6
- September 2016
SERVING THE BOWLING INDUSTRY SINCE 1967
Jason Belmonte Wins Back-to-Back
Best Bowler ESPY Awards
Australian two-hander earns third overall award during ceremo-
nies in Los Angeles
By Jerry Schneider
LOS ANGELES -
Jason Belmonte of Australia earned his sec-
ond consecutive and third overall Best Bowler ESPY Award
Wednesday evening during the 2016 ESPY Awards ceremonies
at the Microsoft Theater.
Belmonte, who won his first ESPY Award in 2011, was among
winners in a variety of sports and special moment categories that
were determined by fan voting. The winners were announced
during ABC-TV‟s live ESPY Awards telecast.
In 2015, Belmonte became the first international player to win
three consecutive Chris Schenkel PBA Player of the Year
awards. The two-handed star also became the first player to win
the USBC Masters in three consecutive years and he won his
second consecutive Barbasol PBA Tournament of Champions
title, becoming the first player to win both the Masters and TOC
in back-to-back seasons.
"I'm absolutely thrilled to win the ESPY again this year,” Bel-
monte said. “This award means so much to me because it's
voted by the people who I believe matter most in bowling, the
fans. My fans are a huge motivation in my game. I want to al-
ways give them my absolute best because it's what they de-
serve. I‟d like to thank everyone who voted, but more importantly,
thanks to all the fans for loving the sport of bowling.”
Also nominated in the Best Bowler category were PBA Player of
the Year contender Ryan Ciminelli of Cheektowaga, N.Y.; Swed-
ish two-handed star Jesper Svensson and Texan Anthony Si-
monsen, also a two-handed player.
Ciminelli won three titles in 2015 including the U.S. Open and
finished third in the PBA World Championship. Early in 2016 he
won the bowlingball.com Maine Shootout for his sixth career
PBA Tour title.
Svensson won two titles in 2015 on his way to earning PBA
Rookie of the Year honors and in 2016 won the FireLake PBA
Tournament of Champions to become the tournament‟s youngest
champion at age 21.
Simonsen became the youngest player ever to win a major when
he won the 2016 USBC Masters at age 19. He won his first title
with partner Connor Pickford in the Mark Roth/Marshall Holman
PBA Doubles Championship.
HISTORY OF ESPY BEST BOWLER AWARD WINNERS
2016 – Jason Belmonte
2015 – Jason Belmonte
2014 - Pete Weber
2013 – Pete Weber
2012 – Sean Rash
2011 – Jason Belmonte
2010 – Walter Ray Williams Jr.
2009 – Norm Duke
PBA Photo
Ronnie Russell To Make Team USA
Debut At 2016 Pabcon Adult
Championships
By
Matt Cannizzaro
ARLINGTON, Texas -
Ronnie Russell of Marion,
Indiana, has showed consistent improvement dur-
ing his professional bowling career and entered
the 2016 season with a streak of three consecu-
tive years with a Professional Bowlers Association
Tour title.
While he may be winless on the PBA Tour this
season, he started the calendar year with a
memorable milestone as he earned a berth on
Team USA for the first time.
The 36-year-old right-hander now will represent
the United States at the 2016 Pan American Bowl-
ing Confederation Adult Championships, which
runs from Sept. 12-23 at Bolera Departamental in
Cali, Colombia.
The men will bowl during the first half of the
event, with singles getting underway Monday. The
tournament also includes doubles, trios and team
competition, and medals will be awarded for all-
events. The top 16 all-events performers will ad-
vance to Masters match play.
"In November, I decided to try out for Team USA
because it's something I'd never done, since I had
so much going on with high school and college
baseball and then the PBA Tour," said Russell,
who finished eighth at the 2016 United States
Bowling Congress Team USA Trials and was se-
lected to the team based on his overall perform-
ance for the week. "Bowling always was my pas-
sion, but it wasn't my No. 1 until I was 21 or 22. To
bowl in a team event or be part of a team is spe-
cial, and to be able to bowl for your country is an
amazing opportunity."
