The 21st Annual Bob Klaczkiewicz Memorial Doubles Tournament at Candlelite Bowl in Bridgeport, Michigan saw comeback wins on both the boy’s and girl’s side of the event. On both sides, the team in the very first step ladders match ran the shortened ladder and came out on top as champions in this traditional event.

The weather cooperated for the first time in the last 3 years in Bridgeport and once again Bob Klein and the staff at Candlelite also cooperated and gave us the use of the oil machine and you know what that normally means, yup, lower scores. The field was trimmed to the top eight boys’ teams and 4 girls’ teams after the eight game qualifier and the team of Bethan McGeary (New Kensington, PA) and Jennifer Guertin (Milford, MI) led the way for the ladies with a 2921 total. The boys were led by Doug Mazurco (Brownstown, MI) and Trey Raynes (Wayne, MI) who got into the event as a Friday night substitute entry when one of the teams dropped out due to an injury. Their team combined for a 3304 total and led the field by nearly 100 pins.

Sunday’s match play had a number of teams bouncing in and out of the step ladder cut line and saw the number seven qualifier on the boy’s side, Tim Pfeifer (Cranberry Twp, PA) and Chris Creeks (Zelienople, PA) jump all the way to the top to lead the field into step ladders. Cory Hines (Jackson, MI) and Brian McMahon (Saginaw, MI) stayed in their number two spot with Matt Anderson (Davisburg, MI) and Paul Benedict (Wyandotte, MI) moving from fourth to third. Our qualifying leaders, Mazurco and Raynes, held on for fourth and a spot in the first step ladder match.

There was plenty of striking going on the first match as we shifted to Baker format for the stepladders. Mazurco and Raynes started with the front four strikes to take an early lead but Anderson and Benedict started their comeback. Things were nip and tuck but a stubborn 10-pin leave in the 6th frame cost Anderson and Benedict momentum they needed and eventually the match as Mazurco and Raynes won 257-247. Hines and McMahon were waiting in the next round and again this match went back and forth but an open frame in the ninth was the deciding factor for Hines and McMahon as Mazurco and Raynes won their second match 213-194. In the finals, our tournament leaders, Creeks and Pfeifer, started slow with opens in two of the first four frames and Mazurco and Raynes never looked back as they won the match 224-175. It was the very first MJMA title for both Mazurco and Raynes and it was the third year in a row that Pfeifer has lost in the finals in this event.

The girls put on a pretty good show as well in the stepladder finals. The qualifying leaders, Guertin and McGeary, still held the top spot but had to wait to see who they were going to face in the championship match. Valerie Calberry (Brampton, Ont) and Sarah Lokker (New Baltimore, MI) finished second with the team of Felicia Goll (St. Clair Shores, MI) and Kara Richard (Tecumseh, MI) were in third.

In the first match Calberry and Lokker took charge early and bowled a clean game as Goll and Richard stayed in the match but two late opens ended their tournament as Calberry and Lokker advanced with a 221-171 win. In the finals Calberry and Lokker stayed steady as Guertin and McGeary found the going a bit tough. With the match nearly even through 5 frames, Guertin and McGeary hit three splits in the next four frames and that allowed Calberry and Lokker to win the match and the Junior Doubles title 215-165. The win gave Calberry her fourth MJMA title while Lokker, the youngest title holder in MJMA history won her second title this year.

Thanks to the full field for the tournament and the contributions from our sponsor Alro Steel along with the generosity of the folks in the center for our two raffles, we were able to award $3,500.00 in scholarships this event bringing our season total to over $33,000.00. Speaking of our raffles, we had three 50-50 winners for this event and lo and behold, one person won all three. Tom Schmansky was the lucky winner and I want to thank him for not only participating in the raffle but for also donating nearly half of what he won back to the tournament to award as scholarships. Tom, how about buying me a Michigan Lotto ticket?

Our next event will be at Salt River Lanes in Chesterfield, Michigan on February 16th and 17th. This field will be restricted to the first 96 entries as this past event was and it is encouraged to get the entries in early. We would have had 16 people on a waiting list if the entries from doubles were for Chesterfield. We already have 33 entries as of 2-3-2008 so get them in the mail. I will not reserve spots unless I have the entry with the check in advance of the tournament filling.

Just a quick note, it was announced that we would be having a Brunswick seminar at the event in Taylor at Taylor Lanes in March. We are putting the final details together for this and we will be announcing the times and topic for the seminar in an upcoming update. We hope you can take advantage of this session as Brunswick will have their display at the center along with a couple of the staff members to answer questions and conduct the seminar.

If you have any questions regarding th upcoming events, please contact Jerry Tarabek. Look forward to seeing everyone in Chesterfield in a couple of weeks!