34
- October 2017
United States Men Win Doubles At
2017 World Senior Championships
By
Matt Cannizzaro
United States Bowling Congress Hall of Famer Parker
Bohn III of Jackson, New Jersey, and Bob Learn Jr. of
Erie, Pennsylvania, both threw three strikes in their final
frames to claim the doubles gold medal Friday at
the
n
Germany.
The duo downed their Team USA teammates, USBC
Hall of Famer Lennie Boresch Jr. of Kenosha, Wiscon-
sin, and Ron Mohr of North Las Vegas, Nevada, 439-
427, at Dream-Bowl Palace, just outside Munich. Bor-
esch and Mohr earned the silver medal
Bohn and Learn held a two-pin lead as the anchor
bowlers stepped up to close out the match. Learn, who
was working on a strike, struck for the first time on the
right lane to extend the margin and force Mohr to match
his effort for a chance at the victory.
Mohr left a 4 pin on his second offering after a strike
to start the 10th frame, and Learn added another strike
to lock up the gold medal, the first of Bohn's interna-
tional career.
Bohn led the way in the championship match with a
233 effort, while Learn finished with 206. Boresch had
234 in the loss, and Mohr added 193.
"This is an unbelievable feeling, and when Bob threw
the second strike in the 10th to clinch it for us, I can't
tell you how gratifying it was to see all 10 pins go down
to win us the gold medal," said Bohn, who was a mem-
ber of Team USA in 2008. "It has been a dream of
mine to stand on the podium and hear our national an-
them, either because of something I did or because of
something I was a part of. I've won a lot of things in the
bowling world, but this is on a whole different level."
The win was the second for Learn at the World Senior
Championships. He helped the United States to the
team gold medal at the 2015 event in Las Vegas.
"I knew I had control of the pocket on that lane, but we
could not win unless I was able to throw a strike," Learn
said. "I moved a half board and got my hand around it a
little more to get the ball to finish. As soon as I let go of
it, I knew it was good, and it's a great feeling because
that's what we practice for. I have a partner who set up
the 10th for us, and it's always a great feeling to seal
the deal with a great shot. When shots matter that
much, and you're able to perform, that's what it's all
about."
Both men's teams from the United States advanced to
the doubles final relatively unchallenged.
Learn (222) and Bohn (173) defeated Canada's Rich-
ard Lafleur (177) and Joe Ciach (157) in the first semifi-
nal, 395-334, while Boresch (202) and Mohr (200)
eased past Australia's Shaun Cummings (182) and
Andrew Frawley (139) by a final score of 402-321.
On the women's side, USBC Hall of Famers Leanne
Hulsenberg of Pleasant View, Utah, and Tish Johnson
of Colorado Springs, Colorado, came up short in the
bid for the sweep, falling to Canada's France Joubert
and Jill Friis, 401-390.
Hulsenberg was looking to celebrate her 50th birthday
with the doubles gold medal, while Johnson was
searching for some redemption after struggling during
the qualifying portion of the event.
The two led by 22 pins heading into the 10th frame of
the final, but Hulsenberg (196) was unable to convert
the 4-10 split, and Johnson (194) failed to strike, giving
the Canadians the opportunity to take the gold.
Friis hadn't struck through the first eight frames but
was able to close the match with four strikes for a 195
game. Joubert, who tossed four consecutive strikes
after starting the gold-medal match with a 1-2-4-10
washout, contributed a 206 game to the winning per-
formance.
"We got really, really close to having a chance to win
the gold medal, but a couple of bad breaks stopped us
in the match with Canada," Hulsenberg said. "It's a little
disappointing but still a lot of fun to compete on your
birthday.
Johnson (249) and Hulsenberg (221) earned their
spot in the final with a 470-343 win over Mexico's
Teresa Piccini (176) and Margarita Ramos (167).
In the other semifinal, Friis (213) and Joubert (203)
topped Lynda Barnes (185) and Carolyn Dorin-Ballard
(175) by a final score of 416-360.
At the halfway point on the men's side, Mexico leads
with a 2,437 total, the United States is second with
2,433, Belgium is third with 2,410 and Canada is fourth
with 2,406.
Learn set the pace for the USA men with a 631 series.
He was followed by Boresch (611), Bohn (602) and
Mohr (589).
On the women's side, the United States is out to a
commanding lead with a 2,489 total.
Hulsenberg led the way with a 649 series and was
followed by Johnson (636), Dorin-Ballard (614) and
Barnes (590).
Sweden is second with 2,307, Canada is third with
2,234 and Australia is fourth with 2,181.
Editor’s Note: Due to space limitations in the last issue
this article was held over for this issue. Our bowlers
represented the USA with honor and it is never to late
to share that. Great bowling!
PBA50 Tour Veteran Ted Staikoff
Named 2017 PBA50 Dick Weber
Sportsmanship Award Winner
by Jerry Schneider
Ted Staikoff of Black Hawk, S.D., a competitor on
the PBA50 Tour for 20 seasons, was selected by his
fellow competitors as the
winner of the 2017 PBA50
Dick Weber Sportsman-
ship Award.
―When John (PBA50
Tour Director John We-
ber) called to tell me I won
the award, I said, are you
kidding?,‖ a surprised
Staikoff said. ―It’s quite an
honor to receive an award
with that name on it—
probably the top honor of my career.‖
Staikoff, who will turn 70 in November, is still com-
petitive on the tour for players 50 and older. In 2017,
he had a best finish of 11th in the Suncoast PBA
Senior U.S. Open, matching his previous best finish
in a major (2007 Senior U.S. Open). His career-best
finish overall is fourth which he accomplished twice
in 2004.
―I feel like I’m bowling better now than when I was
younger,‖ said Staikoff, who is a retired lieutenant
colonel in the South Dakota Army National Guard.
―What makes it special for me is to see the great
young bowlers – or young-old bowlers as I call them
– come out to bowl on the senior tour and then have
the opportunity to bowl against them.‖
Staikoff got off to a slow start this season with fin-
ishes of 110th and 130th in the first two tournaments
but thanks to some help from fellow competitors Bob
Learn Jr. and Tom Carter, was able to turn his sea-
son around.
―Another thing that makes it so enjoyable to bowl
out here is the help you get from the other guys,‖ he
said.
―Bob and Tom noticed that I needed to get the ball
down on the lane sooner and stop muscling the ball.
They found a problem with my arm swing and
worked with me to correct it, and as a result I had
some better finishes later in the season.‖
In addition to his 11th-place Senior U.S. Open fin-
ish, Staikoff also finished 14th in the PBA50 South
Shore Open in Hammond, Ind. He also finished 11th
in the Super Senior Classic for players 60 and older.
―As long as I’m competitive I’ll keep going,‖ said the
two-time PBA50 regional winner. ―It’s an opportunity
to bowl against some great bowlers and make a lot
of friends along the way and you can’t ask for much
more than that.‖
The Dick Weber Sportsmanship Award is named
after the late PBA Hall of Fame legend, who won 30
PBA Tour and six PBA50 Tour titles among his many
accomplishments in the sport.
