AZ INVITATIONAL

champs Mike Cross & Alicia Sullivan

Mike Cross and Alicia Sullivan claimed $1,000 scholarships each as champions of the 2007 JBT AZ Invitational, hosted by AMF Peoria.

After six games of intense qualifying and a two-game last chance squad, 16 finalists in each division advanced to triple-elimination matchplay, creating almost four hours of do-or-die matches across the center.  After five rounds, 11 scratch bowlers remained, including #9 Cross with two losses, while #11 Matt Cormack was the only undefeated player.

In round six, Cross stayed alive by eliminating #4 Brian Weyrauch, #7 Theo Douthit eliminated #3 Forrest Holland, #1 Josh Blanchard eliminated JR Monteith, while #12 Kevin Narciso handed Cormack his first loss.

In round seven, #7 Douthit got a valuable bye.  Meanwhile, Cross beat Narciso to stay alive and give Kevin loss #2, while Cormack handed Blanchard loss#2.

Cross earned a much-needed bye in round eight, while Narciso eliminated Blanchard, and Douthit edged Cormack to leave four bowlers alive, all with two losses.  In the penultimate matches, Cross defeated Cormack 243-225, and Douthit beat Narciso 247-156 top set up an all-southpaw finale.

Mike and Theo had squared off in an exciting match less than a month ago at Bedroxx, where Mike won his first title.  Cross kept that momentum going here, striking in the tenth to lock up what finished as a 246-244 victory for his first major title.

After five rounds in the handicap finals, top seed Emmanuel Durazo was still alive, but saddled with two losses, and six of the top 8 seeds overall were still in contention, a bit of a rarity.  In round six, #15 Daniel Cotten eliminated #2 James Hawkins Jr., Durazo eliminated #5 Anthony Tripi, #3 Sullivan gave #13 Eric Vitzthum loss #2, and #10 Taylor Knight gave #9 Kyle Frederick his second defeat.

In round seven, Cotten eliminated Durazo, Frederick eliminated Vitzthum, and Sullivan handed Knight his second loss, leaving four bowlers alive.

In round seven, Sullivan eliminated Frederick 192-176, while Cotten beat Knight 225-181, setting up a situation where Daniel would have to beat Alicia twice for the title.

Sullivan had no interest in forcing a deciding game, however, as she remained in control the whole match for a 237-199 win and the championship, the second of her career, and the $1,000 windfall.

102 qualifiers competed in this event, which awarded an eeeeenormous $9,345 in scholarships- wow! The top 20 season-long point scorers now move on to the 2007 JBT Touring Players' Championship, featuring a guaranteed minimum $2,000 first place scholarship per division! 

Big thanks everyone at Peoria for an awesome job hosting the JBT for the first time in six years.  Want in on the fun?  Come on out to the next JBT event, it's as simple as that!

AZ Invitational- final results and optional scholarship winners
6/17/2007      
Arizona Conference    
     
Scratch Division    
rank name city, state prize
1 Mike Cross Tucson, AZ $1,100
2 Theo Douthit Phoenix, AZ $750
3 Matt Cormack Woodland Hills, CA $605
4 Kevin Narciso Phoenix, AZ $300
5 Josh Blanchard Fresno, CA $210
6 Forrest Holland Escondido, CA $345
7 Brian Weyrauch Tempe, AZ $190
7 JR Monteith Orange, CA $100
9 Kevin Saunders Goodyear, AZ $240
10 BJ Baker Tempe, AZ $310
11 Kyle King Phoenix, AZ $125
12 Christian Jensen Anthem, AZ $150
13 Chris Weyrauch Tempe, AZ $100
14 Brian Ballard San Diego, CA $50
15 Bill Grant Rio Rancho, NM $65
16 Brandon Allred Las Vegas, NV $50
17 Will McPherson Chandler, AZ  
18 Kris George Glendale, AZ  
19 Dan Bodinet Maricopa, AZ  
20 Miguel Lopez Peoria, AZ  
21 Greg Geering Phoenix, AZ  
22 Greg Garbera Tempe, AZ  
23 Brandon Watts Lake Havasu City, AZ  
24 Zach Simon Scottsdale, AZ $105
25 Nicholas Lee Tucson, AZ  
26 William Atherton Flagstaff, AZ  
27 Jeremy Medina Santa Fe, NM  
28 Chris Varholdt Chandler, AZ  
29 Marc Burris Tucson, AZ  
30 Marc Algeri Phoenix, AZ  
31 Andy Byer Albuquerque, NM  
32 Cameron Smith Santee, CA  
33 Lana Lycan Santee, CA  
34 Nathan Shock Thornton, CO  
35 Bear Wiltfang Lake Havasu City, AZ $30
36 Eric Rubin Phoenix, AZ  
37 Shane Peck Riverside, CA  
38 Justin White Phoenix, AZ  
39 Kevin Schoenfeld Peoria, AZ  
40 Mike Kremer Peoria, AZ  
41 Melissa Del Rio Tucson, AZ  
42 Elias Ewert Chandler, AZ  
43 Nick Powanda San Diego, CA  
44 Amanda Albani Phoenix, AZ  
45 Jerod Florez Bosque Farms, NM  
46 Randy Cote Tucson, AZ  
     
