Sports

Putting the finishing touches on one of the most exciting PBA Tour television finals in the organization’s 60-year history, Australia’s Jason Belmonte defeated Jesper Svensson of Sweden, 238-225, for the PBA World Championship title.

The finals of the tournament, which took place in November during the World Series of Bowling IX in Reno, Nev., were telecast last Sunday on ESPN.

The victory marked Belmonte’s third major championship in 2017, setting a PBA Tour record, and was his ninth career major crown.  It also virtually locked up another PBA Player of the Year title (voting will take place later this month) for the 34-year-old two-hander and added another $60,000 to his bank account.

Furthermore, Belmonte moved into third place on the PBA’s list of all-time major champions behind PBA legends Earl Anthony and Pete Weber, who both won 10 majors.

As far as the show itself, two matches were decided in sudden-death roll-offs – the opening match between Matt Sanders of Evansville, Ind., and Kyle Troup of Taylorsville, S.C., and the semifinal match between Belmonte and Cheektowaga’s Ryan Ciminelli.

In the first match, Sanders and Troup finished in a 248-248 tie, before Troup struck in the extra frame to edge Sanders, who left a 7-pin.  Ciminelli then topped Troup, 193-180, before battling Belmonte to a 257-257 tie.

Unfortunately for the Western New Yorker, he left the 2-5-6 on his first shot in OT after Belmonte had left a 7-pin.

Then in the title match against left-side two-hander Svensson, Belmonte got a break when he struck in the fifth frame despite the finger grip coming out of the ball. The match was close throughout, but Belmonte came through in the 10^th frame with a pair of strikes to seal the deal.

Svensson earned $30,000, Ciminelli $25,000, Troup $20,000 and Sanders $15,000.

ESPN’s coverage continues at 1 p.m. this Sunday with the World Bowling Tour Women’s and Men’s Finals. Competitors are Malaysia’s Shalin Zulkifli, Danielle McEwan of Stony Point, N.Y., and Diana Zavjalova of Latvia, and Marshall Kent of Yakima, Wash.; Svensson and Belmonte.

LOCAL BOWLERS UNABLE TO DERAIL CHEEKTOWAGA’S VOYTOVICH

The local bowlers on the Beat the Champ TV show at Mancuso Bowling Center in Batavia ran into a “buzzsaw,” and were unable to unseat "the champ," Dana Voytovich of Cheektowaga. The show was taped on Nov. 29 and televised on Dec. 23-24 on WBBZ-TV (MeTV).

Voytovich concluded a perfect month – running his winning streak to eight matches – by knocking off Batavian Rich Wagner, 268-213; Brockport’s Chris Bardol, 245-237, and Batavian Rob Stefani, 255-185.

The victories enabled Voytovich to enter this month’s competition at Rapids Bowling Center in Niagara Falls as the champ. Those shows will be televised on Jan. 6, 13, 20 (repeated on Jan. 7, 14, 21).

The fourth show from Batavia featured eight youth bowlers form the Turnbull Heating Junior League at Mancuso’s, bowling as boy-girl doubles teams.

Emma Miller and James Townsend emerged victorious by defeating Corinne Saluste and Sam Miller in the final match. Miller/Saluste had advanced with wins over Samantha Balbi and Benjamin Sputore, and Tara Clattenburg and Skylar Laesser.

All in all, the Batavia-area bowlers competed at a high level, and put on a good show for the viewers.

GRUSBC SCRATCH MEMORIAL IN PORTAGEVILLE THIS WEEKEND

Genesee Region USBC men and women bowlers have a chance to see how they measure up against the best in the association this weekend by entering the 64^th GRUSBC Scratch Memorial Tournament at Letchworth Pines in Portageville.

Qualifying squad (four games) times are noon and 3 p.m. on Saturday and 10 a.m. on Sunday. One in five from each squad will advance to four-game semifinals and, from there, the five bowlers with the highest eight-game total pinfall will advance to the stepladder finals.

Two different oil patterns will be used -- the 39-foot Kegel “Middle Road” during qualifying and the 45-foot Kegel “Route 66” during the semifinals and finals. First place, based on 80 entries, is $1,000; the entry fee is $55 and re-entry is allowed. To enter, call 585-861-0404 or send an email to mikep@bowlgr.com.