Russell does have previous team bowling experi-
ence collected during a successful collegiate ca-
reer at Vincennes University, where he was a first-
team All-American, along with recent experience
competing in the PBA League.
He also is comfortable on the international stage
as a two-time European Bowling Tour champion.
His first PBA national title came at the Brunswick
Euro Challenge in Munich during the 2012-2013
season.
But, there's something different about taking the
lanes with Team USA across your back. "It's an
honor to be a part of the team, and it will be
stressful out there, but it will be a fun kind of
stress," Russell said. "When you're bowling with
and for a team, the rewards are that much more
special, and the pride of being out there represent-
ing all of the bowlers at home is hard to describe."
Joining Russell on the lanes will be an experi-
enced group looking to carry on Team USA's
dominance at the PABCON Championships, which
includes winning more than 250 total medals.
The team includes Marshall Kent of Yakima,
Washington, John Szczerbinski of North Tona-
wanda, New York, AJ Chapman of Manchester,
Iowa, Rob Gotchall of Clarksville, Tennessee, and
longtime Team USA member Sean Rash of Mont-
gomery, Illinois.
A few members of the team are coming off a
successful run at the PBA Fall Swing in the Detroit
area. Szczerbinski and Rash both made TV ap-
pearances in the special event that featured four
tournaments in one exciting week.
The Team USA women will head to Cali next
week, with competition getting underway Sept. 19.
The team will include veterans Shannon O'Keefe
of O'Fallon, Illinois, and Shannon Pluhowsky of
Dayton, Ohio, Missy Parkin of Laguna Hills, CA,
Josie Earnest of Nashville, Tennessee, Danielle
McEwan of Stony Point, New York, and Bryanna
Cote of Red Rock, Arizona.
For the 2016 PABCON Adult Championships,
USBC Gold coach Bryan O'Keefe will coach Team
USA, while PBA champion and longtime Team
USA member Chris Barnes will serve as assistant
coach for the event.
"I'm definitely a little bit nervous, but I'm also
really excited to see what this team can do," Bryan
O'Keefe said. "It's a nice mix of experienced play-
ers and some younger bowlers who have an op-
portunity to learn a lot and show what they're ca-
pable of on this stage."
The tournament will feature more than a dozen
countries, with more on the line than just gold
medals.
The top eight men's teams and top eight
women's teams will qualify for the combined 2017
World Championships in Kuwait. The top two
countries will qualify for the World Games, which
is held every fourth year and next will be contested
in Wroclaw, Poland, in July 2017.
2016 U.S. Open Features $100,000 Added To Prize Fund
ARLINGTON, Texas -
The U.S. Open traditionally provides one of the more challenging, but reward-
ing, formats in bowling, and competitors at the 2016 edition will compete for one of the most lucrative
prize funds in the sport today.
The 2016 U.S. Open will take place at the South Point Bowling Plaza in Las Vegas, a premier facility
for tournament bowling, from Nov. 3-9, and the event is expected to attract more than 250 bowlers from
across the globe.
Competitors will bowl for a prize fund expected to exceed $226,000, which includes $100,000 in
added money. Based on 252 entries, the top prize will be $30,000. The 24 bowlers who advance to
match play will receive a minimum of $3,200, while the last cash spot in the tournament will earn a
minimum of $1,000.
The stepladder finals of the event will be televised live on CBS Sports Network on Nov. 9 at 8 p.m.
Eastern. "We are excited about the upcoming U.S. Open and the opportunity to carry on its great tradi-
tion," United States Bowling Congress Executive Director Chad Murphy said. "The challenging lane
conditions and extended format have made the U.S. Open a favorite event for competitors and fans.
Additionally, we want to make sure the prize fund is representative of a major championship from top to
bottom."
