Ciccone Survives Shark to Win PBA Tour Trials

Less than two months after losing his the Lumber Liquidators Professional Bowlers Association (PBA) Tour exemption, Joe Ciconne of Buffalo, NY, regained a berth on the PBA Tour for the 2009-10 season as the top qualifier in thePBA Tour Trials at Thunderbowl Lanes Sunday.

Ciccone, 34, survived a grueling Shark lane condition
round Sunday to finish the five-day, 45-game
competition with 9,648 pins, a 214 average. He led a
diverse group of eight players who earned exemptions
to bowl as full-time touring professionals next season.

Also earnings exemptions were: George Lambert IV, Hamilton, Ontario, 9,587 pins; Thomas Smallwood,
Flushing, MI, 9,562; Cassidy Schaub, Ashland, OH, 9,459; Mitch Beasley, Puyallup, WA, 9,457; Stuart
Williams, England, 9,449; Stevie Weber, Chalmette, LA, 9,448, and Tim Mack, Indianapolis, IN, 9,379.
Mack earned the final exemption by 43 pins over Bo Goergen of Midland, MI.

“Right now I’m pretty exhausted,” Ciccone said. “It’s been a long nine days.”

On Monday, Ciccone won the PBA Regional Players Championship at Thunderbowl Lanes, earning
a berth in the 2010 PBA Tournament of Champions, and he continued his strong play throughout
the week to regain his lost livelihood as a full-time professional bowler.

“I definitely had put some mind time into what directions things could go with my life,” Ciccone said,
“but I hadn’t made any decisions. I just figured I’d let things go as they may, and here we are.”

Lambert, a 2007 Wichita State University graduate, is a 10-time Team Canada member who would
love to become the first Canadian to win a PBA title.

“Bowling on tour is something I’ve looked forward to my whole life,” he said. “Winning a title is
definitely a goal.”

Smallwood, 31, is a victim of General Motors’ massive layoffs. He has periodically bowled on tour,
but had no aspiration of bowling full-time because of the time he would need to be away from his
home and family.

“With the (PBA World Series of Bowling) being held the first six weeks of the season here in
Detroit, that’s a bonus,” Smallwood said. “After that I’ll be in the woods hunting. Then I’ll come home,
practice and get ready to bowl full-time in January.”

Schaub, 25, is the second two-handed player to qualify for the 2009-10 tour, joining Australia’s
Jason Belmonte.

“I got a little worried the last two days, but scoring pace didn’t go up much,” Schaub said. “Today I
just wanted to maintain where I was. It’s gonna be fun to represent the two-handers from the left
side. This is something I’ve wanted to do ever since I could walk. I grew up watching Parker Bohn III
and Walter Ray Williams Jr. It’s always been a passion to chase the tour.”

Beasley, 41, also regained the exemption he lost after not accumulating enough tour points last
season.

“I found out last year that I need to get better,” Beasley said. “I’ve been working out the past six
weeks to get physically stronger, practicing three hours a day, five days a week. I was the leader
on Shark pattern today. I had a bad day Tuesday, so I knew I had to have three really good days
after that one.” 

Williams, 37, is the first British bowler to ever qualify for the American bowling tour. “I had some
dollars I had won in a High Roller tournament, so I decided to give the Tour Trials a try,” Williams
said. “I decided to find out if I can compete with the best bowlers in the world.”

Weber is the sixth player to win a PBA Tour exemption for a second time through the Tour Trials.
He is returning to competitive bowling after a year of recovery from a hip stress fracture.

“I didn’t bowl at all last year. I was off feet for 10 weeks,” Weber said. “But I made some changes in
my grip after I came back. The ball is coming off my hand much cleaner, which was one of the
problems I had. The time off helped erase some bad habits. I started fresh.”

Mack, 37, clinched the final spot with a 201 final game, completing a long, difficult struggle to earn
his chance to bowl alongside the stars of the PBA. Mack has enjoyed a highly successful career
bowling in Asia and Europe, but has battled back after two shoulder surgeries.

“I’ve bowled with and against these guys for a long time,” Mack said. “They went on tour; I bowled
internationally. I will finally find out how I stack up. I’m really looking forward to the opportunity. I
was gone from home 49 straight days, bowling tournaments in six different countries to get ready
for this. It got me sharp and gave me the confidence you need. I’m feeling pretty good right now.”

The newly-exempt players will make their Lumber Liquidators PBA Tour debuts when the Tour
officially gets its 2009-10 season underway Aug. 2 through Sept. 7 with a multi-event World Series
of Bowling in the suburban Detroit area.

LUMBER LIQUIDATORS PBA TOUR TRIALS
Thunderbowl Lanes, Allen Park, Mich., May 31

FINAL STANDINGS (after 45 games)