Other tournaments this weekend include the Scott Whittier Memorial three-person, no-tap on Saturday at Oak Orchard Bowl in Albion (squads are at 1, 3, 5:30 and 7:30 p.m.) and the 60-and-over Tour at noon Sunday at Mancuso Bowling Center in Batavia.

While one hopes that all tournaments are successful, having two other events the same weekend as a major GRUSBC tournament forces bowlers to choose – and that’s not a good thing.

Since the GRUSBC schedule is out before the season begins, it shouldn’t be difficult for promoters of other tournaments to avoid any conflicts. It’s simply a matter of common sense and working together – and that’s something to remember when setting up tournaments for 2018-19.

SPARE SHOTS: TOURNEY VICTORY GRAY JR., 300 FOR SANTINI

-- Kevin Gray Jr. of Warsaw captured the $700 first prize at the Domm’s Christmas Eve Sweeper at Domm’s Bowling Center in Rochester, rolling a 300 game during the qualifying round and surviving through three eliminator rounds. Other GRUSBC bowlers cashing were Tom Rohl of Le Roy, Rob Husted of Spencerport and Scott Gray of Warsaw.

-- Lefty Bob Santini opened the New Year with a bang by rolling a perfect game – his second of the season – in the Monday Night Merchants League at his (he’s the proprietor) Mount Morris Lanes. Santini now has 11 USBC-certified 300 games.

And on Tuesday night, Dave Emler of Rochester rolled a 300 game and 759 series in the G&W Vending League at Rose Garden Bowl.

-- Matt Slocum of Perry and Curtis Foss of Medina cashed at the Mike & Ruth Rose New Year’s Day scratch tournament at Bowl-A-Roll Lanes in Rochester, with both bowing out in the early rounds of the finals. PBA standout Brad Angelo of Lockport pocketed the $1,500 top prize, rolling a 299 game in the title match.

-- GRUSBC directors welcomed Steve Krna of Alexander to the local association board at their meeting last Saturday. An avid league bowler, Krna is president of Genesee Patrons insurance Cooperative Insurance Co. in Batavia.

The board voted to bring back the GRUSBC Invitational tournament, a 64-bowler “by invitation only” handicap singles event, and tentatively scheduled it for Sept. 29 at Mancuso Bowling Center.

Also, the board is accepting nominees for the GRUSBC Hall of Fame through Feb. 1. Nomination forms can be found at www.bowlgr.com.

-- Following a successful first half of its first season, the Sunday Roll-Offs league at Medina Lanes is gearing up for its second half, starting this Sunday at 10 a.m.

The format of the USBC-sanctioned handicap singles league is three games of qualifying with bowlers divided into groups by their averages. Winners from each group then bowl one more game to determine the weekly champion.

Additionally, points are awarded each week, which are worth prize money at the end of the season. The weekly fee is $20. For more information, call Medina Lanes at 585-318-4474.

-- The Genesee Region Youth Travel League reached its halfway point last Sunday at Mancuso Bowling Center and the Rose Garden I team from Bergen continues to hold a 12.5-point lead over second place Batavia Strike Force.

Weekly leaders were Josiah Yantz of Scopano’s Lanes with a 234 game and 660 series, James Townsend of Batavia Strike Force, 222—638; Ben Lennox of Oak Orchard I, 233—617; Paige Snook of Oak Orchard I, 192—554; Corinne Saluste of Strike Force, 205—554, and Logan Cadieux of Scopano’s, 177—476.

The league bowls again on Jan. 21 at Rose Garden Bowl.

-- The GRUSBC Adult-Junior Doubles Tournament is set for Jan. 12-14 at Mancuso Bowling Center, with squad times at 7 p.m. on Jan. 12, and noon and 3 p.m. on Jan. 13 and Jan. 14. Competition will be in two handicap divisions -- based on youth bowlers ages: 12 & under and 13 & over. The entry fee is $40 per team. To enter, contact Tom Fluker at tfstrikeforce@msn.com. 

Perry beat Elba 62-45 in boys basketball Friday night.

For the Yellowjackets, Tyler Cowie scored 31 points. Micheal Hockey added 12 and Austin Croll, 10.

For the Lancers Jonathan Boyce scored 12 and Ben Pflaumer scored 10.

Both Hockey and Pflaumer hit a trio of three-point shots.

