Local - Regional - National News Archives Williamsburg bowler rolls to seventh in PBA Senior U.S. Open By Ed Richards June 16, 2009 Mike Terrell of Williamsburg almost didn't bowl in the recent PBA Senior U.S. Open in Las Vegas. He just wasn't sure how his game would stack up against the best 50-and-over bowlers in the country. It was especially tough convincing himself that he was ready for the big time. It took some urging from his wife, Michelle, to convince him at least to give it a shot. "She talked me into it," Terrell said Friday. It was good that she did. Terrell, who turned 50 in September, finished seventh in a field of 280 players to win $3,400 in the five-day tournament that ended June 5. ......read more here. Community Sports | Bowling By Ed Richards | April 7, 2009 | Daily Press Andrew Wall is feeling right at home at Century Lanes in Hampton. He bowled his first 300 game and first 700 series (707) in the Thursday Night Mixed League on Jan. 22. For an encore, he bowled another 300 and a career-high 771 series on March 12 at the same house. ... Longtime bowler Dennis Cooper of Hampton joined the growing number of 300s at Century this season with a perfect game on Thursday in the Hampton Handicap League. ... Grace Durant placed third in the women's all-events handicap category with a 2,246 total to lead Peninsula bowlers that competed in the 21st annual Virginia State Mixed Tournament in Richmond. Other top local finishers were Sean Foster, seventh in the men's all-events scratch, 2034; and C Community Sports By Ed Richards | January 27, 2009 | Daily Press BOWLING - By Ed Richards March 3,2009 Daily Press Kevin Sobieski, a senior at Grafton High School, calls 13 and 14 a lucky set of lanes for him at the Sparetimes Bowling Center. On Feb. 7 on those two lanes, he rolled a personal-high game of 299 and tied his career-high series with a 763 in the Saturday Junior Senior League. Then Sobieski, 18, added to his good fortunes on 13 and 14 again on Feb. 21. This time he bowled games of 276, 278, and 252 for an impressive 806 series. That ranks as the highest youth series shot at Sparetimes. Sobieski, averaging 208 at the time, figured he had a shot at his first 800 series after his opening two games, and then four consecutive strikes and a spare to start the third game. But then a 4-9 split, which he failed to convert, came close to sinking his hopes. It didn't. Sobieski responded with strikes on his next five balls to clinch the 800 and then had a 6-count on his last ball. "There was no pressure on my last ball. I could have thrown it in the gutter and still got an 800," he said. ... Don Hacke Jr. of Newport News had a brief, but impressive share of the leaderboard on Wednesday at the U.S. Open Championships in Las Vegas. After four days of play in the five-month long tournament, he bowled into the No. 1 spot in the all-events after shooting 726 in singles, 663 in doubles, and 625 in team play for a 2,014 total. At the time, he also ranked No. 1 in the team all-events, No. 2 in doubles with Lorenzo Jackson of Hampton (1,330), and No. 4 in singles. After play through Sunday night, the news wasn't as good. Hacke had dropped to No. 3 in all events, No. 5 in doubles, No. 7 in singles and the team, which also included T.J. McKinney, Joseph Wetzler and Emmitt Mincy, to 16th. The latest team all-events rankings were not listed on the tournament Web site. Virginia (HRBA) bowler gets name in lights at Open Championships 2/25/2009 - By Matt Cannizzaro and Jason Pinter - USBC Donald Hacke Jr. of Newport News, Va., got that and more in the Entertainment Capital of the World as he cracked the top five in five events at Cashman Center on Wednesday (2/24/2009). ......read more here. A Warrior on a perfect roll By Ed Richards | January 27, 2009 | Daily Press Josh Garner continues to perform his bowling magic at Century Lanes in Hampton. In 2004 at the age of 12, he started working his wonders at Century by bowling a 300 game and 806 series. At the time, he was the third youngest nationally to bowl a perfect game and 800 series on the same day. During the 2005-06 season, Garner struck for two more 300s at the lanes "where I grew up in" and in 2007 he put together his highest series there, an 824. Now the latest from the 17-year-old Kecoughtan High School senior: He rolled back-to-back 300s for the first time. He accomplished the feat Jan. 18 in the Warriors League at Century, finishing with a 789 series. Then he shot a 290-245-259—794 series there Sunday. The back-to-back 300s were a first for Century, which is owned by his grandmother, Rena Rhea, and managed by Garner's mother, Joan, and father, Bill. Altogether, he has seven 300s, all coming at Century except for one he shot at AMF-York during the 2007-08 season. "I really feel comfortable when I'm bowling here," Garner said Sunday night from Century, where he works part time. "I've been bowling here since I was 3 or 4." Only three other Peninsula bowlers are known to have shot back-to-back 300s in a series — Jonathan Gary at Hidenwood in 2002, Brandon Cash at Village Lanes in 2006 and Brandon Smith at AMF Norfolk in 2007. Garner, averaging in the 220s at Century, credits a return to an old ball, an Ebonite SR300, for his latest good fortunes. "I hadn't used it for a couple of months because I wasn't bowling very well with it," he said. Now he's not about to stash it away again anytime soon. ... Andrew Wall, a 2005 Kecoughtan High graduate, added to the excitement at Century Lanes last Thursday with his first 300 game. He also rolled games of 205 and 202 for his first 700 series. Two weeks earlier, the 175-average bowler had rolled a 695 at Century. Daily Press By Ed Richards | January 20, 2009 The Peninsula District's bowlers had problems finding their marks on Jan. 10 at the Virginia State High School Bowling Championships, finishing third out of the five regional teams. The Richmond region team took advantage of its local knowledge at the host Bowl America-Midlothian Lanes to top the field with a total handicap pinfall of 28,193. Tidewater finished second with 27,270, then came the Peninsula (26,809), Manassas (26,005), and Woodbridge (25,801). The competition involved seven, three-person handicap teams and one scratch squad from each region. Two teams from Bethel led the Peninsula, finishing with 4,010 pins for six games. They included the team of Nashaun Payne, Tyler Newton and Rudolph Tucker, who took fifth place by winning a tiebreaker; and the trio of Ethan Sargent, Nicolis Gradford and Tray Cooke, who placed sixth. ... Stephen Bone of Hampton called his first game in the Hampton Handicap Men's League at Century Lanes on Jan. 7 "ugly." It was a 179, but the best was yet to come. He followed with a 202 and then started celebrating after rolling his first 300 game. His previous high of 279 came at the same lanes two years ago. "I got lucky and hit the pocket every time," Bone, 33, said. January 13, 2009 By Ed Richards - Daily Press Chris Bolosan back-to-back 800 series Chris Bolosan of Newport News pulled off a bowling feat last week that no one could remember ever being accomplished on the Peninsula. The 24-year-old bowling whiz rolled back-to-back 800 series that included a 300 in each of the sets. And he did it all in the same night — last Tuesday at Sparetimes. The recent Old Dominion University graduate opened the night by bowling games of 259, 300, and 263 for an 822 series in the Langley Mixed League. Shortly thereafter, he reloaded for a 267-300-245—812 series in the Sparetimes Trios League. Jim Bohlken and Al Watlet, longtime members of the Hampton Roads Bowling Association, couldn't recall anyone locally pulling off such a feat on the same night. Longtime standout Brandon Smith of Newport News, who has shot 36 perfect games and twenty-three 800 series during his career, called Bolosan's achievement "pretty awesome and hard to do," especially on back-to-back shifts. Smith, 34, recalled shooting back-to-back 800s, but not on the same night. "We talked about what he did when we bowled in a league together on Saturday," Smith said of Bolosan. "He's a pretty good little bowler." Bolosan said Smith has been one of his bowling idols for years and, "I'd be happy to accomplish half of what he's done." It was Bolosan's top accomplishment since winning the USA