Wednesday, April 11, 2012

Rash Tops TOC Elite Field Round 2


Sean Rash of Montgomery, IL, averaged 243.6 Tuesday to take a two–pin lead over Nathan Bohr of Wichita, KS, after two rounds of Elite Field qualifying in the Professional Bowling Association's (PBA) Tournament of Champions at Red Rock Lanes in Las Vegas, NV.

Rash, a four-time PBA Tour title winner who is trying to win his first title since the 2007 United States Bowling Congress Masters, posted a 10-game total of 2,436 pins to lead the field of 77 Elite Field players. Bohr, who is seeking his first PBA Tour title, for a total of 2,434 pins. 

The Elite Field consists of 77 players – 21 who survived Monday’s 14-game Champions Field qualifying and 56 PBA Tour title winners and exempt players. The Elite Field will bowl 10 more games Wednesday to determine the 25 who will join 11 current season title winners for the Round of 36 on Thursday and Friday. The top four players at the end of the 36-game Round of 36 will advance to the ESPN stepladder finals Sunday at 1 p.m. ET.

Rash has had the best year of his seven-year career with 10 top-10 finishes, seven television finals and three second-place finishes in 13 events. But he is still trying to end a streak of 14 consecutive television appearances without a title.

After 20 games, defending TOC champion Mika Koivuniemi of Hartland, MI, was 24th and 2010 winner Kelly Kulick of Union, NJ, the only woman ever to win a PBA Tour title, was tied for 33rd. Champions Field top qualifier Tom Daugherty of Wesley Chapel, FL, had one of the three 300 games rolled Tuesday to advance from 48th place to 14th.

"The scoring pace seems to be pretty high, but that really doesn't matter," Bohr said. "I like to play on whatever (condition) is out there.

“I'm coming into this tournament feeling pretty good. I'd have to say that I'm bowling better than average,” Bohr said. “I had good finishes in the (USBC) Masters (seventh) and the PBA World Championship (14th) earlier in the season.”

The Masters and PBA World Championship, like the Tournament of Champions, are major championships in PBA competition and they represent Bohr’s two highest finishes of the season.

"Going forward I plan to just start from scratch and not get caught up on what happened the last block,” Bohr said.

Bowling fans can follow progress in the Tournament of Champions through the PBA’s exclusive coverage on Xtra Frame, the PBA’s online bowling channel; through live scoring on pba.com, and through the Professional Bowlers Association on Facebook and Twitter. Subscriptions to Xtra Frame are available on the pba.com home page.

