So Cal Doubles

champs Riley Dempsey, Mark Myers, Carol Chui, & Elias Torres

        In two of the most topsy-turvy title matches you'll see anywhere, the teams of Riley Demspey and Mark Myers, and Carol Chui and Elias Torres captured titles in the JBT So Cal Doubles Classic, hosted by Canoga Park Bowl.

        The four-armed and zero-thumbed team of Matt Jones and Jimmy Hefley opened up the scratch division Baker-style stepladder finals with a 227-191 win over Steven Manier and Stephen Lindsey.  Myers and Demspey then squeaked by Jones and Hefley 223-212, and followed with a 204-138 win over Jeremy Glover and Mike Villareal to reach the title match.

        Top seeds Wesley Low and his big brother Wesley Low II-- oops, I mean Kevin Valmonte-- took over the top seed with a big semifinal round, and looked in control of the title match as they began with the first seven strikes.  However, some very fortunate brooklyn carries from Myers and solid shots from Dempsey kept their team's string together and kept them in shouting distance.  In the tenth, Myers' strike (yep, a brooklyn) forced Valmonte to strike, which he did.  On the next ball, Mark found the right look and flushed 10 in the pit, now forcing Valmonte to strike for the win.  Kevin threw a perfect ball, but the solid-8 stood, which he spared to finish at 268, leaving Mark needing to strike on the fill ball to win.  Myers got up and shredded the rack this time, giving his team the improbable 269-268 win and the title, and heartbreak for Low and Valmonte.

        The handicap stepladder began with the father-son team of Tyler and Todd Ottenschot beating Jacob Camacho and Alex Bissett 191-135.  Kayla Goad and Steven Acuff, two Arizonans having career years, then beat the Ottenschots 234-209.  Jamie Spector and Taylor King stepped up and stopped Goad and Acuff in a 199-192 semifinal squeaker to reach the title match.

        Top seeds Carol Chui and Elias Torres had grabbed the lead after game seven, but forgot to grab their bowling balls, which were finally discovered with only a few minutes before their match.  They were unable to get anything going in the finals, but Spector and King (a winner here with Matt Herbert last year) struggled also, which ended up bringing the match down to the tenth frame.  Jamie did her job, coming up with a strike, but Elias was equal to the task, coming up with a strike of his own, sealing a 151-148 win and the first title each for both Carol and him.

        Thanks as always to the great folks at Canoga for hosting this exciting event, which awarded over $2,000 in scholarships and prizes to bowlers of all ages and averages.  Thanks also to the adults and alumni for coming out to bowl with today's JBT kids.   Want in on the most fun in bowling?  Check out the JBT schedule and come on down, it's really that simple!