1, Joe Ciccone, Buffalo, N.Y., 9,648
2, George Lambert IV, Hamilton, Ontario, 9,587
3, Thomas Smallwood, Flushing, Mich., 9,562
4, Cassidy Schaub, Ashland, Ohio, 9,459
5, Mitch Beasley, Puyallup, Wash., 9,457
6, Stuart Williams, England, 9,449
7, Stevie Weber, Chalmette, La., 9,448
8, Tim Mack, Indianapolis, 9,379
9, Bo Goergen, Midland, Mich., 9,336
10, Anthony LaCaze, Melrose Park, Ill., 9,309
11, Dan MacLelland, Windsor, Ontario, 9,305
12, Daniel Patterson, Buffalo, N.Y., 9,300
13, Sean Riccardi, Piscataway, N.J., 9,295
14, Ken Simard, Greenville, S.C., 9,290
15, Ryan Ciminelli, Cheektowaga, N.Y., 9,283
16, Mason Brantley, Detroit, Mich., 9,279
17, Brian LeClair, Athens, N.Y., 9,273
18, Thomas Wall III, Fayetteville, N.C., 9,265
19, George Frilingos, Australia, 9,263
19, D.J. Archer, Mineral Wells, Texas, 9,263
21, Randy Weiss, Columbia, S.C., 9,241
22, Bill Rowe, Hamilton, Ontario, 9,236
23, Gregory Thompson Jr., Dayton, Ohio, 9,189
24, Eddie Graham, Centerville, Ohio, 9,174
25, Shannon Buchan, Waterloo, Iowa, 9,154
26, Joe Bailey, Pittsburgh, Pa., 9,151
27, Jesse Buss, Wichita, Kan., 9,140
28, Kelly Kulick, Union, N.J., 9,139
29, Bobby Hall II, Landover, Md., 9,130
30, Dave D'Entremont, Middleburg Heights, Ohio, 9,124
31, Jeffrey Roche, Dearborn, Mich., 9,115
31, Andres Gomez, Colombia, 9,115
33, Billy Oatman, Chicago, 9,099
34, Tae-Hwa Jeong, South Korea, 9,089
35, Tom Hess, Urbandale, Iowa, 9,074
36, Jason Hurd, St. Petersburg, Fla., 9,058
37, Andrew Cain, Scottsdale, Ariz., 9,043
38, Seo Hak Jung, South Korea, 8,997
39, Jason Mahr, Spring Hill, Fla., 8,978
40, Won-Young Choi, South Korea, 8,966
41, Chad Kloss, Greenfield, Wis, 8,964
42, Lee Vanderhoef, Greenville, S.C., 8,961
43, Joe Paluszek, Bensalem, Pa., 8,933
44, Frank Testa, Akron, Ohio, 8,922
45, Matthew O'Grady, South Amboy, N.J., 8,920
46, James Wallace, Hicksville, N.Y., 8,905
47, Johnathan Bower, Middletown, Pa., 8,876
47, Kyung-Shin Park, South Korea, 8,876
49, Timothy Behrendt, St. Louis., Mo., 8,863
50, Mike Keily, Lakewood, Colo., 8,859
51, Jason Wojnar, Chicago, 8,857
52, David Williams Jr., Omaha, Neb., 8,851
53, David Simard, Granby, Quebec, 8,832
54, Quinton Bohlen, Decorah, Iowa, 8,831
55, John Cicero, Colorado Springs, Colo., 8,828
56, Johnny Petraglia Jr., Youngstown, Ohio, 8,798
57, Paul Pinto, Philadelphia, 8,782
58, Steven Lach, Sloan, N.Y., 8,760
59, Walter Schaub II, Schaumburg, Ill., 8,703
60, Robert Piroozshad, Huntington Beach, Calif., 8,701
61, Jason Dee, Brampton, Ontario, 8,700
62, Daniel Freeman, Indianapolis, Ind., 8,699
63, Jason Poli, West Des Moines, Iowa, 8,683
64, Humberto Vazquez, Mexico, 8,672
65, Jeremy Boyer, Desloge, Mo., 8,670
66, Jong Soo Park, South Korea, 8,648
67, Jim Tomek Jr., Camp Hill, Pa., 8,634
68, Matt Freiberg, Somerset, N.J., 8,582
69, Nick Kokenos, St. Clair Shores, Mich., 8,580
70, Dru LaJoy, Cohoes, N.Y., 8,535
71, Kevin Andes, Somerset, Mass., 8,457
72, Curtis Foss, Medina, N.Y., 8,426
73, Seby Silvestri, Louisville, Ky., 8,358
74, Bryan Paul, Brooklyn, N.Y., 8,268
75, Chris Hansen, Chicago, 8,263
76, Jamie Ceasar, Columbus, Ohio, 8,149
77, John Wilcox, Woodinville, Wash., 8,041
78, Geordin Krupski, Newtonville, N.J., 7,850
79, Jim Fenimore, Mishawaka, Ind., 7,848
80, Ron Williams, Marana, Ariz., 7,784
81, Christopher Collins, Savannah, Ga., withdrew
82, Scott Newell, Deland, Fla., withdrew
83, Chris Cundiff, Portage, Ind., withdrew
84, Chris Polizzi, Spring Hill, Fla., withdrew
85, Tim Bell, Garden City, Mich., withdrew
86, Craig LeMond, Jasper, Ind., withdrew
87, Michael Wall, Fayetteville, N.C., withdrew
88, J.T. (Action) Jackson, Valley Village, Calif., withdrew
89, Lucas Legnani, Argentina, withdrew
90, Ivo Raul Chiriboga, Miami, withdrew
91, Brian Kjergaard, Fulton, Ill., withdrew
92, Nick Weber, St. Charles, Mo., withdrew
93, Rudy Kasimakis, Baldwyn, Miss., withdrew
94, Tom Sorce, Blasdell, N.Y., withdrew
95, Aaron Halash, Scottsdale, Ariz., withdrew
96, Jack Nealon, Bowie, Md., withdrew
97, Michael Norris, Livonia, Mich., withdrew