Sweden’s Svensson, Engberg sweep gold medals in Singles at EYC

31 March, 2018

Championships

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Reigning EYC masters champion William Svensson and Hanna Engberg swept the gold medals for Sweden in the boys’ and girls’ singles competition of the 31st European Youth Championships Saturday at Lovvang Bowling Center in Aalborg, Denmark.

Reigning EYC masters champion Svensson, who captured the gold medal with the Swedish boys’ team yesterday, defeated Tim Cerkvenik Muzafirovic of Slovenia in a high-scoring title match, 254-247.

Svensson, the no. 1 seed survived a strong charge by all-events champion Georg Skryten of Norway in the semi-final, 239-237. Cerkvenik, seeded second, ousted no. 3 Maxime Dubois of France, 199-176.

Svensson’s gold medal was the second for Sweden in this Championships. Cerkvenik got the silver medal Skryten and Dubois both received bronze. From left: Tim Cerkvenik Muzafirovic (2nd), champion William Svensson and Swedish coach Peter Ljung.

On the girls’ side, Engberg, who took the last spot for the medal round, topped Sophie Thompson of England in the title match to win the third gold medal for Sweden, 211-180, and to propel the Swedish team to the top of the medal tally after 8 of 10 events.

In the semi-final round, Engberg flew past all-events champion and singles preliminaries leader Jaqueline Witura of Austria, 210-147, while third-seeded Thompson eliminated no. 2 Cecilie Dam of Denmark, 215-192.

Engberg’s gold medal was the eights medal for Sweden in as many events. Thompson earned the silver medal and Witura and Dam both got bronze.

Action shifts to match play masters, which will conclude the 31st European Youth Championships on Saturday and Sunday. The top 24 boys and girls in all-events will determine the champion in single-elimination match play in best-of-three games format. The top 8 in all-events receive a first-round bye.

The field will be trimmed to 16, eight, four and the two players, who square off in the gold medal match. The loser of that match receives the silver medal. The two semi-final losers will share the bronze medal.

The 31st European Youth Championships will be held from March 24 to April 2 at 30-lane Lovvang Bowling Center in Aalborg, Denmark.

The championships drew 156 players, 90 boys and 66 girls, from 28 member countries of the European Tenpin Bowling Federation (ETBF) – Austria, Belgium, Croatia, Czech Republic, England, Finland, France, Germany, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Lithuania, Malta, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Romania, Russia, San Marino, Scotland, Slovakia, Slovenia, Sweden, Switzerland, Turkey, Ukraine, and the host country Denmark.

Up to four boys and four girls per country who must not be born before September 1, 1999 will bowl in separate divisions for gold, silver and bronze medals in five disciplines: Singles, Doubles and four-player Teams, All-Events and Masters.

The 2018 EYC will be played on a 39-foot lane conditioning pattern with 26.73 mL volume oil total.

Singles, Doubles and Team preliminaries feature six games with the top 4 advancing to the medal round. No. 1 bowls No. 4 and No. 2 takes on No. 3 in the semi-finals. The winners bowl for gold and silver while the losers share the bronze medal. All matches will be decided in one game.

The three players with highest 18-game total of the Singles, Doubles and Teams preliminaries earn the medals in All-Events. The top 24 in All-Events determine the Masters champion in single-elimination match play in best-of-three games format. The top 8 players receive a first-round bye.

Photos courtesy of Markus Hegnelius.

Swedish boys defend Team title at 2018 European Youth Championships
England repeats as Girls’ Team champion at European Youth Championships
Denmark leads Girls’ Team Preliminaries at European Youth Championships
Swedish Girls follow in the footsteps of their male counterparts
Sweden sets EYC record, leads Boys’ Team event at halfway point
English girls shoot big games to win gold in Doubles at EYC
Finland starts 31st European Youth Championships with victory in Boys’ Doubles
Germany earns the No. 1 seed for Boys’ Doubles finals
28 countries to participate in 31st European Youth Championships

From left: Slovenia, Sweden, Norway and France.

31st EYC 2018 – Boys’ Singles Medal Round

Lovvang Bowling Center in Aalborg, Denmark (March 31, 2018)

Championship Round:
1. William Svensson, Sweden, 493 (2 games)
2. Tim Cerkvenik Muzafirovic, Slovenia, 423 (2 games)
3. Maxime Dubois, France, 176 (1 game), and
(tie) Georg Skryten, Norway, 237 (1 game)

Playoff Results:
Semifinal Match 1: No. 1 Svensson def. No. 4 Skryten, 239-237
Semifinal Match 2: No. 2 Cerkvenik def. No. 3 Dubois, 199-176
Championship: Svensson def. Cerkvenik, 254-247.

31st EYC 2018 – Girls’ Singles Medal Round

Lovvang Bowling Center in Aalborg, Denmark (March 30, 2018)

2018 EYC Girls’ Singles champion Hanna Engberg, Sweden.

Championship Round:
1. Hanna Engberg, Sweden, 405 (2 games)
2. Sophie Thompson, England, 355 (2 games)
3. Jaqueline Witura, Austria, 188 (1 game), and
(tie) Cecilie Dam, Denmark, 171 (1 game)

Playoff Results:
Semifinal Match 1: No. 4 Engberg def. No. 1, Witura, 210-147
Semifinal Match 2: No. 3 Thompson def. No. 2 Dam, 215-192
Championship: Engberg def. Thompson, 211-180.

Herbert Bickel