Inside: - The Bowling News

Page 2 | Thursday, January 27, 2011 | THE BOWLING NEWS
Brents, Branagan and Maldonado
win 3rd Annual Vicki Rios
Memorial Trio Tournament.
By Tyson Branagan
Staff Writer
On January 15th, 2011,
bowlers from all over the
south and southwest gathered
at Tangi Lanes in Hammond,
Louisiana for some good
competition, fun, and most
importantly, an annual tribute
to the late Vicki Rios. The
tournament, hosted yearly
by Lee Tyrney in his 24-lane
center and operated by Joey
Amadeo, fills each year with
a waiting list to get in for the
opportunity to not only bowl
for some money, but for the
opportunity to win in honor of
Vicki.
Once again this year, the
tournament quickly filled at
24 teams, but this year was
different than the previous
two, as Vicki’s family made
the trip together for the first
time to attend the tournament
in remembering their beloved
daughter and sister, and take in
some great bowling.
“It was an honor to get to
meet Vicki’s family,” tournament
director Joey Amadeo
said. “I am so pleased they
were able to make the trip.”
The day got started with the
Calcutta, in which $415 was
raised for the scholarship fund in
Rios’ name, and then the action
got started soon after, with each
team bowling 6 games of match
play qualifying, with 20 bonus
pins for each individual win, and
BUY - - - SELL
AMF - BRUNSWICK EQUIPMENT - COMPLETE PACKAGE
WORLD’S LARGEST NEW-USED SPARE PARTS INVENTORY
Danny or Daryl Tucker
Tucker Bowling Equipment Co. Bowling Parts, Inc.
609 N.E. 3rd St. P.O. Box 801
Tulia, Texas 79088 Tulia, Texas 79088
Call (806) 995-4018 Call (806) 995-3635
Fax (806) 995-4767 Email: bpitx@texasonline.net
Website: www.bowlingpartsandequipment.com
Mailing Address: P.O. Box 1642, Colleyville, TX 76034-1642
Delivery Address: 4133 Heartstone Dr, Grapevine, TX 76051
Phone 817-267-8686 • Fax: 817-267-1813
Cell: 817-368-7960 • Email: bowlingnews@sbcglobal.net
JOE GENNARO (972-978-8687) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . EDITOR EMERITUS
TONY FRANKLIN (Tony@TheBowlingNews.net) . . . . . . . . . . . . .OWNER/PUBLISHER
GENIE FRANKLIN (Genie@TheBowlingNews.net) . . . . . . . . . . .OWNER/PUBLISHER
BILL HAZLETT (Bill@TheBowlingNews.net) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .MANAGING EDITOR
CAROL HAZLETT (Carol@TheBowlingNews.net) . . . . . . . . . . . .MANAGING EDITOR
JIM WOODRUFF (jim@discountplasticbags.com) . . . . . . . . . . . . . FEATURE EDITOR
EMIL WILLIAMS JR. (emil@thebowlingnews.net ). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . STAFF WRITER
TYSON BRANAGAN (t.branagan@yahoo.com) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . STAFF WRITER
CLINT DACY (Clint@TheBowlingNews.net) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . COLUMNIST
SUSIE MINSHEW (strikeability@gmail.com) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . COLUMNIST
BUBBA FLINT (fl intsworld@aol.com) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . CARTOONIST
CONTRIBUTING FEATURE WRITERS
John Jowdy • Chuck Pezzano • Don Wright
Note: Opinions expressed by our independent columnists and feature writers are
their own and do not necessarily refl ect the views of The Bowling News.
Subscription rates: $65 a year in advance. Check or money orders should be addressed to
THE BOWLING NEWS.
© 2010
Th e Bowling News
40 bonus pins for a team victory.
After 6 games, the field was cut
to the top six teams, with the
top two qualifiers receiving a
1-round bye in the finals.
The team of Elizabeth
Brents, Tyson Branagan and
Shawn Maldonado, all of Texas
got out to an early lead behind
a 300 by Branagan out of the
gate en route to an 871 start
with bonus pins. It was an
early indication of how high
the scores would be as three
teams cracked the 800 mark in
game one. By the end of the
6 games of qualifying, some
of the highest scores in the
tournaments short history were
posted, with Brents, Branagan
and Maldonado leading the
way at plus 1224. The team of
Leslie Engeron, Kenny Winstead
and Brian Bodenhemier
earned the other bye in the
finals by posting a score of
plus 997, seven pins clear of
3rd qualifier Kristin Warzinski,
Xeno Garcia and Eric Traylor.
Rounding out the qualifiers
were the inaugural winning
team of April Ellis, Scott
Monteleone and Shaun Thonn
in 4th, Karyn Weschler, Byron
Lau and Nicky McClantoc in
5th, and Brandy Silva, Nathan
Vanputten and Mark Busscher
earning the 6th and final cash
spot. Brents led the entire field
individually with a 1463 6game
total, an average 243.83,
proving that the women do, in
FOUNDED AND PUBLISHED BY JOE GENNARO FROM 1956-2009
fact, fuel this great event.
In the finals, Silva, Vanputten
and Busscher defeated
Warzinski, Garcia and Traylor
to advance while Ellis, Monteleone
and Thonn knocked off
Weschler, Lau and McClantoc.
In the semifinals, Brents,
Branagan and Maldonado
defeated Silva, Vanputten and
Busscher in a close struggle of
a match on a tough pair, relatively
speaking, to earn their
second straight finals appearance
after a 2nd place finish a
year ago. In the other semifinal
match, Ellis, Monteleone
and Thonn defeated Engeron,
Winstead and Bodenheimer to
give them the opportunity to
bowl for their second title.
In the title match, just like
each year before, the match
contained all the excitement
anyone could ask for, and once
again, came down to the 10th
frame and the final bowler
needing to strike to secure
the victory. In a match full of
strikes, Maldonado got up for
his 10th frame after needing to
strike his first ball of the 10th
to secure the win, and much
like the previous nine frames,
threw another perfect strike,
and would throw two more just
like it to finish off a perfect
300, and earn their team $2700
for the win, plus Calcutta
winnings.
“They dominated the field,
and finished it off by getting
the win,” said Amadeo, “and
in true Vicki fashion, it was
dramatic.”
“Shawn shot 300 in the final
to help his team to a 794 scratch
score, just enough to beat the
760 put up by their opponents,”
he added. “It was great to watch
and be a part of.”
“It felt great to win,” said
Brents. “We came so close
last year and we work so well
together, it was great to finish
it off this time.”
“I didn’t know Vicki that
well, but everyone down there
is so friendly and fun to be
around that it just shows the
type of person she was to have
all these friends come together
in memory of her,” she added.
Ellis, Monetleone and
Thonn earned $1800 plus
Calcutta for second. 3rd and
4th places earned $1050 plus
Calcutta each, while 5th and
6th took home $690 each to
round out the day.
A tournament is the brain
child of Rios along with
Amadeo and Leisha Murr. It’s
a fantastic event in honor of a
great person and bowler, and a
friend to all that she met. As
usual, it was a great success,
but more than that, it was a
great time by all in attendance,
with some great and entertaining
bowling to go along.