With his victory in the bowlingball.com PBA Maine Shootout presented by Xtra Frame, Ryan Ciminelli of Cheektowaga, N.Y., has taken the early lead in the 10-event Xtra Frame PBA Tour competition points race for a $10,000 bonus.

As the winner of the first tournament in the Xtra Frame PBA Tour series, Ciminelli (pictured above) earned 25 points. Runner-up Tommy Jones picked up 19 points, Tim Gillick 18 for third place and Tim Mack 17 for fourth, followed by Norm Duke (16), Dom Barrett 15, Ryan Graywacz (14), Wes Malott (13), E.J. Tackett (12), Walter Ray Williams Jr. (11), Anthony Simonsen (10), Tom Smallwood (9), Jason Sterner (8), Joe Paluszek (7), Dave Wodka (6), Shawn Maldonado (5), Bill O’Neill (3), Andres Gomez (2) and Sean Rash (1).

No points were awarded to the non-member who finished in 17th place. In each subsequent XF PBA Tour events, the same declining points system will be used for the top 20 players. The PBA member with the highest points total at the conclusion of the series will be awarded a $10,000 bonus.

The next event in the series is the PBA Xtra Frame Storm Open April 23-24 at Liberty Lanes in Carpentersville, Ill. Member entry fee is $250; non-member entry fee is $300. First prize is a guaranteed $10,000.

Full schedule of diverse events coming to Xtra Frame

Xtra Frame subscribers are in for a full schedule of programming in the weeks ahead, including PBA50 Tour, Xtra Frame PBA Tour and PWBA action. Coverage gets underway with start-to-finish coverage of the PBA50 Pasco County Florida Open from New Port Richey, Fla., April 17-19, kicking off the 2016 PBA50 Tour schedule.

Next up will be exclusive coverage of the PBA Xtra Frame Storm Open from Liberty Lanes in Carpentersville, Ill., April 23-24, followed by the PBA50 United Healthcare Sun Bowl in The Villages presented by Radical, April 24-26.

PWBA action returns to Xtra Frame April 30-May 1 with the PWBA Las Vegas Open from Texas Station. The May schedule continues with the PBA50 Mooresville Ford Open presented by Columbia 300 May 2-4; the Nationwide PWBA Sonoma County Open May 6-7; the PBA50 Johnny Petraglia BVL Open presented by Brunswick May 8-10 and the PWBA Storm Sacramento Open May 13-14.

PBA Fall Swing qualifying event set for Aug. 27 in Detroit

The PBA has announced it will conduct a pre-tournament qualifier for the PBA Fall Swing at Thunderbowl Lanes in Allen Park, Mich., on Saturday, Aug. 27. Up to 10 non-members will be able to qualify for the Fall Swing through the PTQ. Additional information regarding the Fall Swing PTQ will be announced later.

The PBA Fall Swing, including the PBA Wolf, Bear, Badger and Detroit Open events as well as the Fall King of the Swing special event, is set for Sept. 4-11 at Thunderbowl. All five stepladder finals will be televised by CBS Sports Network.

QubicaAMF PBA Regional Update: Graham Fach wins first PBA Regional title

Graham Fach (pictured left) of Guelph, Ontario, recorded a perfect match play record in defeating Eugene McCune of Munster, Ind. by 236 pins Sunday to win the PBA Debbie & Leo Nunan Memorial Central Open presented by Grove City Family Dentistry and Track at AMF Stardust Lanes in Grove City, Ohio.

Fach, a PBA rookie who won the Barbasol PBA Players Championship in February, finished with a 12-0 match play record and a total of 5,000 pins for 20 games, including match play bonus pins. The title was Fach’s first in QubicaAMF PBA Regional competition. He also earned $2,400 along with his title.

USBC Masters champion Anthony Simonsen (right) of Austin, Texas, defeated Mike Edwards of Tulsa, Okla., 259-223, to win his third PBA Regional title in the fifth annual PBA FireLake Grand Casino Resort Southwest Open presented by Brunswick at FireLake Bowling Center in Shawnee, Okla., Sunday.

Simonsen, who qualified in third place, received byes to the Round of 8 where he defeated former USBC Queens champion and Colombian national team member Maria Jose Rodriguez of Austin, 2-0. He then edged Tyler Jensen of Fort Worth, Texas, 260-259, in the semifinal round.

Edwards qualified fourth and also received byes to the Round of 8. In his opening match, he defeated Canadian Frankie Lavoie, now of Wichita, Kan., 2-0. In his semifinal round match, Edwards disposed of former Southwest Region Player of the Year Chris Hibbitts II from Keller, Texas, 246-193.

Amateur Wesley Low Jr. (left) of Palmdale, Calif., posted a 12-4 match play record and a 24-game total of 5,597 pins Sunday to win the PBA Earl Anthony West/Northwest Memorial at Earl Anthony’s Dublin Bowl Sunday while Noel Vazquez of Sacramento, Calif., won the PBA50 portion of the doubleheader weekend.

The Junior Team USA member, who turns 19 on April 27 (coincidentally the late Earl Anthony’s birthday), won his third PBA West Region event as a non-member, but he does not receive credit for a PBA title. The Wichita State University freshman’s $2,500 first prize goes to his SMART scholarship account. The two-handed left-hander defeated Josh Blanchard of Mesa, Ariz., by 102 pins for the win.

In the PBA50 event, Vazquez went 12-4 in and knocked down 5,417 total pins for his 24 games to top Dennis Horan Jr. of Oakley, Calif., for his eighth PBA50 West Regional title and $1,500. Horan had 5,237 pins.

Two QubicaAMF PBA Regional Tour events are on tap for the April 15-17 weekend, including the Bowlers Discount Pro Shop Eastern Open presented by Hammer at Brunswick Zone Normandy in Ellicott City, Md., and the one-day, reduced entry fee Elkhart Central/Midwest Open presented by Brunswick at Country Club Lanes in Elkhart, Ind.

The PBA50 Sarasota Open presented by Ebonite, Wednesday, April 20-Friday, April 22 – will give PBA50 Tour competitors a mid-week stop between the PBA50 Tour’s Pasco County Open at Lane Glo Bowl in New Port Richey, Fla. (April 16-19) and the United Health Care Sun Bowl in The Villages presented by Radical at Spanish Springs Lanes (April 23-26).

A second mid-week event, the PBA50 Cherokee Lanes South Open presented by Roto Grip, is set for April 28-30 as the PBA50 Tour leaves Florida and heads to North Carolina for the PBA50 Mooresville Ford Open presented by Columbia 300 and Miller High Life May 1-4.

In addition to the PBA Xtra Frame Storm Open at Liberty Lanes in Carpentersville, Ill., April 22-24, the PBA West and Northwest Regions return to Hawaii for the annual Hawaii West/Northwest Open at Scofield Air Base April 24, the Fort Shafter West/Northwest Hawaii Open April 27, and the Hickam AFB West/Northwest Open April 29-May 1.

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

Quick notes

When Anthony Simonsen, at age 19, defeated 54-year-old Mike Edwards Sunday to win the PBA FireLake Grand Casino Resort Southwest Open, Edwards spotted Simonsen 35 years in age and experience. Whether that age gap between title round finalists is a record or not is unknown.

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