SUNSET BOWL

champs BJ Baker (note the trend) and Lana Lycan

BJ Baker tied one of the JBT SW's most amazing records with his fourth consecutive victory, while Lana Lycan tasted victory for the first time in JBT SW action at Sunset Bowl.

The high scoring scratch division started the day with a bang, as Josh Blanchard flushed his first 12 shots for a perfect 300 game.  He also wowed the crowd by converting the 7-10 in his very next frame.  Kevin Valmonte closed out the qualifying round with a fine 299 game, leaving a 10 pin in the final ball.  Kevin used that big game to propel him to the finals, but Brian Carmichael stopped his run in round one of the stepladder with a 206-183 win over Valmonte.  Theo Douthit then took out the always-tough Carmichael with a 258-205 decision over Carmichael.  A tense semifinal match saw Douthit get the hits when he needed them, as he defeated Blanchard 210-202 to advance to the title match.

The final was a match of the two most dominant lefthanders on tour.  Theo is enjoying a great season with three wins already, but that performance is currently overshadowed by Baker's amazing run.  He began the day with 267, then stayed just under the lead until grabbing the top spot after game 7.  Both bowlers rolled excellent games in the title match, but Baker got all the strikes in the right places, as he started with the front five, spared twice, then went off the sheet for a 266-227 victory.

The win was the 7th already of the season for Baker (the record is 10 by J.D. Nance), and the ninth of his career, good for 5th place on our all-time list (Steven Black is tops with 31). But most importantly, it was his 4th win in as many events, tying a record set by Andrew Cain when he won the first four events of the 1997-98 season (is it that long ago already??).  Here's an event-by-event breakdown of BJ's run:

Tempe Village: qualified at +43.  Defeated Sean Grant 249-192.  Defeated Leach 224-211.  Defeated Douthit 220-198.  Defeated Garbera and Douthit 246-185-171.  Defeated Sheffey in the finals 230-172.

Sun City: qualified at +202.  Defeated Grant 204-178.  Defeated Herbert 227-165.  Defeated Byer 203-154.  Defeated Sheffey 178-149.  Defeated Leach in the finals 210-183.

Sam's Town: qualified at +39.  Defeated Jensen 256-189.  Defeated Saiz 246-202.  Defeated Ficalora 221-159.  Defeated Blanchard 235-215.  

Sunset: qualified at +119.  Tied Rahib 226-226.  Defeated Crossley 245-219.  Defeated Guerrero 206-183.  Defeated Douthit 266-227.  

So how do you win four in a row?  Win a lot of matches.  BJ has gone 17-0-1 in his streak- a great way to win four events in a row- congratulations!

Over in the handicap division, Enrique Curiel saved his best bowling for the stepladder finals, as he mowed through three opponents to get to top seed Lana Lycan.

In round one, Curiel got the better of last season's So Cal handicap Bowler of the Year Jason Larcome 248-204.  A bizarre round two saw Enrique's friend Carlos Cedillo out-strike him with 7 strikes, but unfortunately the other three frames were opens, and that allowed Curiel to squeak through with a 229-224 victory.

In the semifinal match, Aprille LeBaquin, who had led much of the tournament, fell victim to the drying-out lane conditions, while Curiel remained on a roll, and the result was a 212-180 win for Enrique, and he advanced to the final match.

Top seed Lycan was leading a JBT SW event for the first time, but showed no sign of nervousness as she bowled a confident game in the title match.  Curiel refused to go away however, and kept the match close the whole way.  However, Lycan's spare in the tenth was good enough to shut out Curiel, and despite his turkey in the tenth, Lana defeated Enrique 228-223 to capture her first JBT SW title.  Her win also marked the fourth time in the last five events that a female has won the handicap division title of an event, so the ladies are on a roll in JBT SW!

Thanks to everyone at Sunset bowl for hosting a great event on a very busy rainy day for their center!  