Le Roy came back from 14 points down at the half to beat rival Cal-Mum in boys basketball 56-55.

Luke Stella was fouled on a three-pointer as time expired and made two free throws to secure the win.

 

Canyon Roster scored 16 points, T.Y. Williams, 10, Stella, 9. Reece Tresco hit two three-pointers.

If you happen to care about the future of the sport of bowling, you will be thrilled to read about the accomplishments of youth bowlers in our area and across the state.

Starting close to home, 18-year-old Naomi Hyde of Le Roy (she’ll be 19 on Dec. 30) recorded the highest USBC-certified three-game series in the history of Legion Lanes in Le Roy on Dec. 11 when she rolled a 730 set while substituting in the Monday Ladies Jackpot League.

The right-hander’s games were 258-273-199. The three-game total eclipses the 709 registered by longtime LeRoyan Chris Vescovi in 2002.

Naomi (in photo above) wasn’t sure of the sequence of strikes, but said she got a bit nervous in the second game “because I was hoping to bowl a 280 game.”

She came close with the 273 – which topped her previous high game of 269.

“I lost the line a bit in the third game,” she said, “as I had to adjust as the lanes weren’t as oily.”

After a slow start to the game, she regrouped at the end to post the 199, earning well-deserved applause from her father, Mickey, an avid bowler who came to the lanes to watch.

Naomi said that Vescovi, who bowls in the league, and the other ladies were quick to congratulate her.

She was bowling on a team with Charlene Price and Betty Sue Pelton. She said she is averaging 161 in a Sunday mixed league -- bowling with her dad -- and 195 for 12 games on the Monday league.

Naomi said she bowled in the Legion Lanes youth program since she was 5 years old. After graduating from high school, she is working a couple part-time jobs and said she will be attending Monroe Community College next month.

Her sister, Samantha, continues to bowl in the Le Roy youth league as well as the Genesee Region Youth Travel League.

Hilton Girl Sets Record with 831 Series

While Naomi was making headlines in the Genesee Region, Hilton freshman Elena Carr is in the national spotlight after a high school-record setting 831 series – also on Dec. 11 – in a Monroe County League match against Penfield at AMF Terrace Garden Lanes in Rochester.

Elena, 14, rolled 265-300-266, breaking the previous mark set of 826 by Kristina Frahm of Illinois in January 2007. She has been bowling for 10 years and has been on the Hilton varsity team since seventh grade and also bowls on a travel team on weekends.

By the way, her brother Brad, 16, who also is on the Hilton bowling team, rolled his first 300 game in a sanctioned morning league in September.

Continuing with the young high rollers theme, 14-year-old freshman Zachary Bogholtz of Nassau (Albany USBC) posted his fourth 300 game and first 800 series recently.

The freshman member of the Columbia High School bowling team recently registered his third perfect game of the year and first 800 series – 300-279-234—813.

It sure is encouraging to see that young people are embracing the sport and excelling at it as well. Hopefully, more adult bowlers – parents and coaches – will make it a priority to volunteer their time to helping these kids improve and to give back to a sport that has given them so much over the years.

BERGEN TEAM STRETCHES LEAD IN YOUTH TRAVEL LEAGUE

The Rose Garden I team of Bergen rolled past Batavia Fire & Ice, 18.5 to .5, last Sunday at Legion Lanes in Le Roy to expand its lead over Batavia Strike Force to 7.5 points after six of 14 sessions of the Genesee Region Youth Travel League.

Devon Zinter, Madelynn Pimm and Michael Sardou all bowled over their averages, with Zinter (141 average) shooting 501, Pimm (124 average) rolling 461 and Sardou (126 average) posting 398.

High scores for the week:

Boys – Matt Hurlburt 223—651, Skylar Laesser 232—597, James Townsend 587, Ben Lennox 221.

Girls – Paige Snook 185—517, Samantha Hyde 179—486, Logan Cadieux 168—480.

The league bowls again on Dec. 31 at Mancuso Bowling Center.

BATAVIANS UP NEXT ON WBBZ-TV’S ‘BEAT THE CHAMP’

The Beat the Champ show from Mancuso Bowling Center in Batavia featuring Batavians Rich Wagner and Rob Stefani and Brockport’s Chris Bardol is up next on WBBZ-TV (MeTV), airing this Saturday at 4 p.m. and repeated on Sunday at 11 p.m.

