MOJAVE DOUBLES at Strike Zone, Sunset Station

champions Kris George, Jeff Hemer, Ruby Jim, and Zach Hattori (l-r)

George, Hemer, Jim, Hattori Capture JBT SW Mojave Doubles Titles

   Four bowlers captured titles in the JBT SW's popular and exciting Mojave Doubles Classic, held at the beautiful new Strike Zone Bowling Center inside Henderson's Sunset Station Casino.

   In the scratch division, 40 teams including many of Las Vegas' best adult bowlers who took time out to bowl with our juniors, were whittled down to five for the alternating-frame stepladder finals.  In an all-Arizona round one, the teams of Kris George and Jeff Hemer and Brandon Watts and Ron Roberst both started with the first four strikes, but George and Hemer had the better finish for a 235-222 win.  

    In a much lower scoring round two, Kris and Jeff held off a late charge to get by Andy Reynoso and Sakae Watanabe 180-164.  The semifinal match was another classic Doubles thriller against Alyssa Madrid and female superstar Wendy MacPherson.  After George filled 20 pins in the tenth, Madrid lost count with a 7-spare in her tenth, then regrouped for a perfect strike on the fill ball to tie the match at 203.  Both junior bowlers were elected to bowl the one-shot rolloff, and George came up clutch with a strike on his first shot. Needing to match the strike to force another rolloff, Madrid threw another absolutely beautiful shot, but a solid-8 stood, giving the stunned George and Hemer team a trip to the title match.

   The final against top seeds JBT superstar Nathan Panaligan and his partner Brian Alexander was close all the way with neither team able to pull away.  Kris spared a 10-pin in the tenth, forcing a double from the opponents.  Brian stepped up and threw a beautiful shot, but a 7-pin stood, giving George and Hemer the 207-202 win and the title. Kris earned $300 for the win, the 9th of his JBT career.  He also becomes only the third bowler in JBT SW history to win two titles in one weekend, having won in San Diego the day before.

   In the handicap division stepladder, two junior-junior combos battled in round one, with Julianne Nosz and Jenna Graydon getting by Jordan Ferrer and Ray Griffith 213-199.  A thrilling round two saw Ruby Jim and Zach Hattori escape by Julianne and Jenna in a squeaker, 214-213.  It didn't get any easier against the father and son team of Ryan and Robert Yadao, but Jim and Hattori again had just enough to win 203-193, advancing to the title match.

  The top seeded team of Brandon Dauphinais and Paul Cardinale had led comfortably after qualifying, with Brandon making an impressive season debut after a great 04-05 campaign.  The title match was a nip-and-tuck affair, with each team fighting hard for their first wins.  After Cardinale filled twenty in his team's tenth, Ruby was forced to get double-nine for the win.  After throwing a fantastic clutch double, an unfortunate ball return delay gave her a few minutes to think about the fill ball.  When the lane was fixed, Jim took her time and threw a great shot for a 9-count, giving her team a 207-206 win, good for her and Zach's first JBT SW titles, and $300 in scholarships for Hattori.

  Every junior who finished in the top 5 qualifies for the 2006 JBT SW Mojave Invitational Tournament, the regular season's year end event, featuring a guaranteed minimum $1,000 first place scholarship in each division.  Top season-long point scorers also qualify for the 2006 JBT SW Touring Players' Championship, featuring a guaranteed minimum $2,000 first place scholarship per division! 

  Thanks to Mr. Dick Peters and everyone at Strike Zone for an awesome job hosting this event. 95 entrants shared in over $3,400 in cash and scholarships awarded.  Please continue to help spread the word about the terrific benefits of bowling JBT SW events!