AZ Doubles Classic at AMF SHEA VILLAGE

champions BJ Baker & Robbie Patterson; Austen Christensen & Mary Brandt

A sellout field of 100 teams shared in over $4,500 in scholarships and cash at the 10th Annual JBT SW Arizona Doubles Classic, presented by DryLanes.com.

In the scratch division, the fourth-seeded team of 3-time JBT champ Rachelle Davis and adult amateur star Tyson Branagan, owner of 4 JBT titles, defeated Grant and John Sudbeck, owners of 7 JBT titles combined, by a 180-152 score in round one of the Baker-format stepladder finals.

Round two was probably the best match in JBT Doubles history.  Brian Weyrauch and Mike Seitz engaged in a close, mid-scoring battle with Tyson and Rachelle.  Branagan finished spare strike to force Seitz to roll all three strikes in the tenth to win.  After getting the first two hits, Seitz' last ball came up high and managed to get nine, forcing a tie at 200.  In the first one-shot rolloff that ensued, both Tyson and Seitz threw perfect strikes to fore a second rolloff.  They repeated the flush strikes in the second... and the third... AND THE FOURTH rolloff.   Finally, in the fifth rolloff, Tyson went high for an eight count, while Seitz' equally high ball busted up a split for a nine-count and an exhausting win.

In round three, BJ Baker and Robbie Patterson took advantage of an obviously mentally spent team of Seitz and Weyrauch, with Baker's spare in the tenth ensuring what ended up to be a 192-180 victory, advancing them to the title match against top seedes Theo Douthit and Rhino Page.  

The final was truly an all star affair.  BJ and Theo are the two premier lefthanders currently in JBT with 19 titles between them.  Rhino is a three-time Team USA member and collegiate national champion (with 2 JBT SW titles), while Robbie is a 6-time JBT SW champ from our early seasons and current member of Brunswick's amateur staff.  The match was a well-bowled affair on some demanding conditions, but in the end Baker and Patterson had just enough to squeeze out a 204-182 victory.  It was Baker's 14th JBT SW win, good for sole possession of fourth place on our all-time titles list.

In contrast, all members of the handicap division's finalist teams were still looking for their first JBT titles.  In round one, Austen Christensen and Mary Brandt opened up with a 175-161 victory over Daniel Cotten and Anthony Pizzi, points leader Steven's big brother.

Round two was all Austen and Mary again, this time defeating first time finalists Mike Armstrong and Jessica Reed 195-146.  Christensen and Brandt then advanced to the title match with a 165-145 win over Ben Stalker and Nick Steckler.  Steckler also had the distinction of rolling the event's only 300 game, with a perfect effort in game 6.  

Top qualifiers Brandon Longo and Matthew Erb had led the tournament by a comfortable margin, but the pair of thumbless-style bowlers ran into trouble with the drying out conditions, and the tiring but confident pair of Austen and Mary.  In the end, they completed their conquering of the stepladder with a 174-155 win over Matt and Brandon, good for their first JBT SW wins, and a $325 scholarship for Austen.

Everyone who finished in the top 5 qualifies for the 2006 JBT SW Arizona Invitational Tournament, the regular season's year end event, featuring a guaranteed minimum $1,000 first place scholarship in each division.  Top season-long point scorers also qualify for the 2006 JBT SW Touring Players' Championship, featuring a guaranteed minimum $2,000 first place scholarship per division! 

Thanks to everyone at Shea Village for hosting this great event, and to Dry Lanes.com for being the title sponsor of the tournament.  Please continue to help spread the word about the terrific benefits of bowling JBT SW events!