The reigning "champ," two-hander Dana Voytovich of Cheektowaga, puts his five-match winning streak on the line, facing left-hander Wagner in the first match. The winner will take on Bardol in the second match, with the winner advancing to meet Stefani in the show’s final match.

Mike Pettinella, bowling writer for The Batavian, joins hosts Paul Peck and Sue Nawojski for commentary on this weekend's show.

On Dec. 30-31, eight members of the Turnbull Heating Junior League at Mancuso Bowling Center will be featured on the show.

The competition was taped on Nov. 29.

GRAVANDA, SPIOTTA SOAR AT 60-AND-OVER EVENT

Cousins Paul Spiotta and Fred Gravanda of Batavia manufactured a couple “firsts” last Sunday in the 60-and-Over Tour tournament at Bowl-A-Roll Lanes in Rochester.

Spiotta, bowling in his second event since turning 60, rolled the Tour’s first 800 series in the qualifying round – 279-267-256—802 – and Gravanda, a regular member of the Tour, captured his first victory by defeating John Feola of Rochester and Ken Ball of Avon in the finals.

After his big series, Spiotta posted a 207 game in the 12-man semifinals, but it wasn’t quite good enough to advance (as half the field moves on).

Gravanda, however, who qualified with a 664 series for having the best score in the 65-69 age group, went on to bowl 268 and 246 to reach the three-man final round.

In the finals, Gravanda posted 211, edging Feola by seven pins and defeating Ball by 33 pins. Prior to Sunday’s tournament, Gravanda had several runner-up finishes.

Bob Hodgson of Medina (791) and Joe Trigilio of Attica (705) also qualified for the semifinals but lost in the first and second round, respectively, with Trigilio officially placing fourth.

LIMA’S CULP PRIMED TO DEFEND ‘SCRATCH MEMORIAL’ TITLE

Defending champion Scott Culp of Lima is in fine form as the 64^th Genesee Region USBC Scratch Memorial Tournament nears. The singles event is set for Jan. 6-7 at Letchworth Pines in Portageville.

Culp, who won last year’s tournament at Medina Lanes, is averaging better than 240 in the Wednesday Night JCI League at Livingston Lanes in Geneseo, with a 300 game and a pair of 800 series (805 and 837) to his credit.

The Scratch Memorial offers a $1,000 top prize, based on 80 entries, and the entry fee is $55. Qualifying squads are noon and 3 p.m. on Jan. 6 and 10 a.m. on Jan. 7, with one in five bowlers from each squad advancing to the semifinals.

The tournament features two oil patterns – the 39-foot Kegel “Middle Road” during qualifying and the 45-foot Kegel “Route 66” during the semifinals and finals.

To enter, call Mike Pettinella at 585-861-0404 or send an email to mikep@bowlgr.com.

MERRY CHRISTMAS AND HAPPY NEW YEAR TO ALL

To all my Pin Points readers and to all in the Genesee Region, have a blessed and Merry Christmas and Happy Kwanzaa -- and a Happy New Year. And to all my Jewish readers, I hope you had a wonderful Hanukkah (which ended on Wednesday).

The next column will be posted on Jan. 4.

COKE VS. PEPSI: Members of the StrikeForce Academy team in the North Pole League at Mancuso Bowling Center had some fun with team captain Tom Fluker, center, who also is a longtime Pepsi employee. Members of the team, which rolled a 1,201 scratch game recently in the league, are, from left, Tom Baker, Nate Wright, Fluker, Jerry Harding and Eric Kraus.

By Tim Bojarski, for Batavia Downs

The 2017 Batavia Downs summer-fall meet that ended on Saturday (Dec. 16) left track management feeling good after setting records for total betting and purse money paid out during the year.

The track’s export signal drew an increased handle of 15.9% over 2016 and total betting was up 8.1% (over $600,000) with 17 less races than last year. That produced $8.2 million dollars wagered on the live harness racing product, which was the most ever handled at Batavia Downs during a meet since Western Regional OTB purchased and reopened the track in 2002. 

The Downs also set a record handle in their Pick-5 wager when the pool reached $25,312 as a result of being part of the USTA Strategic Wagering Program on Wednesday (Nov. 22).   

