Pictured Is: Barry Gilitiuk Of Virtue Bowling Supply.
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Pratt Wins Regional Event At Mesa East Bowl.
Congrats is being sent to Jim Pratt, of Avondale, AZ., on winning the PBA West Regional this past weekend at Mesa East Bowl.
He out lasted the field of 69 entries from start to finish. And defeated Raymond Lussier, of San Jose, CA., 235-151 in the title match to claim this years championship.
This is the 4th annual regional event that has come to the area. Past champions have included Arizonians: Jakob Butturff, Josh Blanchard, Russ Oviatt, and now Pratt.
Over 180 bowlers participated in the Pro Am on Friday November 9.
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Courtesy Of The Pony League, Brunswick Zone Glendale.
Pony League Sponsored by Revolutions Pro Shop, Second Quarter Week 4 of 9, 11/12/2018: Above180.com and 5 Jokers, both teams at 26-6, are tied for the second quarter lead followed by Far From Limpin' and The New Standard; both two points back at 24-8. Bill Spiva rolled the high game of the week with a 299 and, yes, the last pin standing was indeed a 5-pin. Dylan Taylor rolled an 11-in-a-row 290. Tom Frigon rolled a 286 followed by Don Tistle with a 280. Dylan Taylor and Jim Pratt tied for the high series of the evening with a pair of 761s followed by Tom Frigon's 754 and Lou Schwarz' 735. Shannon Pluhowsky rolled the high game of the night for our female bowlers with a 254 followed by Amber Clark and Zelle Rubio, both with 244s, and Jacque Smith at 226. Shannon Pluhowsky also rolled the ladies' high series with a 727 followed by Zelle Rubio's 669, Jacque Smith's 633 and Alison Kozak's 617. Pony League bowlers averaged 195 per game per bowler for the evening with the season to date league average remaining at 191 per game.
Pony Singles 2nd Quarter Week 4 of 9, 11/12/2018: Dylan Taylor (25-7) and Shawn Kozak (24-8) lead the 214 and over division. Carey Lee Hofmann(28-4) and Wes Marema (26-6) are atop the 202 to 213 division. There is a four-way tie for the lead in the 196 to 201 division with Keith Matter, Mike Pyeatt, Randy Norton and Sean Beck all at 22-10. Tom Kane (32-0) is well ahead of everyone in the 190 to 195 division. Tom King (30-2) and Stephen Reed (25-7) lead the 182 to 189 division. John Lesner (28-4) has opened a six point lead in the 181 and under division. Five weeks remain in second quarter singles competition.
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Storm Intense Fire Helps East Valley Bowler Accomplish Big Things
Mesa - - - How many times during the course of a season, have we heard stories about how much a new bowling ball will dramatically change a bowlers year?
Well, it did again for one bowler in the east valley and he has been on fire (Intense Fire that is) ever it was drilled .That's because Barry Gilitiuk, a right-hander who bowls out of Brunswick Zone Mesa. Has bowled not one, not two, not three, but four perfect games since October 9.
So, an obvious question that he was asked following league play in the Bob Brown Classic League on November 2, at BZM. Where he rolled his fouth of four perfect games on lanes 19-20 was: How do you explain the success you have had on the lanes during this stretch.
"Good lane conditions. Having the right ball for the lane conditions. And being able to repeat the shot," he said, of the Intense Fire which is made by Storm. "And you have got to have a little luck."
Barry, who works for Virtue Bowling Supply, got his first perfect game during this stretch on October 9, in the Virtue Classic League. He rolled the first perfect game on lanes 21-22 and it included a string of 26 strikes in-a-row. He included games of: 290-300-227 for an 817 series. This was his eighth 800 series that he rolled. He rolled his first (835) on Dec 21,1999 at Country Club Bowl. And his most recent (822) on Dec 29, 2016 at BZM.
"Rolling 26 strikes-in-a-row is a lot harder to do than rolling 12 strikes in-a-row," he admits. "I know I will be able to shoot an 800 again, but may never throw 26 strikes in-a-row again. That is why rolling 26 strikes in-a-row was more of an accomplishment. There is something about the Intense Fire that matches up to the lane conditions. Thank You, Storm, for creating the Intense Fire."
He has another theory on why he had a career night on October 9.
"I felt like I was in a zone, and the shot didn't break down all night. Plus, I got lucky and was able to carry a few shots," he said, of that evening. "The matches were close versus the team we were bowling against. And my teammates helped me stay focused. My teammates: Joe Hart, Gary Kresse, and Johnny Wing and I jell well together."
During this stretch, he rolled his four perfect games in the following leagues: one in the Metro 880, one in the Virtue Classic, and two in the Bob Brown Classic.
According to Bowl.com, Barry has routinely averaged 200 or better in leagues in the east valley since the 1999-00 season. Where he averaged 225 for 105 games in the East Valley Open at Country Club Bowl. His best season average wise, came in 2013-14, where he averaged 227 for 105 games in the Metro 880 League at BZM.
At the recent Arizona State Senior Open at Bell Lanes and Lakeview Lanes in Sun City, he posted good scores there, too to continue his hot streak. He rolled a: 740 ( in doubles); a 678 (in singles); and a 650 (in team); for an all-events total of 2,088.
"Since I got the new ball, I have been trying something new when it comes to releasing it," he says, of what else may be part of his recent success. "Instead of staying behind it, I have been giving it more rotation. The inspiration behind the new release was Jakob Butturff. When I told him of my adjustment, his reply was: 'good to hear that, 'thank you.'"
