HOLIDAY BOWL

champs Cortez Schenck & Quirino Sanchez

        Cortez Schenck and Quirino Sanchez continue to be a winning combination, as they captured JBT titles in exciting NM-TX Conference action at Skidmore's Holiday Bowl.

        Bowlers competed in the tense 'pick your survivor' format, which consists of low-bowler-out matches on each pair, with the draw determined by the highest seeded bowlers.  The scratch division was carved from eighteen down to six with many matches coming down to the last shot.  With six players remaining, top seed Zach Martinez beat Josh Helmick, Schenck beat newcomer Ryan McGuire, and Washingtonian Brian Monnette ousted William Yoder 244-214.  In the resulting three-way semifinal, Monnette (203) and Schenck (195) edged Martinez (190) to set up the title match.

        Both players rolled solid title games, with nothing less than a 9-count between them, but Cortez ended up with the bigger strings, eventually winning 248-227 for the championship, the 39th of his amazing JBT career.

        Eighteen players also played in the handicap survivor rounds, and in the round of six, Abby Franklin beat Nathan Tran 238-195, Sanchez stopped Morgan Lewis 209-184, and Blayne Hurst eliminated top seed Aileen Linares 171-169.  In the ensuing semifinal game, Quirino (221) and Abby (216) eliminated Hurst (204), setting up the title match.

        Abby continues to rack up title matches since the summer, but she struggled a bit in the early frames this time, and Quirino took advantage, winning the match 228-192 for the title.  He won his first title at the Youth Mexico Open this summer, and teamed with Cortez in the 'mix it up' format to finish runner-up last spring, so look out for them at tournaments they both enter!

        Sara Vargas swept the weekend's Women's Series events with a 228-192 win over first time finalist Melissa Waters.

        Thanks as always to the crew at Holiday Bowl for another great job hosting our Tour.  Want in on the most fun and excitement around?  JUst check out our schedule and come on down, that's all there is to it!