BEDROXX

champs Tyler Shipman & Mike Cross

An extremely high scoring day of JBT action saw Mike Cross and Tyler Shipman win their first JBT titles in thrilling Arizona Conference action at Tucson’s Bedroxx.

The striking barrage was led by Kyle Klein, who gave himself an early 18^th birthday present by rolling his first 300 game in the handicap division.  JR Monteith fired his first JBT 300 in the scratch division, but wasn’t nearly content with that, finishing off the qualifying round with a 299 game, for a +324 5-game total, a 265 average, tying our all-time record!  Amazingly, though, both these stories had bitter endings as they couldn’t maintain the pace in the semifinals, finishing out of the top 8.  Still, with the $300 bonus offered for a 300, they made the most scholarship money in their respective divisions for the day.

The scratch division stepladder opened with Kevin Saunders, a two-time winner at Bedroxx, rolling a 236 to beat Shane Peck (207) and Kris George (157).  In round two, Kevin’s 205 and Chris Weyrauch’s (who went a hefty +282 in qualifying) 174 fell to a 210 from Californian Matt Cormack, which left all lefties remaining in the field.

In the semifinal match, Theo Douthit ended a protracted slump with a 258 that eliminated Cormack (227) and BJ Baker (179) to reach the title match.

Top seed Mike Cross has had a successful season with top 5 finishes in 4 of our 5 Conferences, but was 0-3 in previous title matches.  It looked like he had this one in control, until an 8^th frame open let Theo back in.  Now needing a strike in the tenth to win, Cross threw a flush double for a 221-205 win and a long awaited, well deserved first JBT title.

Kyle Frederick, he of PowerBowl fame, opened the handicap finals by striking in the tenth frame for a 208-192 win over Rebecca Bodinet.  Frederick then came up clutch again, this time doubling in the tenth to defeat first-time finalist Kristen Lee 204-199.  Cody Vanderweyst then put a stop to Kyle’s run with a big 275-221 win, advancing him to his first ever title match.

Top seed Tyler Shipman was having his most successful JBT event ever, but found himself in a dogfight against the tough Vanderweyst.  After Tyler finished at 200, all he could do was watch as Cody needed spare-strike for a one-pin win.   Vanderweyst’s first shot left a 4-pin, but he unfortunately missed the spare, finishing at 189 and giving Shipman his first career victory.  $3,257

100 bowlers competed in the event, and we hope everyone who attended had a great time, and will spread the word about the great benefits of bowling JBT.   Everyone who finished in the top 5 qualifies for the 2007 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 2007 JBT Touring Players' Championship, featuring a guaranteed minimum $2,000 first place scholarship per division! 

Big thanks to everyone at Bedroxx for a great job hosting our event.  A whopping $3,307 in scholarships were awarded!  Want in on the fun?  Come on out to the next JBT event, it's as simple as that!