Clara Guerrero wins record-tying third PBA Regional title

24 March, 2016

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Colombia native Clara Juliana Guerrero, now residing in Pflugerville, Texas, defeated Anthony Lavery-Spahr of Pasadena, Texas, 246-236, to claim a record-tying third PBA Regional title Sunday in the fifth annual PBA Odessa Southwest Open, presented by Columbia 300 at Astro Bowl in Odessa, Texas.

Guerrero rallied from an early deficit behind two turkeys and she had an opportunity to close out Lavery-Spahr with a double in her 10th frame. A 7 pin on her second shot gave Lavery-Spahr a chance for the win, but needing a double, he could only manage the first strike.

In addition to the $2,500 first place check, Guerrero joined California’s Missy Parkin as the second woman to win three PBA Regional titles.

After finishing seventh in qualifying, Guerrero received a bye to the Round of 12 where she defeated amateur Seth Rutledge from Dallas, 2-1, in their best-of-three-game match. She followed with a 2-0 victory over Mike Bailey of Allen, Texas, and a 238-197 win over Jakob Butturff from Phoenix in the semifinal round.

Lavery-Spahr advanced to the finals by defeating Joe Findling from Mesquite, Texas, 2-0, in the Round of 8, and qualifying leader Martin Bedford from Altus, Okla., 233-228, in the semifinal round.

Martin Larsen takes World Bowling Tour men’s points lead

With strong performances in the first three PBA International-World Bowling Tour events of the 2016 season, including a runner-up finish to Jesper Svensson in the Brunswick Euro Challenge, Sweden’s Martin Larsen (pictured left) has passed England’s Dom Barrett for first place in the two-year rolling World Bowling Tour men’s points standings.

Larsen, with 434 points, holds a 32-point lead over Barrett, who won the WBT Men’s Finals presented by the PBA earlier this year in Indianapolis.Finland’s Osku Palermaa is third with 352 points followed by Jason Belmonte of Australia and Mike Fagan of Berkeley, Calif.

The women’s points leader and reigning WBT Women’s Finals winner is Danielle McEwan (right) of Stony Point, N.Y., with 615 points followed by Liz Johnson of Cheektowaga, N.Y., with 445 and Kelly Kulick of Union, N.J., with 394. Singapore’s Cherie Tan (322) and Latvia’s Diana Zavjalova (310) round out of the top five.

The PBA International-World Bowling Tour schedule resumes in August with the Thailand WBT in Bangkok.

Fans still have time to enter PBA League Elias eight bracket contest

PBA fans still have time to pick the team they think will win the 2016 PBA League Elias Cup in the new PBA League Elias Eight Bracket Contest. One lucky fan who correctly picks the winners of seven PBA League matches will be declared the winner of a replica High 5 Gear championship team jersey along with a bowling pin autographed by the winning team members.

To enter the contest, fans ages 21 or older must fill out the official PBA League Elias Eight bracket and post it on your Facebook or Twitter page using the hashtag #PBAEliasCup and tag the PBA social channels or @PBATour by no later than 8 p.m. EDT (5 p.m. PDT) on Thursday, March 31.

The official bracket can be found on pba.com, or look for a link on PBA’s Facebook or Twitter pages.

PBA Regional Update: Matt O’Grady perfect in winning his second regional title

Matt O’Grady (pictured left) of Matawan, N.J., rolled a perfect game in the title match to defeat E.J. Tackett of Huntington, Ind., 300-239, to claim the PBA Trumbull County Tourism Bureau Central/East Open title presented by Radical at Bell-Wick Bowl in Hubbard, Ohio, Sunday.

The title was O’Grady’s second in PBA Regional competition. He also earned $2,700. O’Grady defeated John Furey of Freehold, N.J., 268-241, to advance to the championship match. Furey started the stepladder finals by eliminating Eugene McCune of Munster, Ind., 201-197, and he advanced to the semifinal match by defeating Diana Zavjalova of Latvia, 288-234.

Non-member Tom Adcock of Decatur, Ill., defeated Dave Williams Jr. of Omaha, Neb., 204-203, to win the PBA50 Showtime Lanes Midwest/Central Open in Virden, Ill., Sunday. The win was Adcock’s second in PBA Regional competition, and he earned $1,600. But he doesn’t get credit for a PBA title because he is not a member.

Adcock defeated David Tyrrel of Harlan, Iowa, 2-0, and Williams edged Bryan Goebel of Shawnee, Kan., 2-0, in the best-of-three-game semifinal round to set up the championship match.

Brian Boghosian of Springfield, Mass., defeated Jerry Brunette of Rochester, N.Y., 247-182, to win the PBA50 Rossi Lanes Eastern Open at Rossi Lanes in Elmira, N.Y., Sunday.

Boghosian, the 1999 USBC Masters champion, competed as a non-member and was undefeated in Sunday’s elimination finals. Boghosian strung six strikes in the middle of the game to overcome an early open while Brunette, a second-year member, started the match with six consecutive nine pin counts before rolling his first strike.

The win earned Boghosian $3,000, but he isn’t credited with a PBA title because he isn’t a member. Boghosian defeated 2015 PBA50 East Region Player of the Year Brian LeClair of Delmar, N.Y., 225-224, and Brunette defeated three time regional Player of the Year Ray Edwards of Middle Island, N.Y., 259-243, in his semifinal round match.

Lee Brosius (right) of Ashburn, Va., defeated hall of famer Walter Ray Williams Jr. of Oxford, Fla., 212-217, 279-268, 215-210, in the best-of-three-game title match to win $1,800 and his third career PBA Regional title in the PBA50 Fayetteville Southern Open at LaFayette Lanes in Fayetteville, N.C., Sunday.

In the best-of-three semifinal round, Brosius eliminated Fred Childress of Patrick Springs, Va., 258-246, 224-224 with Brosius winning a one-ball sudden death roll-off, 10-9, while Williams swept defending champion and fellow hall of famer Tom Baker of King, N.C., 203-169, 267-248.

The March regional calendar concludes over the Easter weekend with the Cooperfield Bowl Houston Challenge presented by 900 Global in Houston, Texas; the South Point West Challenge and Member/Non-Member Doubles, both presented by Track, at South Point Bowling Center in Las Vegas.

For complete QubicaAMF PBA Regional schedules, rules and entry information, click here to find the event(s) in your area.