Jurek and Kulick Win Shark Championships

Jack Jurek of Lackawanna, NY, ended a Professional Bowlers Association (PBA) record 14-yearvoid between titles when he defeated Mike Fagan of Patchogue, NY, in a one-ball, sudden-deathroll-off to win the PBA Shark Championship at Thunderbowl Lanes. In the final PBA “animal pattern” championships of the inaugural PBA World Series of Bowling whichaired Sunday on ESPN, Kelly Kulick of Union, NJ, defeated Carolyn Dorin-Ballard of Keller, TX,198-182, to win the women’s Shark Championship.

Jurek, at age 46, ended his 14-year, 175-day quest for his second Lumber Liquidators PBA Tour title when he struck in the roll-off after he and Fagan had tied at 218-218, and then watched Fagan miss the headpin. It was a heart-stopping finish after an equally tense final frame that saw Jurek falter when victory was an eyelash away.

A pair of doubles early in the game gave Jurek an edge, but he let Fagan back
into the match when he left the “Big Four” 4-6-7-10 split in the sixth frame.
Jurek jumped back into command with strikes in the eighth and ninth frames,
and on his first ball in the 10th. Needing only a nine-count/spare to
lock up the title, Jurek left the 3-6-10. He got the spare, and held his breath.

Fagan, with a strike in the ninth, needed three more in the 10th to win by a pin.
He got the first two, but left a 10 pin on his last shot to send the match into
overtime.

“I got the first strike and gave myself a chance,” Jurek said, “but then the chills
that went up my spine were indescribable. That was almost 15 years of waiting
for the opportunity, and it was a little too much for me to handle at the moment.
I thought about taking a re-rack, but I didn’t want to
give myself too much time to think about what I was
going to do.

“But it was overwhelming. I took a deep breath and
thought I had myself under control. But three pins? I
thought it was another opportunity I let slip away,” he
confessed. “I was fortunate (Mike) left a pin on his third
shot.”
Jurek had the right to bowl first in the roll-off, so he took a calculated risk.

“The last four shots (Fagan) threw on the left lane, he struck,” Jurek said. “The
right lane was a little trickier. I was just kind of banking on the fact that I could
throw the first strike and he’d leave something, and it worked out.”

It was not the result Jurek had grown to expect in his career. In 10 previous
television appearances, he had averaged a respectable 223.8, but he had a 3-9
won-lost record because his opponents were averaging nearly 250 against him.
In the Shark Championship, it was Jurek’s turn, racing to a 255-213 victory over
reigning PBA Player of the Year Wes Malott of Pflugerville, Texas, to advance
to the championship match.

“It was nice to finally not have 250 shot at me,” Jurek grinned. “The odds were
in my favor.”

Jurek knew it had been a long time since his only previous title in the 1995 Tums
Classic in Windsor Locks, CN, but “I didn’t keep track. I knew it was a long time.
I knew I could go to my grave with my name on a banner for winning at least one
title, but as the years went on, it was important to me to feel like I belonged out
here and could win again.

“I may not have had the career I dreamed of when I was a kid, but bowling on
tour is everything I still want to do. I’m sorry I’m getting older because realize my
time is getting shorter. Maybe I’m like wine, getting better as I get older.”

Jurek’s record span between titles broke the previous record of 14 years, 6 days
held by Les Zikes.

Along with his victory, Jurek earned $25,000, an exemption for the 2010-11 
Lumber Liquidators PBA Tour season, a berth in the 2010 PBA Tournament of
Champions and a spot in the end-of-season PBA Experience Showdown
presented by BOWL.COM.

Fagan, who was trying for his first PBA Tour singles title, defeated Jason Couch
of Clermont, FL, 224-201, to earn his spot in the championship match.

In the PBA Women’s Series presented by BOWL.COM title match, Kulick was
in a strike-or-bust mode. Three strikes early in the game kept her in the match
until she opened in the sixth and seventh frames. Dorin-Ballard, who was seeking
her third career PBA Women’s Series title, gave her advantage back with splits
and open frames in her eighth and ninth frames.

A key ball change by Kulick in the ninth frame led to another string of three
strikes and a come-from-behind victory.

“I thought I made the right ball choice at the start, but as the game went along,
things just got worse,” Kulick said. “I don’t know how I strung three strikes in a
row early, but in the ninth and 10th, I made a ball change. I knew I had to do
something. It was a good guess. I had an idea what I wanted to do, and what
the ball was supposed to do, and when the first shot went flush, I knew
that was the right answer.”

The title was Kulick’s second during the PBA World Series of Bowling. She also
won the inaugural PBA Women’s World Championship. Her Shark victory was
worth $10,000. Because Kulick had previously qualified for the PBA Women’s
Series Showdown presented by BOWL.COM, Dorin-Ballard earned a spot in
the end-of-season event which will be held in the United  States Bowling
Congress’ International Training Center in Arlington, Texas.