LIVONIA, Mi -- In spite of all the noise and distractions, Jim Tesner of Bay City kept his focus and walked away with the win at Thunderbowl Lanes in Allen Park on February 9. Tesner bested fellow left-hander Lee Snow of Wixom to claim the $700 first-place prize. Snow received $350 for his runner-up finish.
Tournament scores were pretty stout as 13 out of the 16 qualifiers averaged over 233. Scotty Laughland of Windsor, Ontario, was the No. 1 qualifier with 1483. Other notable qualifying scores were by Rick Capaldi of Canton with 1469; Derek Smith of Hicksville, Ohio, with 1466; and Jim Richardson of Toledo, Ohio, with 1442. The high-game honors went to Gary Mitchell of East China with 300 and Tom Ryan of Lansing with 299. There were also five 279 games bowled, one each by John Bennett of Clarkston, Bob Brissette of Petersburg and B.J. Galloway of Alpena, and two back-to-back by Capaldi.
The highlight match of eliminations came in the first round, when Tom Lis of Deford bowled a 279 victory over Laughland, who bowled 278.
Tesner went undefeated, never leaving the winners bracket. He started off with a win over Ken O’Brien of Troy, 218 to 211, and went on to defeat Capaldi, 244 to 192. Tesner then prevailed in two close matches, one against Richardson, 268 to 248, and one facing Mel Wolf of Jackson, 220 to 203.
Snow, bowling in only his second GLSBA tournament, worked his way into the finals by getting by Carne Brink of Midland in a squeaker, 258 to 255. Snow then lost to Richardson, 236 to 217, which sent him to the “once defeated bracket.” There he met Dan Mayer of Waterford and won 247 to 210. In a match that could have ended in a tie, Snow survived when Capaldi, who needed to throw a strike on his final ball, left a solid 10 pin, giving Snow, a 217 to 216 victory. Snow won his next two games, defeating Wolf, 246 to 220, and avenging his earlier loss to Richardson, 245 to 228.
The finals were now set with Tesner and Snow, and who would win was anybody’s guess, as both men appeared to be on their game. Tesner, who needed to win just one more game, took an early lead when Snow started with two opens. With an uncharacteristic three-pin count in the third frame by Tesner, it began to look like a “I don’t want it you can have it” game. Both men then seemed to right the ship; Snow finished with the last six strikes but couldn’t overcome Tesner, who threw strikes when he needed to, winning 237 to 223 to capture the tournament, his second GLSBA title.
The next GLSBA tournament is a Member/Non-member Doubles Feb. 24, 2002 at Oak Lanes in Westland. The next regular tournament is on Sunday March 3 at Airport Lanes in Jackson. For information on these or any other tournaments call 734-522-9315.
