA Spare Shots #1