Junior Gold Bowling National Championship in 2005. The former USA Junior Team member didn't have any idea what he might shoot on his memorable night at Sparetimes. That's because he was using a new ball, an Acid Raw Hammer, that he'd only used for a couple of frames in a league the previous night. It didn't suit him then, but that quickly changed. "I just got lined in — kinda like Tiger Woods getting into a zone with his putting," Bolosan said. After shooting 259-300 in the first set, Bolosan said he wasn't even thinking about an 800. "I was just bowling. If it happened, it happened," Bolosan said. It did with his closing 263. "For the second shift, I just wanted to go out and have fun. I didn't care if anything bad happened." And again it didn't. He kept mowing down strikes and opened with a 267, then his second 300. "It was like deja vu," Bolosan said. He completed the set with a 245 for his final 800. Bolosan said he's bowling about as good as he ever has. On Oct. 9, he shot a 208-247-289—804 series at Classic Lanes, then on Nov. 12, he struck for a 300-242-258—800 series at Lynnhaven Lanes in Virginia Beach. Altogether, he has five 800 sets, with his highest being his first — an 827 in 2003 in Richmond. Bolosan, who currently is job-hunting, is bowling in five leagues, topped by a 238 average at Lynnhaven. MORE BOWLING This time, it was no contest for the Peninsula District's high school bowlers in their annual battle against their Tidewater District rivals. The Peninsula District, losers the past two years, won the Hampton Roads District Tournament by more than 10,000 pins on Dec. 14 at AMF Norfolk Lanes. "It was incredible to win by this margin," said Mary Pancoast, the coach and coordinator of the Peninsula High School League. The team's largest margin of victory in the nine-year series came in the first match-up, but that was by less than 200 pins. Peninsula, which now leads the series 5-4, piled up 63,891 pins to 53,705 for Tidewater. The totals were for 16, three-person teams and were based on handicap. "All of our teams, not just one or two, bowled over their averages, some way over their averages," Pancoast said. Leading the way and finishing second overall were Gloucester High School's Brittney Splitt, Brandon Splitt, and Alex Langelotti with 4,182 pins. Third place went to Tabb's Alex Chikasue, Ryan Cotman and Kevin Bucklew with 4,146. Individual standouts included Kevin Sobieski of Grafton, who shot the boys highest-scratch series (697) and Lacy Volonino of Gloucester with the girls high-scratch series (610). Also, Tommy Newton of Woodside had a career-high series of 669 and 800 with handicap; Courtney Taylor of Hampton shot the girls high-handicap game, 283; and Shelby Traeger of Phoebus had the girls high-scratch game (227). December 9, 2008 By Ed Richards - Daily Press After 13 years of bowling, 48-year-old Cheryl Fensom of Hampton was wondering if she was ever going to roll a 300 game. She got her answer — a yes — at the least likely time, Nov. 24 in the Monday Majors Mixed League at Sparetimes. "I had been struggling this season," she said. "Then I got to the lanes late, didn't get to throw any practice balls, and my first strike was a Brooklyn." But from that point on, she flushed her next 11 balls for the perfect game. Not only did she bowl her first 300, but Fensom followed with games of 235-245 for a career-best 780 series. Her accomplishment seemed more amazing because she was bowling with a new ball, a 14-pound Lane 1 Agent Orange, for only the second time. Her previous highs were a 290 game and 767 series. December 14, 2008 By Jason Norman - Gameday Magazine Senior Editor Cheryl Fensom wanted to get started. Ricky Hurley just wanted to get done. December 2, 2008 By Ed Richards - Daily Press Andrew Felmeten of Hampton has been on a roll recently, shooting a 300 Oct. 28 at Sparetimes and then a 246-267-288—801 series at Classic Lanes Nov. 10. He had an 803 and an 823 already in the books. ... After bowling for more than 35 years, Guy Sager of Hampton finally shot his first 300 game. Sager, 49, achieved the feat Nov. 19 in the Hampton Handicap League at Century Lanes. He also rolled