ARIZONA INVITATIONAL

champs Russ Oviatt, Heather Penatzer, and Tyler Hedges

        Russ Oviatt, Heather Penatzer, and Tyler Hedges were each very impressive in claiming titles at the 19th annual JBT Arizona Conference Invitational Tournament, hosted by Let It Roll in Phoenix.

        Ben Canfield, in his senior season on Tour, grabbed the top seed in the scratch division for the triple-elimination matchplay finals, but found himself 3-2 going into a round seven match against Teagan Smale.  Ben forced Teagen to get 19 to eliminate him, and after sparing a solid-9, the mostly untested Smale flushed the fill ball, staying alive himself and eliminating Canfield.  In that same round, #6 Dallas Leong gave #2 Cortez Schenck his third loss, while Oviatt took command of the event by giving Penatzer her second loss, leaving Russ as the only one-loss bowler left.

        In the next round, Dallas eliminated Penatzer in fourth, while Smale came up with an even more dramatic win in this breakthrough tournament for him, this time doubling for a 247-240 win against Russ on a brutal pattern to stay alive and hand Oviatt his second loss.  With three players left, Russ got a bye while Leong finally ended Smale's run, setting up a one game title match between Dallas and Oviatt. It's no surprise that two of the best frame-fillers on Tour survived to the title match in a format and on a pattern like this, and in the finale it was Russ who filled them the best, as he beat Dallas 211-194, for the 9th title of his JBT career, first major, and $1,000 top prize.

        Handicap points leader Abby Franklin also grabbed the top seed for the matchplay finals, but faltered in the early rounds, going out in round four, and giving #2 seed Marguerite Evans the first bye.  This helped Evans get all the way to the final five, where she was dealt her second loss to #5 Tyler Hedges, who had run undefeated through the field to that point in an impressive display.  In the same round, #3 Daryus Alo had a bye, and #13 Sebastian Polhill eliminated #11 Aaron Coleman in fifth.  With four players left, Evans now eliminated Polhill, while 9 year-old Hedges ousted 8 year-old Alo in a battle of Las Vegas' future and present all-stars. 

        That left Marguerite in the unenviable position of having to beat Tyler three times to win the title.  She had her chance in game one, but couldn't get the tenth frame double she needed.  That completed a 9-0 sweep in matches for the nine year-old, and a perfect way to win his second JBT title and $1,000 top scholarship prize.

        Brittany Kolatzny bowled brilliantly to grab the top seed for the simultaneous Girls Invitational, but she had her hands full with Penatzer as her opponent.  Heather has been tearing up both the girls' events and the regular scratch fields since she got home from school, and she maintained that trend in the title game as well.  She beat Kolatzny for the win and bonus $200 prize.

        The top 20 season-long point scorers now move on to the Touring Players Championship, where the JBT's best will square off in the most important tournament of the year.  Thanks as always to our terrific sponsors: Ebonite, Racks On Racks Pro Shop, Impact Bowling Pro Shops, Bowlers Advantage Pro Shops, and everyone else who helps along the way, including terrific host centers like Let It Roll.   Want in on all the fun for all ages and averages?  Just check out our schedule and come on down, it's that easy!