Team Europe wins Weber Cup
Story and picture courtesy of MatchRoom.com
EUROPE have won the 2009 PartyCasino.com Weber Cup X.
They won 17-11 with Paul Moor defeating Tim Mack in a singles match to seal the victory.
Earlier in the night, Mika Koivuniemi had a ball to win the Weber Cup in the previous match. He needed to hit nine but only managed eight and then lost a thrilling bowl off in his singles match against Jason Couch.
But it did not prove critical as Moor’s victory gave Europe the trophy for the first time since 2005.
“It’s just amazing to shoot a strike to win the Weber Cup for Europe,” said Moor. “It was tough and I was not 100 per cent concentrating and there was a few little distractions but in a situation like that you have to try and stay focused as much as possible.
“I didn’t bowl well here in the Weber Cup last year but I’m starting to get some form back now. Last year I missed three times late on in matches but this time I had the opportunity and it was the most important one.”
All the action was screened live on Sky Sports and America had a 4-2 lead at the end of the opening day.
However, the fortunes completely turned around on the second day as Europe claimed nine of the 12 points available. They continued that form at the start of the third day by winning five of the six matches to move only one away from victory.
USA won three successive points at the beginning of the last session but the fightback ended when Moor pushed Europe over the finish line.
It was the biggest margin of victory since Europe’s last win, an 18-11 success back in 2004.
European captain Osku Palermaa said: “We’re happy and we’ve enjoyed the whole time. We were down but built up the momentum, they took it back before we won. We were a bit worried but there are five good men here in our team.
USA captain Tim Mack added: “Paul was just too good. I would’ve had to bowl the highest score I had done in the tournament but he was just too good so hats off to him.
“We bowled better than the score suggests and it should’ve been much closer. But Europe bowled great and we just couldn’t keep up, our guys will be back next time.”
Team USA Cleans House in PABCON Championships
In the 2009 Pan-American Bowling Championships, the Team USA men swept all five gold medals while the women took 3 of the 5.
Starting off with singles, Bill O’Neill set a new record with a score of 1475 (+275, 245.83 Average). He was followed up by Mexico’s Jorge Rosado in 2nd and USA’s David Haynes in 3rd. Venezuela’s Karen Marcano won gold in the singles event for the women. USA’s Diandra Asbaty took the silver and Panama’s Tilcia Lancini took the bronze.
Team USA’s duo of Tommy Jones and Chris Barnes took gold in the doubles event. USA’s David Haynes and Bill O’Neill took the silver while Peurto Rico’s Luis Rodriguez and Frankie Colon took the bronze. Guatemala took the gold medal on the women’s side followed by Mexico and the Dominican Republic.
In the men’s trios event, Team USA’s team of Chris Barnes, Bill O’Neill, and Tommy Jones won the gold medal. USA’s team of David Haynes, Cassidy Schaub, and Patrick Allen took the silver and Columbia’s team of Manuel Otalora, Jaime Monroy, and Andres Gomez took the bronze. Team USA won the women’s gold medal with the team of Shannon Pluhowsky, Shannon O’Keefe, and Lynda Barnes. Columbia’s Paola Gomez, Rocio Rostrero, and Clara Guerrero took the silver while the Venezuelan team of Patricia De Faria, Karen Marcano, and Alicia Marcano took the bronze.
Team USA won gold in both the men’s and women’s team events. The men’s gold medal team was led by Bill O’Neill, Cassidy Schaub, and David Haynes. Mexico and Venezuela took the silver and bronze medals. The women’s gold medal team was led by Lynda Barnes, Shannon O’Keefe, and Diandra Asbaty.
Team USA was all across the top of the leader board in the All Events category. USA swept the men’s side with Bill O’Neill at #1, Tommy Jones at #2, and David Haynes at #3. USA’s Shannon O’Keefe and Shannon Pluhowsky finished 1st and 3rd on the women’s side. Columbia’s Clara Guerrero finished in 2nd.
When it was all said and done, Team USA took 8 of 10 gold medals.
Doug Kent Wins Euro-Med Storm International Masters Challenge
Three Americans made the cut to the top 8 of the 7th Euro-Med Storm International Masters Challenge. Rhino Page qualified in 4th while John Nolen and Doug Kent qualified 7th and 8th. Doug Kent led the round of 8, while Nolen qualified 4th and Page finished in 8th.
In the first stepladder finals match, Cha Mi Jung of Korea defeated Nolen, 210-200, to advance to the next round and face 15-year-old Michael Mak from Hong Kong. Mak shot an amazing 296 game to beat Jung’s 256. Mak didn’t have as much luck against Doug Kent in the finals. Kent won the match and the title, 192-180.
This is Doug Kent’s first Asian title of his career.
View the full results at abf-online.org
In other international bowling news, Team USA is bowling well in the PABCON Championships. Team USA has won gold medals in both the men’s and women’s trios. Team USA currently has all 3 medals wrapped up in both men’s and women’s all events. Bill O’Neill is leading men’s singles. I will post the final results as soon as they become available.
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