Total purses paid out including New York Sire Stakes were $6,072,800, the first time ever the track distributed in excess of $6 million in purse money.

The 2017 meet was also the first time Batavia Downs adopted a new 5 p.m. post time on Wednesdays and that seemed to contribute to the better numbers witnessed from the off-track outlets as handle was up 25 percent from the export signal midweek. It was also a big reason the track eclipsed the $8 million mark in total handle.

A quality product on the track drove those numbers along with a closely contested driver’s race that saw three reinsmen with a shot at the title all year.

When the dust had cleared, Larry Stalbaum won his first ever Batavia Downs driving title with 134 wins. Second was Ray Fisher Jr. with 124 and just one back in third was Drew Monti with 123.

On the conditioner side, Kim Asher also won her first Batavia Downs training title in a romp with 94 wins, 52 ahead of JD Perrin who was second with 42. Maria Rice was third with 40 victories.

Post one won 201 out of the 808 races run followed by post four with 135 and post three with 123.

Favorites won 45 percent of the time during the course of the meet.

“When the lights went down for the last time this year and we looked at the numbers, we were very happy with the results we saw” said Todd Haight, director/general manager of Live Racing at Batavia Downs.

“We had great action on the track with competitive, bettable races and the money wagered through the windows shows our customers felt the same way.”

Upon approval of the New York State Gaming Commission, live racing will resume at Batavia Downs on Monday, July 23.

Le Roy suffered its first loss of the boys basketball season, falling to Avon 49-47. 

For Le Roy, Reece Tresco 15 points and 14 rebounds, Cole Biggins 12 points and 4 assists,  andT.Y. Williams 11 points.

Connor Taylor scored 22 points, had five rebounds and six steals for Avon and Aaron Ghent added 13 points and 11 rebounds.

Press release:

The Genesee Community College men's basketball team improved its winning streak to five before having it snapped in Niagara County Community College's tournament Dec. 15-16.

The Cougars started with a 99-87 win over Onondaga Community College Dec. 15 with their fifth-consecutive win. Although it was not another 100-plus point win, the victory allowed the Cougars to average 102 points over the course of those five-consecutive wins.

Current National Junior College Athletic Association Region III Player of the Week Brian Fobbs was on fire in both games scoring 36 points in the win over the Lazers and 30 points in the 92-81 loss to Henry Ford College, Dec. 16. In addition, Fobbs posted team-highs in rebounds and earned double-double performances in each contest with 15 boards against the Lazers and 16 against Henry Ford. In the latter game, Fobbs also recorded a pair of bocks, assists and steals.

Rahmel Thompson finished second in scoring in both contests to Fobbs with 44 total points. Thompson recorded 27 in the win and 17 in the loss. Joining Thompson with 17 points in the Henry Ford contest was Jarett Haines, while Caylen Williams added 15 points and a team-high three assists against the Hawks.

In addition to Fobbs and Thompson, two other Cougars recorded double-digit scoring performances with Williams adding 10 and Jaheem Page scoring 11 in the win against the Lazers. Williams registered a team-high seven assists and three steals against Onondaga.

The Cougars hit the semester break with a 9-4 overall record and 4-1 conference record.

Press release:

Genesee Community College men's soccer captain Glenn Holmes was named to the United Soccer Coaches Junior College Men's Scholar All-America First Team Dec. 15 by the national chair of the USC Junior College Men's Scholar All-America Committee, Chris Handy. Holmes will be honored by the UCS at its 71st convention in January 2018.

The 2017 National Junior College Athletic Association National Champion Cougars were co-captained by Holmes, who hails from Kildare, Ireland. The sports management major was just one of four overall junior college players who were recognized as first-team selections both on the field and in the classroom by the USC. At the junior college division-three level, he was just one of two to achieve the feat and the lone defensive player in the country.

Although known more for his stealth defensive play, Holmes' offensive numbers were quite astonishing. He led all NJCAA defenders in points with 32 and goals with 13. In addition, the Genesee sophomore was the catalyst behind the team's amazing run that ended with a 10-game winning streak and a 20-game unbeaten streak in bringing the Cougars its first national championship in soccer.

This is the third time Holmes has been honored this season as a first-team all-American. In addition to the two aforementioned USC All-American accolades, Holmes was also named to the NJCAA All-American squad as well.