Puerto Rico sweeps Masters gold in Under-20 division at PABCON Youth Championships

    07/24/11

    Dominican Republic

    Colombia, Panama end championships with victory in Under-16 Boys and Girls Masters

    2011PYCHectorSoto.jpgPuerto Rico's Hector Soto and Neishka Cardona earned the gold medals in Under-20 Masters match play while Carlos Saavedra, Colombia, and Nicole Fung, Panama, captured the titles in the Under-16 division in the final event of the 2011 Pan American Bowling Confederation Youth Championships Saturday afternoon at Cibao Bowling Center in Santiago de Los Caballeros, Dominican Republic.

    The top 16 boys and girls from All Events in the U20 division and the top 8 boys and girls in the U16 division qualified for the Masters finals in best-of-three games single-elimination match play in bracket system.

    2011PYCKevinBelandria.jpgSoto (pictured above left), who was 14th in U20 Boys All Events, eliminated Junior Team USA's Andrew Koff and Marshall Kent, in the Round of 16 and Round of 8, two-games-to-one, and booked a spot in the title match with a 2-0 sweep in the semifinal match against Mexican Andre Fors Farias.

    His opponent, Singles gold medalist Kevin Belandria (right), Venezuela, seeded fourth, rolled games of 279 and 246 to sweep Kyle King, USA, in the opening match and then needed all three games to eliminate two of Soto's team mates, Josh Lee Encarnacion and All Events champion and No. 1 seed Cristian Azcona on his way to the title match.

    Soto took the first game, 218-204, but Belandria leveled the match with a huge 243-175 win in game two. The Puerto Rican, however, rebounded with the highest game of the boys Masters to secure the gold medal, 290-201. Belandria took silver while Azcona and Fors Farias shared the bronze.

    2011PYCNeishkaCardona.jpg2011PYCEliseBolton2.jpgSquaring off in the girls title match were Doubles champion Neishka Cardona (left) and four-player Team gold medalist Elise Bolton (right), United States. Cardona, who also won bronze in Singles, Trios and All Events, took the opening game 234-212, but fell in the second game to the fourth seeded American, 234-194. Cardona wrapped up the title with a 236-225 win in the decider.

    In the semifinals, Bolton held off Colombia's Diana Gomez, 2-1. Gomez, the No. 16 seed eliminated stunned her top seeded team mate Juliana Franco in the opening round (2-1) and No. 8 seed, Trios gold medalist Mariana Alvarado, Mexico, in the quarterfinals (2-0). In the other semifinal match, Cardona made quick work of Bolton's team mate Kaitlin Quinn (2-0), who missed the second 300 game of the championships and the first by a girl by just one pin in her quarterfinal victory over Canada's Carrie Hopkinson (299-178 and 232-200).

    With the sweep of the Masters gold medals, Puerto Rico finished atop the medal tally in the Under-20 division claiming five out of 12 gold medals, one silver and five bronze. Junior Team USA, which had all eight team members in the Masters finals, was second with three gold, six silver and three bronze medals. Colombia won two titles and Mexico and Venezuela one each.

    2011PYCRafaelPizarroCarlosSaavedra.jpgIn the Under-16 division, All Events champion and No. 1 seed, Carlos Saavedra (left photo, right) of Colombia, who also won the titles in Mixed Doubles and Mixed Team, captured his fourth gold medal of the championships with a 2-1 victory over third-seed Rafael Pizarro Jr. (left photo, left), Puerto Rico. Thiago Felicetti of Brazil and Saavedra's team mate Sebastian Charry shared the bronze with semifinal losses.

    2011PYCNicoleFungAnaBolanos.jpgNicole Fung (right photo, left) of Panama eliminated Singles champion Abigail Dammers, Aruba (2--0) and No. 1 seed, Alexandra Mosquera, Colombia (2-1) on her way to the title match. The No. 4 seed swept second seeded Ana Bolaños (right photo, right), Guatemala, 189-183 and 205-179, to win the gold medal. Mosquera and Maria Chevres, Puerto Rico, who fell to Bolaños in the other semifinal match, 2-0, shared the bronze medal.

    The Colombian boys and girls dominated the Under-16 division winning seven out of ten gold medals plus two silver and three bronze. Panama took two titles and Aruba one.

    2011PYCLogo.jpgA total of 105 youth bowlers from 15 countries, Argentina, Aruba, Canada, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Mexico, Panama, Peru, Puerto Rico, United States, Venezuela and the host country Dominican Republic, participated in the 2011 PABCON Youth Championships at Cibao Bowling Center in Santiago de Los Caballeros in the Under-16 (12 boys and nine girls) and Under-20 (49 boys and 35 girls) division.

    Only Colombia and Puerto Rico send a full team of 12 players, four boys and four girls in U20 and two boys and two girls in U16. Colombia led the overall medal tally with nine gold, three silver and five bronze and was followed by Puerto Rico with five gold, six silver and eight bronze. Junior Team USA, which did not compete in the Under 16 division, was third with three gold, six silver and three bronze.

    2011PYCUSBCLucasWiseman.jpgAnother eight countries, Panama, Venezuela, Mexico, Aruba, Guatemala, Costa Rica, Canada and Brazil took home a share of medals.

    BOWL.com has provide free live streaming of the under-20 division Singles, Doubles Team and Masters competition. Pictured right is USBC's Live Streaming commentator, Lucas Wiseman.

     



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    Cibao Bowling Center in Santiago de Los Caballeros, Dominican Republic (July 16-23, 2011)

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