games of 236 and 248 for an impressive 784 series. High School League Ricky Hurley of York High School turned into a history-maker Nov. 19 at the AMF York Lanes. He became the first youngster to bowl a 300 game in the 21-year history of the Peninsula High School Bowling League. "It was really exciting and I was thrilled for Ricky," said league coordinator Mary Pancoast. "Fifteen minutes after shooting the 300, Ricky said that his hands were still shaking and his heart was racing." Hurley had opened with games of 185-186. He came close to a perfect game only two days earlier when he shot a 279 at York. This past Tuesday, Josh Garner stirred up more excitement in the high school league by shooting a 299. ... November 12, 2008 By Ed Richards - Daily Press It was a long time coming, but Lawrence Gibson of Hampton finally got one — a 300 game. Gibson, who has been bowling off and on for about 40 years, accomplished the feat Thursday at Century Lanes. Gibson, 63, said he had a little luck with two Brooklyn carries and a light hit on his final ball, but everything else was flush. "It was a relief to finally get a 300. As you get older, you begin to think you're not going to get one," he said. December 4. 2007 By Ed Richards - Daily Press Hampton Roads Bowling Association Seniors Handicap Tournament 2007 Bob Brown of Yorktown turned in a sterling performance in emerging as the only double winner in the Hampton Roads USBC Bowling Association Seniors Handicap Tournament at Century Lanes in Hampton.Brown, competing in the 55-64 age division, shot 677 scratch to go with 111 pins handicap for a 788 total. Second place went to Chris Moore Sr. of Gloucester (527-234 — 761).Brown ran away with the all-events title with a 1,310-222 — 1,532 total. Steven Dolan of Hampton was a distant second, 1,178-234 — 1,412. In the 65-and-over division, Marvin Goff of Hampton captured the singles, 566-201 — 767. Frank Simmons of Hampton placed second (586-171 — 757) but came back to win the all-events, 1,169-342 — 1,511. Gussie Abrams of Yorktown finished second in the all-events, 1,140-366 — 1,506. Jacob Wilson and Abrams of Yorktown rolled to the doubles title with a 1,204-375 — 1,579. Josie Tidwell of Newport News, the first woman to bowl in the men's seniors tournament, made a strong showing by placing in two events. She and her husband, Grady, placed second in doubles (1,496) and both tied for fourth place in the 65-and-over singles (729). Newport News man Bowls 'em over February 13, 2007 - By Ed Richards - Daily Press It has to rank as one of the greatest runs in Peninsula bowling history. Brandon Smith, 32, of Newport News couldn't help but chuckle when talking about how incredible it was. "Yeah, it's unbelievable," he said on Thursday. In a 23-day tear starting Jan. 18, he rolled five perfect games and three 800 series. Virginia bowler in top 10 at USBC Open Championships 6/23/2007 - USBC Communications RENO, Nev. - Many bowlers enjoy successful careers at the USBC Open Championships, but never experience the pressure of perfection or being on the verge of a title on the tournament lanes. Chuck Vogt of Chesapeake, Va., had the opportunity to experience both in only his third tournament appearance. ......read more here. Gloucester Bowler mades bowling history 11/30/2006 - By Ed Richards - Daily Press Brandon Cash of Gloucester made bowling history on Nov. 30 when he rolled consecutive 300s at Village Lanes. This was only the 2nd time in HRBA history for back-to-back perfect games and 30 strikes in a row. Women Bowls 818 Series to Make Peninsula History 5/23/2006 - By Ed Richards - Daily Press At First.Clarice Fielder of Newport News didn't know she had made Womens Bowling history on the Peninsula after a whooping 818 Series at Sparetimes in the Monday Majors League on May 15th ...Continued Bowler with Down syndrome in her 13th USBC Women's Championships 5/18/2006 - USBC Communications RENO, Nev. - Deborah Law of Hampton, Va., has made her fourth appearance in the National Bowling Stadium and her 13th at the United States Bowling Congress Women's Championships presented by the Eldorado, Silver Legacy and Circus Circus... Continued