PBA TOURNAMENT OF CHAMPIONS
Red Rock Lanes, Las Vegas, Tuesday
ELITE FIELD STANDINGS (after 10 of 20 games; top 25 advance to Round of 36):
1, Sean Rash, Montgomery, Ill., 2,436.
2, Nathan Bohr, Wichita, Kan., 2,434.
3, Mitch Beasley, Clarksville, Tenn., 2,426.
4, Tom Hess, Urbandale, Iowa, 2,401.
5, Tom Smallwood, Saginaw, Mich., 2,374.
6, Jack Jurek, Lackawanna, N.Y., 2,373.
7, Chris Warren, Grants Pass, Ore., 2,367.
8, Chris Loschetter, Avon, Ohio, 2,356.
9, Parker Bohn III, Jackson, N.J., 2,355.
10, Mike DeVaney, Hemet, Calif., 2,342.
11, Michael Machuga, Erie, Pa., 2,340.
12, Bill O'Neill, Southampton, Pa., 2,330.
13, Wayne Webb, Columbus, Ohio, 2,329.
14, Tom Daugherty, Wesley Chapel, Fla., 2,322.
15, Todd Book, Wapakoneta, Ohio, 2,312.
16, Scott Norton, Costa Mesa, Calif., 2,309.
17, Dave Wodka, Henderson, Nev., 2,307.
18, Rhino Page, Dade City, Fla., 2,303.
19, Patrick Allen, Wesley Chapel, Fla., 2,302.
20 (tie), Ryan Ciminelli, Cheektowaga, N.Y., and Michael Haugen Jr., Carefree, Ariz., 2,301.
22, Dan MacLelland, Canada, 2,296.
23, Martin Larsen, Sweden, 2,285.
24, Mika Koivuniemi, Hartland, Mich., 2,277.
25, Brad Angelo, Lockport, N.Y., 2,271.
26, Tony Reyes, San Bruno, Calif., 2,263.
27, Lee Vanderhoef, Greenville, S.C., 2,262.
28, Anthony LaCaze, Melrose Park, Ill., 2,255.
29, Jim Pratt, Glendale, Ariz., 2,243.
30, Bryon Smith, Roseburg, Ore., 2,239.
31, Ryan Shafer, Horseheads, N.Y., 2,232.
32, Danny Wiseman, Baltimore, 2,224.
33 (tie), Kelly Kulick, Union, N.J., and Mike Dias, Lafayette, Colo., 2,222.
35, Jason Couch, Clermont, Fla., 2,218.
36, Robert Smith, Hong Kong, 2,214.
37, Dino Castillo, Carrollton, Texas, 2,207.
38, Dick Allen, Columbia, S.C., 2,201.
39, Josh Blanchard, Gilbert, Ariz., 2,197.
40, Brian Himmler, Cincinnati, 2,195.
41, Amleto Monacelli, Venezuela, 2,193.
42, Ronnie Russell, Marion, Ind., 2,186.
43 (tie), Michael Steil, Wheeling, Ill., and Steve Jaros, Yorkville, Ill., 2,185.
45, Eddie VanDaniker Jr., Essex, Md., 2,173.
46, D.J. Archer, Port Arthur, Texas, 2,169.
47, Brian LeClair, Athens, N.Y., 2,167.
48, Eric Forkel, Henderson, Nev., 2,163.
49, Rick Steelsmith, Wichita, Kan., 2,162.
50, David Haynes, Las Vegas, 2,160.
51 (tie), Brian Voss, Alpharetta, Ga., and Mike Wolfe, New Albany, Ind., 2,156.
53 (tie), Patrick Dombrowski, Parma, Ohio, and Ron Mohr, Eagle River, Alaska, 2,153.
55, PJ Haggerty, Roseville, Calif., 2,147.
56, Chris Barnes, Double Oak, Texas, 2,143.
57, Walter Ray Williams Jr., Ocala, Fla., 2,139.
58, Brian Kretzer, Dayton, Ohio, 2,138.
59 (tie), Lonnie Waliczek, Wichita, Kan., and Mike Scroggins, Amarillo, Texas, 2,136.
61, Tyler Jensen, Ft. Worth, Texas, 2,135.
62, Jesse Buss, Wichita, Kan., 2,132.
63, Mike Bailey, Frisco, Texas, 2,113.
64, Bryan Alpert, Northridge, Calif., 2,111.
65, Kerry Painter, Henderson, Nev., 2,098.
66, Missy Parkin, Lake Forest, Calif., 2,093.
67, Chris Hayden, Las Vegas, 2,085.
68, Mike Edwards, Tulsa, Okla., 2,079.
69, Jason Poli, West Des Moines, Iowa, 2,074.
70, Brian Valenta, Lockport, Ill., 2,070.
71, Diandra Asbaty, Chicago, 2,067.
72, Joe Salvemini, Henderson, Nev., 2,046.
73, Kyle Troup, Taylorsville, N.C., 2,028.
74, Johnathan Bower, Middletown, Pa., 2,027.
75, Joe Paluszek, Bensalem, Pa., 2,021.
76, Brett Spangler, Niles, Ohio, 1,998.
77, Carmen Salvino, Schaumburg, Ill., 1,942.
300 Games: Michael Machuga, Tom Hess, Tom Daugherty.

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