A victory for the “little guy (and gal).”
This year’s T.F. Brown’s Restaurant King & Queen mixed doubles handicap tournament proved to be just that as Marshall and Megan Trykowski Faron chopped down a few “Goliaths” on their way to capturing
“It is definitely a shock, especially since we went into the tournament thinking it was a no-tap (where nine pins counts as a strike),” Marshall said. “This is only our second tournament, and we just picked up the league on Thursday nights this season.”
Both are new members of the North Pole Restaurant/Family Affair Boat Repair League on Thursdays at Mancuso’s, where Marshall has a 150 average and Megan has a 124 average.
At the King & Queen event, the Batavia couple bowled slightly better than their averages – qualifying 14th out of the 59 entrants to advance to match play and then winning four one-game head-to-head matches to take the title.
“We tried to keep it fun,” Marshall said, adding that it was nerve-racking as well. “We’re built for three games, and here we were in game (number) seven.”
The Farons received 116 pins per game handicap and needed just about all of those pins in two of their matches – a 462-459 victory over scratch bowlers Michelle Sterner of Niagara Falls and Roger Thaine of Rochester, and a 391-389 win over scratch bowlers Tracy Spanitz of Rochester and Mark Brown of Attica.
The victory over Spanitz and Brown propelled the Farons into the finals, where Megan rolled 134 and Marshall 169 in a 419-365 triumph against Batavians Kathy Stearns and Rob Stefani.
Marshall, an Akron native, recently started his own business, C.J.’s Heating & Cooling, which he named after his 3-year-old son, Colton James. The couple is expecting their second child in nine weeks – a son who they will name Connor Joseph in keeping with the C.J.’s theme.
Megan, who has family in Batavia and Darien, starts a new job next week as a Licensed Practical Nurse at the VA Medical Center.
Stearns and Stefani earned $300 for placing second while Spanitz/Brown and Stephanie Alexander of Canandaigua and Scott Culp of Lima each won $200 for reaching the semis.
Other cashers were as follows:
Quarterfinalists, $130 each -- Andrea Pizzo of Rochester and Rob Sease of Brockport, Frank Jarkiewicz of Byron and Laurie Morgante of Bergen, Jeanette Sease of Brockport and Mike Lavender of Medina, and Sandy Restieri and Norm Bialuski of Rochester.
First round, $100 each – Chase Cone of Bergen and Jen Merle of Batavia, Sterner and Thaine, Penny Brown of Attica and Rich Culver of Medina, Rich and Jen Wagner of Batavia, Scott and Christine Shields of Batavia, Joanna and Jerry Menzie Jr. of Bergen, Dana and Christopher Charvella of Batavia, and Kelly and Shayne Herold of Batavia.
Spanitz and Brown were the high qualifiers with 1,382 for three games. Rob Sease had the tournament’s high game (290), while Culver (751) and Spanitz (744) posted the high three-game series.
HACKETT, GILMAN HIT 300 MARK FOR FIRST TIME
Mike Hackett said he is optimistic about his bowling future now that he has made a successful switch to a two-handed delivery.
The 27-year-old Pavilion resident rolled his first 300 game on March 7 on lanes 3-4 in the Industrial B League at Legion Lanes in Le Roy while filling in for a regular league member.
“I’ve gone from a 155 average to a 193 average in a year and a half since I went to two hands, and I plan to take the game more seriously,” said Hackett, a PRC tank processor at Pcore Electric Co. Inc. in Le Roy.
A league bowler for three years, Hackett said he got a couple breaks on the first two balls in the 10th frame – a light hit that collapsed the pocket and then a late-falling 10-pin – before putting the ball squarely into the 1-3 pocket for the 300.
“I was really nervous, but the last ball put them all in the back of the pit,” he said. “After that, my nerves were crazy.”
The pins didn’t cooperate as well after the perfect game as Hackett ended with a 632 series, but he wasn’t too upset.
“I finally got the 300,” he said, eclipsing his previous high of 289, which he said he reached six or seven times.
A regular in two leagues in Le Roy last season, he suffered a broken arm while playing softball last summer and is subbing at Legion Lanes and at Gates Bowl in Rochester this season.
At Oak Orchard Bowl in his hometown of Albion, Greg Gilman said he stayed with the new Loch Ness Monster bowling ball to spin his first 300 game in the Saturday Mixed League on March 11.’
“It’s been 57 years in the coming,” said Gilman, referring to his age. “I just got the ball a couple weeks ago, but I hadn’t bowled too well with it as I was getting used to the way it hooked.”
The ball is the first offering from Monster Bowling, a company co-founded by Rochester pro shop owner Brad Buckert.
