THE ORLEANS

champs Wesley Low and Andy Reynoso

Andy Reynoso and Wesley Low captured titles in exciting JBT Mojave Conference action at The Orleans.

The scratch division used our exciting Nerve Wracker format, featuring a cut to the top 16 followed by two-game matches.  If the matches are tied 1-1, they go immediately to a one-shott rolloff--nerve wracking, huh?

Top seeds seemed to be jinxed in our non-standard formats, often going out in early rounds, and #1 seed Reynoso almost became yet another victim, but prevailed in a thrilling 3-shot tiebreak over Joe Claspell.  The #2 and 3 seeds, however, fell in round one.

Reynoso then advanced with wins over points leader JR Monteith and the always-tough Cayson Coyle to reach the title match.  Meanwhile, Brandon Watts was rolling through his half of the bracket, defeating Justin Spurrier, New Mexican Jeremy Medina, and Will Jackson (who earlier rolled his first JBT 300 game, the only honor score of the day), en route to a title match clash with Reynoso.

Brandon was eager to capture his first scratch division win, but Reynoso was too much this time, winning two straight games for his 4th career JBT victory.

The handicap division finals opened  with Sean Huggins continuing his quiet but very effective season with a 214-180 win over current points leader Zach Hattori.  Huggins then defeated Californian Dan Hansen 210-186, before Low came in and fired a clean game en route to a 251-214 win over Huggins to reach the title match.

Top qualifier Brittany Humann was enjoying a great day in her first JBT event, but had her hands full with the determined Low, who has twice come so close to victory this season in the So Cal Conference.  The diminutive 9 year-old with an anything but diminutive two-handed delivery remained red hot in the final, defeating Humann 267-219 for his first JBT victory.

Our annual Easter Egg Hunt was a huge success, with hundreds of dollars worth of bonus prizes handed out, all the way up to an Ebonite ball won by Sarah Ansteth.

84 bowlers competed in the event, so 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 JBT Mojave 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 Mike Monyak and everyone at The Orleans for hosting our event.  Over $2,200 in scholarships were awarded.  Want in on the fun?  Come on out to the next JBT event, it's as simple as that!