 
Sunset Bowl- final results and optional scholarship winners  
2/19/2005        
Southern California Conference      
       
Scratch Division      
rank name city, state score prize
1 BJ Baker Tempe, AZ p 271 $220
2 Theo Douthit San Diego, CA p 243 $110
3 Josh Blanchard Upland, CA p 263 $100
4 Brian Carmichael Moreno Valley, CA p 214 $50
5 Kevin Valmonte La Verde, CA p 203 $55
6 Jared Lawrence Redondo Beach, CA p 196 $15
7 Shelby Shirlock Lake Elsinore, CA p 175 $30
8 Ramey Rahib San Diego, CA p 172 $45
9 Patrick Porritt San Diego, CA p 163  
10 Jeremy Glover Los Angeles, CA p 129  
11 Daniel Soraci Oceanside, CA p 112  
12 Mark White San Diego, CA p 100  
13 Dayton Crossley Compton, CA p 100  
14 Paul Green San Diego, CA p 31  
15 Augie Guerrero Riverside, CA p 16 $15
16 Kacy Bonifacini San Diego, CA m 63  
17 William Jackson Los Angeles, CA dnf  
18 Justin Lou San Diego, CA p 19  
19 Jennifer Katsura Norwalk, CA p 17 $15
20 Michael Cripe San Diego, CA p 11  
21 Matt Harris Norwalk, CA m 26 $15
22 Savannah Guerrero Riverside, CA m 26  
23 Devin Bidwell Simi Valley, CA m 31  
24 Brian Ballard San Diego, CA m 35 $15
25 Jarryd Bivins Los Angeles, CA m 48  
26 Christian Jensen Chandler, AZ m 64  
27 Sean Grant Eloy, AZ m 73  
28 Berman Sae-Aee Glendale, AZ m 75  
29 Matt Herbert Prescott, AZ m 80  
30 Richard Brown Rancho Santa Margarita, CA m 93 $15
       
Handicap Division      
rank name city, state score prize
1 Lana Lycan San Diego, CA p 251 $200
2 Enrique Curiel San Diego, CA p 167 $30
3 Aprille LeBaquin Cerritos, CA p 232 $115
4 Carlos Cedillo San Diego, CA p 203 $15
5 Jason Larcome Chula Vista, CA p 163 $95
6 Monica Lozano San Diego, CA p 142 $30
7 Tyler Boscarino Alpine, CA p 140  
8 Cameron Smith Santee, CA p 137 $40
9 Kris George Glendale, AZ p 117 $45
10 Marycruz Mora San Diego, CA p 115  
11 Erika Garcia San Diego, CA p 57  
12 Andrew Chain Escondido, CA p 55  
13 Shane Peck Riverside, CA p 39 $30
14 David Santos San Diego, CA p 38  
15 Foster Phandanouvong San Diego, CA p 34  
16 Carlos Vazquez Chula Vista, CA p 12  
17 Samantha Meyers Mission Hills, CA p 41 $30
18 Michael Lozano San Diego, CA p 29  
19 Mimi Duong San Diego, CA p 23 $30
20 Anthony Cruz San Diego, CA p 23  
21 Drew Thevenot Santee, CA p 14  
22 April Urban Rancho Santa Margarita p 3  
23 Jesus Garcia San Diego, CA m 5  
24 Daniel Trinh San Diego, CA m 5 $15
25 Micah Eguaras Laguna Hills, CA m 17  
26 Allie Ijams Mission Viejo, CA m 23  
27 Arisha Piper Pico Rivera, CA m 25  
28 Todd Udell Santee, CA m 47  
29 Daniel Fazzida San Diego, CA m 50  
30 Stephanie Udell Santee, CA m 53  
31 Kaitlin Mayall Chula Vista, CA m 59  
32 Alan Perez Tecate, CA m 91  
       
       
High Games: scratch: Blanchard 300, Baker 267, Lawrence 256. Handicap: Peck 284, Smith 258, George 248
High Female: Katsura 1015      
Cuts: scratch + 33; handicap +44      
Storm Ball Winner: Robert Borland      
       
       
TOTAL AWARDED THIS EVENT: $1,405