Gilman, a right-hander, registered 189 and 205 before zeroing in on the second arrow to finish with the 300 and a 694 series.
“As long as I stayed smooth, it read the lane and hooked into the pocket,” he said. “I got a couple of light mixers where it took out the 7-10, but they all were right there.”
A 190-plus average bowler, Gilman’s previous high game was 289. A recent New York State retiree, he also bowls on Monday and Thursday nights in Albion.
Three other perfect games were reported last week:
-- Rob Sease of Brockport posted 300—741 on March 7 while subbing in the G&W Vending League at Rose Garden Bowl in Bergen.
-- Chris Bardol of Rochester, a frequent flyer in this column, popped another 300 en route to a 687 series in the North Pole/Family Affair Boat Repair League at Mancuso’s on March 9.
-- Rob Dennis of Medina fired 228-222-300—750 in the Thursday Firefighters League at Medina Lanes on March 9.
Honorable mention: Jason Quilliam of Batavia, 290, in the North Pole/Family Affair League and Paul Baney of Holley, 296, in the Sneezy’s Monday Night League at Oak Orchard Bowl.
GRUSBC ASSOCIATION TOURNAMENT BEGINS MARCH 24
Letchworth Pines in Portageville and Perry Bowling Center are hosting the 11th annual Genesee Region USBC Association Tournament, a team, doubles, singles and all-events competition scheduled for March 24-26 and March 31-April 2.
The team event will take place at Letchworth Pines and doubles and singles events will be contested at Perry Bowling Center.
In the Open Division, teams consist of five bowlers; in the Women’s Division, teams are made up of four bowlers.
For more information and to download an entry form, go to www.bowlgr.com.
Information about other tournaments this month can be found by scrolling down this page to the March 2 Pin Points column.
BOWLERS TURN OUT TO SUPPORT PERRY FD
Forty-one teams supported the Perry Fire Department’s “Sonny Yencer” three-person handicap no-tap tournament fundraiser last weekend.
The team of Shawn Illerbrun of Warsaw and Marie and Richard Stone of Perry placed first with a 2,420 total to take home the $440 top prize.
They were followed by Ed Doody of Pavilion, Brian Wetmore of Perry and Joe Rosowski of Warsaw, 2,413, $210; Brett Van Duser of Perry, Marty Weaver of Castile and Jamie Schery of Pike, 2,411, $120; and the Perry trio of Rachel Van Duser, John Huntz and Chris Huntz, 2,372, $90.
At Mount Morris Lanes, the Motley Crew team captained by Dave DiSalvo won the Bob Bertram Memorial five-person no-tap tournament’s first prize of $1,000.
A team captained by Tom Sweeney placed second, good for $500.
DiSalvo also won the singles tournament with 878 – earning another $200.
More than $1,200 was generated for both Livingston County Hospice and Teresa House by the event’s 40 teams.
BATAVIA, PERRY BOWLERS CAPTURE YOUTH TEAM TITLES
Bowlers from Mancuso Bowling Center and Perry Bowling Center combined forces to take first place in Division A of the Genesee Region USBC Youth Team Tournament on March 4-5 at Rose Garden Bowl in Bergen.
The Thrown Together squad of Brooke Jurek, Emma Miller, Tony Sprague and Matt Hurlburt posted a 2,555 score with handicap to edge Scopano's Scrappers team by eight pins and capture the top prize of $100 scholarships each.
In Division C (there was no Division B), scholarships went to the Mancuso's team of Lily Martin, Jonah Martin, Noah Martin and Zach Wester with 2,440.
The Genesee Region Youth Travel League concludes its season this Sunday afternoon at Mancuso Bowling Center. Batavia Strike Force holds an 11-point lead with 19 points up for grabs as it takes on second-place Scopano’s Lanes No. 1.
CONDOLENCES TO ORLEANS COUNTY BOWLING FAMILIES
Thoughts and prayers go out to the Allis family from the Medina area and the Ecker family of Albion on the passing of their loved ones – Sydney Allis and Bill Ecker.
Syd was the patriarch of a multi-generational and extremely skilled bowling family that lists around 20 USBC-certified adult and youth members. He passed away on March 12 at the age of 92.
Bill, who died suddenly on March 9 at the age of 55, leaves behind his wife, Kay, and sons, Cameron and Dallas, all avid bowlers at Oak Orchard Bowl.
(Mike Pettinella’s Pin Points column appears every other Thursday on The Batavian, the region’s No. 1 source for online news. To advertise on this page, contact Mike at mikepett2002@yahoo.com or at 585-343-3736).
