We couldn't have had any more drama or excitement in the Final Matches and we also had plenty of both in the qualifying rounds.  The high scores this weekend caught everybody by surprise and it simply raised the level of competition a notch or two.  We hadquite a few very nice scores that unfortunately came up short of Qualifying.  Those bowlers who made it to the Finals, came from a wide range of skill levels, from +46 pins to -9 pins per game.  The Ladies were again 'On Fire', represented by 2 of the Final 4 and also 3 of the Elite 8 finishers.  The Elite 8 even included 2 Sisters (Lynn Freeman & Mai-Lee Bowyer), though they never got to go head-to-head.  There were many close Matches in the Bracket Finals, but the most impressive had to be when Mark Hitchcock beat Kenny Tameno, 265 to 264.  The 9-Tap Jackpothas bounced back to a healthy $3,206.00, after getting off easy this weekend.  Three bowlers, Nicky Allison, Randy Kanzig & Duane MacDonald earned $40.00 each, when they shared the payoff for 4-Taps.  The weekend's 'Top Qualifier' Joe Fincher Jr, shot a beautiful 1069 on Saturday.  It held up and Joe was excited to earn the 900 Global 'Freight Train', which will go well with the 900 Global 'Bank Roll' that he Won with last year.  TheProgressive Pot even rebounded this week to $2,015.00,which should help make for a nice payday at the next Tournament.

 

 

'Miracle Mark' Hitchcock was the last bowler standing when all the smoke cleared Sunday.  Mark shot consistently strong games in the Finals, but his survival was still 'Miraculous'!  In his first Head-to-Head match against Gary Gerrard, he escaped a tight game with a 3 pin Win, then came the ONE PIN Win over Kenny Tameno in the Quarter Finals.  The Championship Game wasanother close one that wasn't decided until the very last ball thrown.  He admitted that his, "Heart was REALLY pounding", in that last Match.  This was his 2nd Tour Title, after winning his first last year in a 'Best 3 of 4' Tournament at Narrows Plaza.  Mark commented on how different the sense of accomplishment was this time, when you have to survive six rounds of Finals for the Win.  Like many past Super Bowl MVPs, Mark's first thought was to say, "I'm going to Disneyland", but instead his quote was, "I'm going to Yakima" (next week).  The $1,890.00 Mark took home Sunday, will help make next week's camping trip a nice one.  He used his DV8 'Brutal Nightmare' to qualify and a Track '503C' in the Finals, both drilled by Matt Surina at Daffodil Bowl.  Mark asked us to thank Will Cotton, who qualified on the same pair with him and also made the Elite 8 Sunday.  CONGRATS Mark on Win #2.

 

 

Mona Harris #79 and husband Leo are original Tour Members from 2002, who moved to Hawaii for several years.  Her 2nd Place finish at Secoma, was her best since returning last year, as well as the best since she won her first Tour Championship in October 2002.  She earned a nice $866.00 for her run through the Finals.  Just missing the Final Match were Ron Rice, who was seeking his first Title and Mai-Lee Bowyer who was after Title #3.  They each Won $399.00, in 3rd Place money, for their strong run in the Finals.