Ryan Ciminelli pushes himself to victory in PBA Maine Shootout

07 April, 2016

PBA National Tour

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Gradually, Ryan Ciminelli of Cheektowaga, N.Y., is beginning to believe in himself, and thanks to a momentary burst of confidence, the 30-year-old left-hander rolled his way to a two-game sweep of 16-time Professional Bowlers Association title winner Tommy Jones in the best-of-three-game title match of the bowlingball.com PBA Maine Shootout at Bayside Bowl Wednesday.

Pictured above is champion Ryan Ciminelle (center) with Bayside Bowl proprietor Charlie Mitchell (left) & PBA Deputy Commissioner Kirk von Krueger.

After winning a 2-1 decision over Michael Markin of Tafton, Pa., in the Round of 64, and a 2-0 sweep of Ronnie Russell of Marion, Ind., in the Round of 32 on Tuesday, Ciminelli completed his run to his sixth PBA Tour title and the $10,000 first prize with best-of-three-game victories over Shawn Maldonado of Houston, Texas; Wes Malott of Pflugerville, Texas, and Tim Mack of Indianapolis before rolling past Jones (above right) in the title match, 255-213 and 225-203.

“I caught these guys at the right time on the right pairs of lanes,” Ciminelli (left) said. “For once, everything fell in place for me. I didn’t think I had a chance to win this tournament, but I kept my head down and kept fighting.”

A year ago, Ciminelli’s confidence had bottomed out so badly he was considering retirement, but he made a great run in the second half of the 2015 season, winding up second in the 2015 PBA Player of the Year Race to Australia’s Jason Belmonte (right).

“My confidence is going up with every event,” he said. “You’re not going to win every tournament you bowl, but you have to keep knocking on the door.”

The next event on the PBA Tour schedule is the Xtra Frame PBA Tour Storm Open, the second of 10 Xtra Frame PBA Tour events scheduled for 2016, April 22-24 at Liberty Lanes in Carpentersville, Ill. The Storm Open will be covered from to start to finish, live on PBA’s exclusive online bowling channel, Xtra Frame.

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bowlingball.com PBA Maine Shootout

Best-of-three-game, single-elimination match play

Championship:
Ryan Ciminelli, Cheektowaga, N.Y. ($10,000) def. Tommy Jones, Simpsonville, S.C. ($6,000), 2-0 (255-213, 225-203).

Semifinal Round (losers eliminated and earned $4,000):
Ciminelli def. Tim Mack, Indianapolis, 2-1 (190-211, 225-205, 222-218)
Jones def. Tim Gillick, Milford, Conn., 2-0 (246-225, 227-226)

Round of 8 (losers eliminated and earned $2,500):
Jones def. Norm Duke, Clermont, Fla., 2-1 (242-255, 221-192, 258-237)
Mack def. Ryan Graywacz, Feeding Hills, Mass., 2-1 (218-245, 238-220, 197-183)
Gillick def. Dom Barrett, England, 2-1 (168-230, 237-210, 223-215)
Ciminelli def. Wes Malott, Pflugerville, Texas, 2-1 (198-182, 247-268, 235-167)

Round of 16 (losers eliminated and earned $1,500):
Jones def. Anthony Simonsen, Princeton, Texas, 2-1 (204-242, 255-224, 212-204)
Duke def. Dave Wodka, Beavercreek, Ohio, 2-0 (270-173, 237-226)
Mack def. Joe Paluszek, Bensalem, Pa., 2-1 (213-187, 172-192, 255-194)
Graywacz def. Tom Smallwood, Saginaw, Mich., 2-1 (223-288, 193-185, 234-188)
Malott def. Walter Ray Williams Jr., Oxford, Fla., 2-1 (234-259, 278-202, 300-226)
Ciminelli def. Shawn Maldonado, Houston, Texas, 2-0 (216-211, 247-186)
Barrett def. Jason Sterner. Cocoa, Fla., 2-1 (214-230, 257-215, 219-180)
Gillick def. EJ Tackett, Huntington, Ind., 2-1 (258-254, 196-243, 217-204)

300 Game: Wes Malott.

Herbert Bickel