AZ DOUBLES

scratch champs JD Nance & Andy Byer; Kaizen's Diandra Asbaty; handicap champs Natalie Mounier & Nick Powanda

A sold-out crowd saw some terrific JBT Doubles action, and watched a current star, a JBT alum, a newcomer, and a veteran all pick up titles in Arizona Conference action at AMF Christown, sponsored by Kaizen by Dianda Sportswear. 

The handicap stepladder finals, in which teammates combined to form one game, opened with the father-daughter team of Kaitlin and Bill Mayall defeating the perenially tough team of Amy Hammann and Eugene Robinson 193-177.  Nick Powanda and Natalie Mounier then defeated the Mayalls 198-184.  In a nailbiting semifinal, Powanda converted a washout in the tenth frame to propel his team to a 196-190 defeat of Kyle Frederick and Chris Klerk, advancing to the title match.

Top-seeded Courtney Dutton and Joey Longo were involved in a close match with Powanda and Mounier when, in the eighth frame with a strike up, Natalie, bowling in her first JBT ever, missed the head pin way left, turned away, then heard the crowd go nuts when the 6-3-1 fell backwards for a double that completely changed the match.  Nick and Natalie won the game 209-180, good for Nick's second JBT title and Natalie's first.

Seven games weren't enough to determine the top 5 in the scratch division, so a rolloff was contested that Kevin Valmonte and Danielle Schilling won over Philip Tanvas and Brian Makan to reach the finals.  Kevin and Danielle couldn't keep the momentum going though, as BJ Baker and Justin Reinfried defeated them 196-188 in round one of the finals.

In match two, Kris George and John Conaway edged Baker and Reinfried 197-174, but were quickly stopped in the semifinals by the tough New Mexican pair of JD Nance and Andy Byer, 245-181, advancing JD and Andy to the title match.

Top seeds Theo Douthit and Rhino Page put up the best 7-game doubles score (+616) in JBT history, but found themselves up against another very talented team in Byer (a 13-time JBT winner) and Nance (17 wins during his JBT career).  After an opening spare, JD and Andy ran off nine in a row for a 279-237 victory.  Douthit was partially consoled with a huge bracket haul that made him the high scholarship winner for the day with $630.

Women's superstar Diandra Asbaty, a huge supporter of our sport, was in attendance to promote her Kaizen By Diandra sportswear line.  Look for JBT bowlers wearing Kaizen gear, and check out their website at www.kaizenbydiandra.com to see the whole line!

Speaking of scholarships, a whopping $4,545 was awarded to the 120-team field, combined with $1395 in adult brackets for a huge $5,940 prize fund on the day.   Every junior who finished in the top 5 qualifies for the 2007 JBT Arizona 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 2007 JBT Touring Players' Championship, featuring a guaranteed minimum $2,000 first place scholarship per division! 

Big thanks to Pat Cook and everyone at AMF Christown for their usual terrific job hosting our events.  Want in on the fun?  Come on out to the next JBT event, it's as simple as that!