     
Handicap Division    
rank name city, state prize
1 Alicia Sullivan Kingman, AZ $1,065
2 Daniel Cotten Glendale, AZ $855
3 Kyle Frederick Chandler, AZ $615
4 Taylor Knight Phoenix, AZ $330
5 Emmanuel Durazo Phoenix, AZ $230
6 Eric Vitzthum Glendale, AZ $210
7 James Hawkins Anaheim, CA $175
8 Anthony Tripi Avondale, AZ $115
9 Anthony Cruz San Diego, CA $130
10 Rachelle Davis Tucson, AZ $115
11 Courtney Dutton Chandler, AZ $200
12 CJ Crowley Gilbert, AZ $50
13 Rebecca Bodinet Maricopa, AZ $65
14 Matt Payne Phoenix, AZ $50
15 Jay Prewitt Chandler, AZ $65
16 Josh Shoup Tolleson, AZ $190
17 Bethany Baker Tempe, AZ  
18 Tyler Shipman Chandler, AZ  
19 Kyle Vitzthum Glendale, AZ  
20 Rebeca Reguero Glendale, AZ  
21 Kristen Lee Tucson, AZ  
22 Brandon Longo Chandler, AZ $10
23 Rachel Lynn Peoria, AZ  
24 Bobby Gil Green Valley, AZ  
25 Kayla Goad Phoenix, AZ  
26 Blake Kalaf Chandler, AZ $15
27 Tim Ribbeck Sahuarita, AZ  
28 Andrew Stevens Ft Huachuca, AZ $15
29 Justin Givler Phoenix, AZ  
30 Amy Dorsey Prescott Valley, AZ  
31 Josh Ebert Prescott Valley, AZ  
32 Jewels Girodano Phoenix, AZ  
33 Mike May San Diego, CA  
34 Darcie Staggs Bullhead City, AZ  
35 Bryce Techmer Chandler, AZ $5
36 David Price Safford, AZ  
37 Cris Boyle Mesa, AZ  
38 Kyle Karpovich Chandler, AZ  
39 Gino Salaverria Phoenix, AZ  
40 Guy Prewitt Chandler, AZ  
41 Chelsea Zemelka Phoenix, AZ  
42 Mike Kenny Prescott Valley, AZ  
43 Holy Emery Gilbert, AZ  
44 Diandra Mack Glendale, AZ  
45 Lee Kirby Chandler, AZ  
46 Joey Longo Chandler, AZ $15
47 Steven Pizzi Avondale, AZ  
48 Cody Vanderweyst Glendale, AZ  
49 Matt Erb Phoenix, AZ  
50 Ashley Collins Tucson, AZ  
51 Kyle Klein Phoenix, AZ  
52 Natalie Mounier Phoenix, AZ  
53 Kaitlin Mayall Chula Vista, CA  
54 Taylor King Phoenix, AZ  
55 Kari Rogers Glendale, AZ  
56 Andrew Dorsey Prescott Valley, AZ  
     
     
 Ball Winner: A125    
     
TOTAL AWARDED THIS EVENT: $9,345