Belmonte and Woessner Lead PBA Doubles Event

Two-handed specialist Jason Belmonte of Australia and Jodi Woessner of Oregon, Ohio, were the first round qualifying leaders Wednesday in the Professional Bowlers Association (PBA) Bayer Don and Paula Carter Mixed Doubles at Brunswick Zone Wheat Ridge.

Belmonte, last season’s PBA Rookie of the Year and the first two-hander to win a Lumber Liquidators PBA Tour title, had a 1,697 seven-game pinfall (242 average) to lead the 64-player men’s field. He had games of 222, 256, 238, 237, 289, 220 and 235.

Having to negotiate an extreme inside shot in today’s first round matched up
well with Belmonte’s technique as a two-handed player.

“You’ll find that most two-handers hook the ball a lot,” said the 26-year-old
Belmonte. “So any time we can use a lot of the lane it’s to our advantage.

“Obviously having a big hook is not conducive to all conditions on Tour but it’s
nice to be able to take advantage of a condition where you can throw the big
hook.”

Woessner, who owns one PBA Women’s Series title, led the 32-player women’s field with a 1,640 seven-game pinfall (234 average) which included a 300 game. She had games of 221, 202, 226, 214, 243, 300 and 234.

Woessner holds a five-pin lead over 2010 PBA Tournament of Champions winner Kelly Kulick of Union, NJ, in second with 1,635. Kulick’s Tournament of
Champions win on Jan. 24 landed her a place in sports history by becoming the
first woman to win a PBA Tour title.

“I was really concentrating on keeping a tight line to the pocket,” Woessner
said. “I was also able to make the right ball choice and stayed ahead of the
changing lane conditions by making the right adjustments.”

The PBA Tour male players and PBA Women’s Series presented by BOWL.COM players compete in separate qualifying rounds which will continue Thursday. Based on their ranking after qualifying concludes, the top 16 men and top 16 women will be paired together to compete in match play on Friday. After 16 head-to-head doubles matches, the top five teams will advance to the stepladder finals. The finals format will use the Baker format where each player will bowl five alternate frames to combine for one score.

The Mixed Doubles finals will be televised live by ESPN at 1 p.m. Eastern (11
a.m. Mountain) on Sunday, Feb. 21.

PBA Bayer Don and Paula Carter Mixed Doubles
Lumber Liquidators PBA Tour Field
Brunswick Zone Wheat Ridge, Wheat Ridge, Colo.
Round 1 results (after 7 games)

