AMF McRAY

champs Nick Lee & Ryan Zent

            Nick Lee and Ryan Zent survived one of the toughest tests of the season to capture titles in exciting JBT action at Chandler's AMF McRay Lanes.

            The 2011 USBC Nationals pattern proved to be very demanding, with an average of just over 170 good enough to make the 16-bowler best 2-of-3 matchplay round in the scratch division.  Curtis Lindeman was the only bowler to average over 200 in qualifying, but the #1 seed jinx bit him, as he fell in three games to #16 Bryan Van Sickle.  #2 Aaron Foshie and #4 Mark Curtis fared better, sweepong their matches, but #3 Derek Acuff bowed out to Lee in round one.

            In the round of eight, #9 Tim Jacob stopped Van Sickle 2-0, Curtis got by #5 Shane Valleau 2-1, Foshie swept #7 Zach Martinez 2-0, and Lee escaped a dogfight with #6 JD Sweet 2-1 in a low-scoring third game.  In ensuing one-game semifinals, Curtis beat Jacob 227-182, and Lee squeezed by Foshie 181-179 to set up the title game.

            In the championship match, Lee got off to a furious start with the front four, and never gave Mark time to catch up, eventually winning the game 215-186, for the 6th title of the talented Tucsonan's career.

            Brooke Martinez may have put on the best performance of the day, leading after every qualifying game, with the second-highest average in the whole tournament (198, just 20 total pins behind Lindeman).  However, matchplay is a different creature, and she too fell in the first round, with #16 Brandon Engers doing the dirty work.  #2 Megan Carlson also bowed out, to #15 Rashaad Jordan, while #3 Ben Meils and #4 Kristen Lee managed to survive the carnage.

            In the round of eight, Engers ousted #8 Justice Lynch, #12 Zent beat Lee, #11 Steven Acuff stopped Meils, and Jordan got past #7 Carter O'Neal in three games.  Now in single-game semifinal matches, Acuff beat Jordan 221-173, and Zent beat Engers 187-169, setting up a title game between one of the highest handicap division averages and one of the lowest.

            Steven had to give up 85 pins to Zent in the title game, and over our history it's about a 50-50 proposition in this situation.  Despite closing the gap considerably, Steven finally ran out of frames, and Ryan, who almost won his first title last fall, sealed the deal this time, winning the game 204-186 for the first title of his JBT career.  Both winners earned $225 for first courtesy of Bowling Dynamics, a terrific sponsor of JBT Arizona Conference events.

            Thanks as always to the McRay crew for hosting our Tour.  The field is now set for the 2011 Arizona JBT Invitational, with $1,000 scholarships up for grabs in each division.  if you're not in, check out our 2011-12 schedule, released soon, and get yourself out on the best Tour anywhere!