Scotch Doubles on Sunday; PWBA in Sac

Up next for our local Merced/Atwater Women’s 500 Club is the annual Scotch Doubles tournament on Sunday at 1 p.m. at Bellevue Bowl.

This tourney is open to all USBC members. Doubles teams can consist of any combination of two men, two women or mixed rolling four regular games. You will use your average from your 2014-15 book. One bowler rolls the first ball, and your partner rolls the second (trying to pick up the spare). If the first bowler rolls a strike, positions switch.

Tournament director Julie Wescott said entry forms are available at Bellevue, and the closing day is Friday at 6 p.m. Entry fee is $22 per bowler. Sounds like fun.

Sacramento stop for women’s pro tour – It’s been a long time since the professional women bowlers were on the West Coast. You now have a chance to see them in person. The Professional Women’s Bowling Association opens with a full house of 80 players in the Storm Sacramento Open today through Saturday.

An additional 16 spots added to the original field of 64, and a waiting list numbered 25 on Wednesday, according to Jack Thomas, manager of Steve Cook’s Fireside Lanes in Citrus Heights, site of the PWBA’s season opener.

It opens with a practice session and reception today, followed by a six-game sweeper event offering a top prize of $2,000. On Friday, the tournament will start with two qualifying rounds of six games each at 11 a.m. and 4 p.m., after which the field will be cut to 16 for round-robin match play Saturday at 9 a.m. and 2 p.m. The top four advance to the stepladder finals at 6:30 p.m.

The winner will earn $12,000 and, provided she is a PWBA member, a spot in the season-ending PWBA Tour Championship.

Coverage of the Storm Sacramento Open will be available through Xtraframe.tv, the Professional Bowlers Association’s online video streaming service.

Inaugural Modesto Queens – Entries have started to come in for the inaugural Modesto Queens Tournament on July 18-19 at Yosemite Lanes. The tournament is sponsored by the Modesto USBC and a host of others, and guarantees $2,000 for the winner.

Scratch qualifying on July 18 starts at 2:30 p.m. with six games across 12 lanes. The top 16 or 24, based on entries, will return July 19 at 9 a.m. for the two-game double-elimination finals.

We have several ladies in our association who can compete in the Queens, including Courtney Dahlin (209 average), Dawn Fernandez (187), Rae Coonce (177), Peggy Docherty (180) and Stephanie Kapsimallis (189). It should be a great tournament to watch.

Entry fee is $125 per bowler. Call Carol at 209-552-9587 or Sharon at 209-417-9087 for information or to sign up. Entry forms are available at Bellevue.

Locals win doubles at Valley Bowl – Ronnie Gonzales and Jess Ramirez won a doubles event at Valley Bowl in Madera last Sunday. They rolled six total qualifying games before cutting to the top four. Gonzales and Ramirez beat Brett and Robert Barnhill of Madera in the final match for $600.

Another shooter, Larry Valenti Jr., rolled a 299 game during qualifying. You all know what pin he left on the 12 ball – yep, Mr. 10 pin.

It looks like Valley Bowl will host a monthly tournament. Next month is a singles event.

Remember when – In 1972, Kay Kinzinger of Merced withstood the challenge of Gennie Webb of Merced and Joyce Fayco of Atwater to win the singles division championship in the annual Women’s City Bowling Tournament at Century Bowl. The trio locked horns in a three-game roll-off after they tied with 674 totals during the regular tournament, which was held over two weekends. It was the second victory for the singles champion.

Laura Haas of Atwater and Nettie Harris of Merced were fourth and fifth with 650 and 646.

During the regular tournament, Kinzinger teamed with Sandy Page, Marie Bryant, Jan Staedler and Joyce Johnson under the banner of Woody’s Shoe Repair of Merced to claim the team crown with a 2,937 total.

Officials, sponsors and members of the Merced/Atwater Women’s Bowling Association said it was one of the finest tournaments in many years. The scores weren’t quite as high as they had been in some years, but the competition was close in all divisions.

This story was originally published July 8, 2015 at 5:40 PM with the headline "Scotch Doubles on Sunday; PWBA in Sac."