1, Jason Belmonte, Australia, 1,697.
2, Ritchie Allen, Columbia, S.C., 1,682.
3, Mike Fagan, Patchogue, N.Y., 1,672.
4, Tyler Jensen, Keller, Texas, 1,661.
5, Jesse Buss, Wichita, Kan., 1,650.
6, Eugene McCune, Munster, Ind., 1,648.
7, Walter Ray Williams Jr., Ocala, Fla., 1,640.
8, Jonathan Van Hees, Charlestown, R.I., 1,628.
9, Mitch Beasley, Puyallup, Wash., 1,619.
10, Wes Malott, Pflugerville, Texas, 1,617.
11, Pete Weber, St. Ann, Mo., 1,616.
12, Cassidy Schaub, Ashland, Ohio, 1,614.
13, Rhino Page, Dade City, Fla., 1,609.
14, Patrick Allen, Wesley Chapel, Fla., and Mika Koivuniemi, Hartland, Mich., 1,600.
16, Tom Smallwood, Saginaw, Mich., 1,599.
17, Chris Barnes, Double Oak, Texas, 1,598.
18, Troy Wollenbecker, Miami, Fla., 1,596.
19, Jason Sterner, McDonough, Ga., 1,591.
20, Stevie Weber, Chalmette, La., 1,558.
21, Andres Gomez, Colombia, 1,556.
22, Stuart Williams, England, 1,553.
23, Chris Loschetter, Avon, Ohio, 1,543.
24, John May, Lincolnton, N.C., and Steve Harman, Indianapolis, 1,539.
26, Mike DeVaney, San Diego, 1,536.
27, Derek Sapp, Keokuk, Iowa, 1,533.
28, Brian Kretzer, Dayton, Ohio, 1,531.
29, Ronnie Russell, Camby, Ind., 1,525.
Steven Badovinac, Parker, Colo., 1,525.
31, Mike Scroggins, Amarillo, Texas, 1,519.
32, Ryan Ciminelli, Cheektowaga, N.Y., and Steven Black, Phoenix, 1,518.
34, Sean Rash, Wichita, Kan., 1,509.
35, Bill O'Neill, Southampton, Pa., 1,506.
36, Tom Daugherty, Wesley Chapel, Fla., 1,501.
37, Tim Mack, Indianapolis, 1,499.
38, Ryan Shafer, Horseheads, N.Y., 1,490.
39, Brian Waliczek, Birch Run, Mich., 1,489.
40, PJ Haggerty, Clovis, Calif., 1,487.
41, Robert Smith, Columbus, Ohio, 1,486.
42, Mike Edwards, Tulsa, Okla., 1,485.
43, Parker Bohn III, Jackson, N.J., 1,482.
44, Lonnie Waliczek, Wichita, Kan., 1,480.
45, Andrew Cain, Phoenix, 1,479.
46, Tommy Jones, Simpsonville, S.C., 1,475.
47, Brad Angelo, Lockport, N.Y., 1,474.
48, Nathan Bohr, Wichita, Kan., 1,473.
49, Brian Voss, Alpharetta, Ga., and Jack Jurek, Lackawanna, N.Y., 1,471.
51, Todd Book, Wapakoneta, Ohio, 1,468.
52, Mike Wolfe, New Albany, Ind., 1,464.
53, Amleto Monacelli, Venezuela, 1,458.
54, Tom Hess, Urbandale, Iowa, 1,446.
55, Kris Koeltzow, Wheat Ridge, Colo., 1,441.
56, Wayne Garber, Modesto, Calif., 1,432.
57, Jeff Carter, Springfield, Ill., 1,416.
58, George Lambert IV, Canada, 1,412.
59, Jason Couch, Clermont, Fla., 1,398.
60, Eddie VanDaniker Jr., Essex, Md., 1,393.
61, Dino Castillo, Carrollton, Texas, 1,384.
62, Steve Jaros, Yorkville, Ill., 1,379.
63, Joe Ciccone, Buffalo, N.Y., 1,355.
64, Lawrence Marquez, Lakewood, Colo., 1,257.

PBA Women’s Series presented by BOWL.COM Field
Round 1 results (after 7 games)

1, Jodi Woessner, Oregon, Ohio, 1,640.
2, Kelly Kulick, Union, N.J., 1,635.
3, Michelle Feldman, Auburn, N.Y., 1,585.
4, Shannon O'Keefe, Arlington, Texas, 1,511.
5, Lindsay Baker, Amherst, N.Y., 1,509.
6, Shannon Pluhowsky, Kettering, Ohio, 1,488.
7, Tammy Boomershine, North Ogden, Utah, 1,482.
8, Wendy Macpherson, Henderson, Nev., 1,458.
9, Tish Johnson, Colorado Springs, Colo., and Laura Hardeman, Chula Vista, Calif., 1,449.
11, Stefanie Nation, Grand Prairie, Texas, 1,446.
12, Elysia Current, Ephrata, Pa., 1,442.
13, Diandra Asbaty, Chicago, 1,438.
14, Liz Johnson, Cheektowaga, N.Y., 1,430.
15, Brenda Edwards, Mansfield, Texas, 1,429.
16, Shalin Zulkifli, Malaysia, 1,421.
17, Aumi Guerra, Dominican Republic, 1,408.
18, Christine Bator, Warren, Mich., 1,390.
19, Carolyn Dorin-Ballard, Keller, Texas, 1,387.
20, Trisha Reid, Columbus, Ohio, 1,386.
21, Clara Guerrero, Colombia, 1,383.
22, Jennifer Petrick, Canton, Ohio, 1,381.
23, Missy Bellinder, Lake Forest, Calif., 1,379.
24, Adrienne Miller, Albuquerque, N.M., 1,362.
25, Kathy Tribbey, Dundee, Ore., 1,354.
26, Amy Stolz, Castle Rock, Colo., 1,330.
27, Amanda Beck, Patchogue, N.Y., 1,325.
28, Jacqui Reese, Roseto, Pa., 1,320.
29, Kayla Bandy, Pikeville, Ky., 1,319.
30, Samantha Williams, Hunt Valley, Md., 1,306.
31, Lynda Barnes, Double Oak, Texas, 1,265.
32, Crystal Schoneman, Grand Prairie, Texas, 1,259.