As far as individual titles go. He has two Mesa Metro doubles and one team event in his trophy case. He is also the 2013 Arizona State Senior Masters Champion, and defeated Warren Eales in the championship match to claim the titile at R.H. Johnson. He was also part of a team from the east valley that won the military high rollers event last year in Las Vegas at The Orleans. Members of the team were: Don Caron, Erick Flick, Joe Hart, Steve Jones, and Johnny Wing.
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Sammi Hernreich wins $1,000 at Glenfair Lanes! Story Courtesy Of Strike Force Tour.
Our event this weekend was a special one! We not only had a great turnout, but we got to honor one of the greatest SFT members of all time. Our event was at Glenfair lanes and the players bowled on a very difficult 32ft wolf oil pattern that ended up having the lowest cut scores we have ever seen! The average cut was -30! This means if you bowled about 10-15 pins under average per game, you still had a chance to qualify! Short patterns have always been very difficult at this bowling center. For whatever reason, regardless of the oil pattern, the gutters have always been a bit out of play and don't have a lot of reaction off of them. Because of this, shorter oil patterns like Wolf are extremely difficult. The key this weekend was definitely spares! The event drew a total of 86 qualifying entries (64 qualifying entries & 22 economy parlay). It was a great turnout for the holiday! We want to thank all of the veterans who put it all on the line for us to be able to have the freedoms we have and live in a country where we can have weekends to go bowl with friends and have a good time.
For those that don't know, we lost Lynn Arthur a few weeks ago. Lynn was one of our greatest members, if not the greatest member of the SFT. He has bowled the events for decades! He even bowled in the first SFT event that I (Craig Spencer) bowled in nearly 14 years ago. He was one of the first friendly faces that I met and helped me get comfortable at the events. Through out the next 14 years Lynn wouldn't change much at all. He was a pillar of positivity, sportsmanship and professionalism at the SFT events and remained one of the friendliest supportive guys I have ever met. It was really an honor to be able to honor him at this weekends event. We had several members share memories of their own about Lynn and all while Lynn's wife and family were there to hear how great he was in the bowling community. We capped it all of with big announcement to help immortalize Lynn in the SFT forever. We announced the new Lynn Arthur Sportsmanship Award which will be awarded every season now until the end of time. Of course we were also very pleased to be able to announce and award the 2018 winner to Lynn and his wife. Lynn, we know you are up there watching us all and we miss you already brother! There wasn't anyone else like you, and there probably never will be.
The quarter finals had low scoring once again, with pretty much every semi-finalist bowling under average. We had #1 seed Ted McKay vs #2 seed James Roehtle Sr. in the C division, #1 seed Sammi Hernreich vs #2 seed James Roethle in the B division and #1 seed Jason Tunay vs #2 seed Mike Fitzgerald in the A division. The A division semi-finals was pretty close until the last few frames in which Michael wasn't able to put enough strikes together to put the pressure on Jason and Jason was able to cover his spares and take advantage of a brooklyn strike to move on as the A division champion with a score of 219 with handicap. In the B division, it looked like James Roethle was going to be the winner as he only needed a mark in the 10th to win. His first shot he only got 6 and on today's conditions, any multipin spare wasn't an easy one. He wasn't able to convert which gave Sammi the win and a shot for her first SFT AHT title. In the C division, it was a game of hot potato with Ted and James both going back and forth with the mistakes. It ended with James needing a mark in the 9th and 10th to really shut Ted out. He opened in the 9th, spared in the 10th, but than only got 5 in the fill for a score of 169 with handicap. Ted needed to mark and get good count to win. He spared in the 9th, but in the 10th missed left and left the 1-3-9-10. This spare wasn't easy this weekend, and because he got 6, he had to convert the spare to move on. In clutch fashion, he was able to convert and move on to win his first title in 3 years.
The final match was a one horse race and it was from the very beginning. Sammi started off with a nice 4 bagger from frame 3 and although she opened after that, no one was able to put together a string to put any pressure on her. She was able to come away with her first ever SFT AHT title and $1,000.00! Ted McKay came in 2nd and Jason Tunay 3rd! Thanks to everyone for coming out to the event this weekend and thanks to those who shared some of their memories of Lynn! See you all next Sunday at AMF Union Hills lanes!
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GCU Conducting Fund Raising Drive.
A message from the Program
We at Grand Canyon University Bowling are conducting our 2018 Grand Canyon University Bowling Challenge to help generate financial support for our program. Our participants spend many long hours preparing to be the best they can be and are very deserving of your support. We appreciate any amount you can give and thank you in advance for your generous support!
Needs of the Grand Canyon University Bowling Program
Your donation will contribute towards expenses required for practice facilities, team gear, travel expenses, and competition fees. With your help we can continue to advance and improve our bowling program!
Grand Canyon University Bowling Activities
This season we will participate in an intensive bowling training program including participation in three weekly practices and USBC Collegiate Tournaments throughout Arizona, California, Nevada, and other parts of the United States. The Team is an extremely passionate bunch of young Men and Women. I am excited to see our hard work pay off!
Grand Canyon University Bowling Achievements
- 2016 Montclair Open Men's Champion
- 2017 Antelope Shoot-Out Men's Champion
- 2017 Rebel Classic Women's Champion
- 2017 Oak Tree Classic Men's Champion
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2018 Collegiate Club Championships Women's Division: 3rd Place
2018 Collegiate Club Championships Men's Division: 5th Place
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