No doubt the ugly weather contributed to our lowest turnout this year. Few ventured down from the North, where we heard the weather was really bad. Those that missed this one actually missed an excellent competition! The opportunity to WIN this week was so teasingly close all day... EVERYBODY had a wide open shot when they started... MANY still had a shot in the 4th game... Only TWO Members topped 1000 in the end... and those were just barely over, at 1001 & 1003! Corben Etteldorf was within range of the Top Spot in the 1st squad, but threw a costly split late in his last game. Jim Webb & Bob Matlock were both on pace going into the last game in the 2nd squad. Several would have been at or near the Top if it were a "Best 3 of 4" (like next week), such as Kevin Ford who finished strong with a BIG 579 in his last 2 games. Diane Vernon & Danny Ramos even had shots in the last squad, that came down to the last few frames! What was interesting was that most of the Members that participated on the "Long-Oil" pattern said they enjoyed the new experience, even when they didn't score as well as they had hoped.

Ironically, this Tournament came down to TWO Veteran Life Members, both trying to become the first ever with SEVEN Career Wins. That honor goes to Mitch Vernon, who nosed out Rich Eaton by 2 pins, for a nice $1,716.00 payday. If it wasn't for his success at Tower Lanes, Mitch would be considered a mere mortal, instead of our winningest all-time member. Of his SEVEN wins, FOUR of them have come at Tower Lanes and he doesn't even bowl in any Leagues there. Over the 7 years Mitch has been active on the Tour, he has participated regularly at all of the Centers hosting Tournaments in the North and South. So, his incredible Tour success at Tower is truly amazing! Mitch used a couple of Storm balls, that he drilled himself, for this win. A "Virtual Gravity" (I'm getting one Monday!) and a "Trauma Response", that he also successfully used in Las Vegas last month. Mitch asked us to thank his wife Diane, not only for her continued support, but also for pushing him competitively this week. Diane came very close to winning the Tournament herself, finishing tied for 3rd. Mitch also wants to thank his Father-in-Law Dale Myers and friend Kent Stockton, both of whom shot in the same squad. CONGRATS again Mitch!

Rich Eaton came very close to becoming our 2nd ever Back-to-Back winner, continuing his "Hot Streak" with a 2nd place finish, worth $761.00. Young Corben Etteldorf came close, sharing the 3rd place money with Diane, both taking $327.00 for their efforts. Bernie Smith got the 9-Tap Jackpot Consolation with FOUR 9-Taps, good for $100.00.