IBMA Bowlers of the Month
WILLIAMS JR. SHINES AS IBMA APRIL BOWLER OF THE MONTH
ARLINGTON, Texas - Walter Ray Williams Jr. of Ocala, Florida, has been chosen as the April 2013 Bowler of the Month by the International Bowling Media Association. Williams Jr. defeated fellow PBA Hall of Famer Amleto Monacelli, Venezuela, 276-216, for the title of the PBA50 Sun Bowl in The Villages, presented by Hammer. It is the fifth PBA50 crown for the reigning PBA50 Player of the Year. The four-man stepladder final began with Bo Goergen, Sanford, Michigan, defeating PBA50 rookie Pete Weber, St. Ann,Missouri, 259-256. Williams Jr. then ousted Goergen, 258-191, setting up the title match with Monacelli. After finishing qualifying in third place, Williams Jr. finished the match play rounds with a 9-7 record, good for second place in the championship stepladder round. Besides the tournament's top three seeds being members of the PBA Hall of Fame, Williams Jr., Monacelli, and Weber hold a staggering 103 titles, nineteen major titles, and six PBA50 titles in PBA competition.
In very close voting this month, others receiving votes were Joe Scarborough, who authored the first 900 series in PBA history in the qualifying round of this event; Bob Learn, Jr., winner of the PBA50 Pasco County Suncoast Open Benefiting Wounded Warriors; Bill O'Neill, winner of the Storm Insidebowling.com Open; and Joline Persson-Planefors, Sweden, winner of the European Bowling Tour QubicaAMF German Open.
WEBER MARCHES ON AS MARCH IBMA BOWLER OF THE MONTH
ARLINGTON, Texas - Pete Weber, St. Ann, Missouri, has been chosen as the March 2013 Kegel Bowler of the Month by the International Bowling Media Association. Weber defeated Jason Belmonte, Orange, New South Wales,Australia, for the 2013 Barbasol Professional Bowlers Association (PBA)Tournament of Champions (TOC), 224-179. This title marks Weber's tenth Professional Bowlers Association major championship, tying Earl Anthony atop the all-time list. It Completes Weber's second Triple Crown with two PBA Tournament of Championships Victories, a record five U.S. Open triumphs, and three PBA World Championship Wins. At age 50, he is now the oldest to win the TOC as well as having the longest span, 26 years, between his first and second TOC titles. The television stepladder finals began with the number four-seed Tommy Jones, Simpsonville, South Carolina, downing number five-seed Osku Palermaa, Finland, 217-189. Third seed and defending champion Sean Rash ousted Jones, 247-233. The number two-seeded Belmonte defeated Rash, 229-171 in the semifinal, setting up the title match. A week later, and again on national TV, Weber threw the clinching strike as team anchor for his New York City WTT KingPins team, winning the inaugural PBA League finals and the Elias Cup, 440-407, over the Motown Muscle.
Others receiving votes in March were Sean Rash, winner,PBA/World Bowling Tour 10th Kuwait International Open; Ronnie Russell, winner,WBT/European Bowling Tour/PBA 10th Brunswick Euro Challenge; and Mika Koivuniemi, winner, 11th Kingdom of Bahrain International Open.
BELMONTE MASTERS FEBRUARY IBMA BOWLER OF THE MONTH
ARLINGTON,Texas - Jason Belmonte, Orange, New South Wales, Australia, has been unanimously named February 2013 Kegel Bowler of the Month by the International Bowling Media Association. Belmonte captured the USBC Masters, his first major PBA title, by defeating Wes Malott, Pflugerville, Texas, 258-245. The Australian two-hander ended the game with six consecutive strikes, forcing Malott to throw three strikes in the tenth frame for the win. Malott got the first strike, but left the 3-6-10 on the second ball,giving Belmonte his sixth PBA crown. The USBC Masters five-man stepladder television finals began with Parker Bohn III,Jackson, N.J., downing Mika Koivuniemi, Finland, 278-246. Malott narrowly beat Bohn III, 255-248, then defeated Stuart Williams, England, 202-185, in the semifinal. Belmonte qualified in 22nd place and won six matches in the winner's bracket to claim the top-seed position in the stepladder finals. He became only the second foreign-born player to win the USBC Masters behind Koivuniemi in 2000.
Others receiving votes were Thomas Larsen, winner of the European Bowling Tour Hammer Bronzen Schietspoel Tournament, Anže Grabrijan, winner,European Bowling Tour 7th International Wroclaw Open presented by Hammer, and Nick Heilman, winner, Fusion Realtors Open.
JONES STARTS 2013 AS JANUARY IBMA BOWLER OF THE MONTH
ARLINGTON,Texas - Tommy Jones, Simpsonville, South Carolina, has been named the January 2013 Kegel Bowler of the Month by the International Bowling Media Association.
Jones defended his men's title at the International Bowling Championships supported by DHC in Inazawa, Japan, by beating Sean Rash, Montgomery, Illinois, 209-204.
The title counted for a World Bowling Tour major title as well as a PBA International title, giving Jones his 14th career PBA crown for the 6,000,000 Yen, or US$75,000 first place prize.
The stepladder finals began with a five-man, one-game elimination round with the two low scores dropping. Japan’s Hiroki Suzuki rolled 190, and Chris Barnes of Double Oak, Texas, posted 180, finishing fourth and fifth, respectively. Rafiq Ismail, Malaysia, rolled the low score of 200 in the one-game semifinal round,leaving Jones, a three-time Japan Cup champion, and Rash, the reigning PBA Player of the Year for the final match.
Jones' PBA League team, the New York City WTT KingPins lost a tight final match to the Brooklyn StyLES, 225-215, in the opening round of PBA League action.
Others receiving votes were Jesper Svensson, winner ofthe EBT/WBT 43rd Brunswick Ballmaster Open; Shayna Ng, winner of the women's title at the International Bowling Championships supported by DHC;Scott Norton, winner of the PBA Earl Anthony Players Championship; and Jason Sterner, winner of the PBA Don Carter Classic; and Danielle McEwan and John Szczerbinski, women's and men's gold medalists at the 2013 Team USA Trials