August 2015 -
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TOURNAMENTS
Monacelli Wins 2015 USBC
Senior Masters
By
Matt Cannizzaro
GREEN BAY, Wis. -
Amleto Monacelli of Aventura, Flor-
ida, capped off a week of throwing big shots when he
needed them by delivering a strike in his final frame to claim
the 2015 United States Bowling Congress Senior Masters
title Sunday at The Ashwaubenon Bowling Alley.
The USBC and Professional Bowlers Association Hall of
Famer defeated top seed Pete Weber of St. Ann, Missouri,
twice - 192-190 and 254-243 - for his third PBA50 major
victory and fourth title overall.
Monacelli earned $16,000 for the win, while Weber took
home $8,000 as the runner-up.
Weber, 52, had a chance to lock up his second USBC Sen-
ior Masters title in three appearances with a double in the
10th frame, but a 7-10 split gave Monacelli a chance to mark
for the win.
A format change for the 2015 tournament meant the event
would feature a true double-elimination format and Weber
would have to be defeated twice to deny him from becoming
the sixth two-time Senior Masters champion.
"To beat Pete Weber twice for the title, especially with the
way he bowled all week, was incredible," said Monacelli, a
53-year-old right-hander, who won the Senior U.S. Open in
2012 and 2013. "Two times this week I was close to not
making it through, but I knew I was bowling well and just
needed to stay strong mentally. I did that, and I was able to
fight my way back."
A missed 10 pin to finish his fourth match in the winners
bracket sent Monacelli to the elimination bracket, where
both of his opponents forced him to double in the 10th
frame. He escaped with two- and three-pin victories, to earn
a spot in the four-player shootout round, where he used a
300 game to propel him to the No. 3 seed for the stepladder.
"When I shot the 300, I felt like I had a good cushion to get
there, and I was able to keep up with the changes and make
it," said Monacelli, who also owns 19 PBA Tour titles. "This
was an incredible week against a very talented field, espe-
cially today on the show, and to come out on top is amaz-
ing."
In the first game of the title tilt, Monacelli took the lead with
a strike in the ninth frame and was able to hold on to force a
second game, despite leaving, and failing to
convert, a 4-6-7 split in the final frame. Weber,
who finished first, left a 4-9 split in the 10th
frame and missed both pins on the spare at-
tempt.
Weber, who has 37 PBA Tour victories, in-
cluding 10 majors, and four PBA50 wins, in-
cluding the Suncoast Senior U.S. Open in
June, led all three rounds of qualifying and
compiled a 6-0 record in match play to claim
the No. 1 seed for the finals.
On the way to the championship match Mona-
celli struck six times in his first seven frames
against No. 2 qualifier Brian Voss of Centen-
nial, Colorado, and cruised to a 238-204 vic-
tory. Voss finished third and pocketed $6,000.
Monacelli's first match against Rick Steels-
mith of Wichita, Kansas, wasn't as smooth, as
both players left three frames open. An eighth-frame ball
change on the right lane helped Monacelli sandwich three
consecutive strikes between a pair of splits, which proved to
be enough to escape with a 179-173 win over the 1987
USBC Masters champion.
In the opening match Sunday, Steelsmith used a pair of
doubles to outlast defending champion Walter Ray Williams
Jr. of Oxford, Florida, 217-186.
Williams never found any momentum, and a 4-6-7 split in
the 10th frame ended his chances of becoming the first back
-to-back winner at the Senior Masters since Tom Baker of
King, North Carolina, in 2007, and first bowler to win the
Masters (2004 and 2010) and Senior Masters twice.
All 194 competitors at the 2015 Senior Masters, open to
USBC members age 50 and older, rolled 15 qualifying
games over three days before the field was cut to the top
63, who joined Williams in match play.
The Senior Masters was the first of three USBC tourna-
ments that will take place in Green Bay in the coming week.
Bowlers competed for a total prize fund nearly $115,000.
The Senior Masters will be followed by the International
Training and Research Center Super Senior Classic, the
premier event for USBC members age 60 and older, and the
USBC Senior Championships, which will bring bowlers from
across the United States and Canada.
For more information about the Senior Masters and the
upcoming events, visit BOWL.com. To watch the Senior
Masters and Super Senior Classic live, visit YouTube.com/
BowlTV.
2015 USBC SENIOR MASTERS
At The Ashwaubenon Bowling Alley, Green Bay, WI
Sunday's Results
Final standings
1, Amleto Monacelli, Aventura, Fla., 863 (four games), $16,000
2, Pete Weber, St. Ann, Missouri, 433 (two games), $8,000
3, Brian Voss, Centennial, Colo., 204 (one game), $6,000
4, Rick Steelsmith, Wichita, Kan., 390 (two games), $4,000
5, Walter Ray Williams Jr., Oxford, Fla., 186 (one game), $3,000
Stepladder results
Match One -
Steelsmith def. Williams, 217-186
Match Two -
Monacelli def. Steelsmith, 179-173
Semifinal -
Monacelli def. Voss, 238-204
Championship -
Monacelli def. Weber, 192-190 (second match
needed). Monacelli def. Weber, 254-243
Weber top qualifier at 2015
USBC Senior Masters
Continued on page 28
