NM-TX DOUBLES

champs Cliff Byer & Jordan Spam; Geoffrey Young &Trevor MacPhee

      A championship team defended its title, while another Byer finally got himself in the winners circle, to highlight action at the JBT NM-TX Doubles Classic, hosted by Tenpins & More.

     Matt Jones and JD Nance, big Florida and FSU fans respectively, somehow overcame their differences to team up, then opened up the scratch division Baker-format stepladder final with a 226-208 win over Nathan Shock and JD's girlfriend Nicole Banks.    Jones and Nance then squeaked by in a classic against Matt and Dennis Helmick, thanks to JD's tenth frame double, 242-236.  In the semifinal, the 5 and 19-time titlists rolled on with a 236-216 win over Rob Petrie and William Entsminger, who despite making his 6th finals in 7 events this season, still finds himself winless.

    Top seeds Geoffrey Young and Trevor MacPhee won this event last season, and Young has gone on to national superstardom as both Junior Gold and 2-time Teen Masters champ.  He and Trevor both showed the confidence that earned them the top seed in the title game, and their 257-218 win gave them their 5th and 2nd JBT titles respectively.

      Janeyl Carper and Dana Miller-Mackie, who have bowled in each of this event's nine years of existence (and won it back in 2001), opened the handicap stepladder with a 259-183 win over Tim Crites and Sabrina Vargas.  Marcos Armijo and Marcus Medina then beat Dana and Janeyl 187-158, and followed with a 224-188 win over Maisie Martinez and Al Booker, to reach the title match.

    Top seeds Jordan Spam and Cliff Byer took over the lead in game five, and while Jordan is already a proven JBT champ, Cliff was looking to break into the winner's circle after many close calls in our doubles events, most with his son Andy.  This match came down to the wire, with Medina needing to double in the tenth for the win, but he was denied on his first ball, and Cliff and Jordan celebrated the first and third titles of their JBT careers.

   Big thanks to Steve Mackie and the whole crew at Tenpins for another great job hosting our Tour.  The sold-out field shared in $2,200 in scholarships awarded to juniors of all ages and averages.  Want in on the fun?  Come on down to thenext JBT event, it's as simple as that!