Stillorgan Kegel Challenge Singles-Week One

1. Darragh McLoughlin (HCP 9): 182  179  241  248: 850+36  Total: 886
2. Craig Farr (HCP 20): 215   134   244   183:   776+80   Total: 856 
3. Hannah Cullen (HCP 9): 205   193   220   187:   805+36   Total: 841   
4. Janis Stepitis (HCP 32): 149   222   158   183:   712+128   Total: 840
5. Ray Cullen (HCP 38):  140   181   180   144:    645+152   Total: 797
6. Dave English (HCP 8): 174   189   209   192:   764+32   Total: 796
7. Philip Kavanagh (HCP 32): 149  147  168  124: 588+128 Total: 716
8. Jason Byrnes (HCP 12): 147  177  138  196: 658+48: Total 706

                    

National Championships 2012

Irish Tenpin Bowling National Championships

Paul Stott in control after opening weekend

Paul Stott holds a commanding 120-pin lead after the first weekend of the tenpin bowling National Championships.

In the women’s section, defending champion Hannah Cullen holds a more slender 20-pin lead.

The event, being held in Leisureplex Stillorgan, runs over two consecutive weekends, with coompetitors taking part in singles, doubles, trios and five-man competition with the aim of making the final all Events round and ultimately become Irish National Champion.

The winner also gets to represent Ireland in the European Champions Cup later in the year. That event will be held in The Hague in Holland in 2012.

Singles

Stott put on a classy performance in the singles event on Saturday morning, shooting a 237 average for five games while others struggled around him on the tricky oil condition.

Closest to Stott was Barry Foley, who scored a 209 average, with Simon English in close pursuit in third with a 208 average.

Simon’s father Dave English had to settle for fourth, just outside the medal positions, while defending champion Alan Bride finished up in fifth.

The top eight was completed by Darryl Egan, Ray Byrne and Fran Puzzouli.

Overall scoring was fairly low on an unfamiliar oil pattern, with only eight men averaging 200 or better.

In the women’s section, defending champion Hannah Cullen showed she will not give up her title lightly, taking the gold with a 207 average.

Yvonne Randell took the silver medal with a 186 average, while the bronze medal went to Sarah Finlay with a 183 average.

Amanda Larkin, Caitriona Mulhall and Aimee Kellegher rounded off the top six spots, the number of competitors who will make the women’s final next weekend.

Doubles

Dave English and Sean McDonnell took gold in the men’s doubles on Sunday morning, pipping Paul Stott and Stephen O’Connor by 15 pins over the four games.

Barry Foley, who shot an impressive 955 for his four games, and Brendan Brady finished in the bronze medal position, closely followed by Darragh McLoughlin and Alan Bride.

There was then nearly a 100-pin drop down to fifth position, taken by Kevin Fitzgerald and Jason Byrnes, and sixth spot, taken by Karl Dryer and Haulie Storan.

In the ladies section, gold went to Sara Kelly and Aimee Kellegher, silver to Caitriona Mulhall and Hannah Cullen, and bronze to Elaine Lalor and Carol Cathpole.

Just outside the medals were Catherine Doherty and Sarah Finlay, although there was some consolation for Finlay who shot 907 for her four games and shot up the overall standings table. She was bettered only by Kellegher, who shot 909.

All Events

Stott has a significant 120-pin lead in the men’s section, with Barry Foley currently second and Dave English 58 pins further back.

The top eight qualifying positions are currently rounded off by Alan Bride, Simon English, Paul Chandler, Darryl Egan and Kevin Fitzgerald, but with two events still to play next weekend it could still all change come next Sunday.

Hannah Cullen leads the way in the women’s section, with a 19-pin lead over Sarah Finlay. Aimee Kellegher is third, 44 pins further back. The other three qualifying positions in the women’s section are currently held by Carol Catchpole, Yvonne Randell and Caitriona Mulhall.

For all the action from the final weekend of the tenpin bowling National Championships, and to find out who will be crowned Irish National Champions, make sure to follow Bowltalk’s coverage of the event next weekend, and for full results log on to www.tenpin-ireland.com

Irish Open 2012 Review

American Brian Voss showed his experience and class to win the 2012 Irish Open Championships this past weekend and claim the €3,500 first prize.

The 25-time winner on the PBA Tour took complete control of the round robin final on Sunday to overtake number one qualifier, England’s Matt Hann, who eventually fell back to finish fourth.

England’s Steve Kay continued his good form after his perfect 300 game in the round of 32 to finish in second place, with the highest placed Irishman being Alan Gibbons in third. The other Irishman to make the top 8 final, Paul Stott, finished up in sixth place, but Stott will still remember the event fondly after he shot an Irish record 1114 pins for just four games in round one, which included a 298

In the women’s section, England’s Hayley White pipped Irish champion Hannah Cullen to first place by just 19 pins. White was the only woman to bowl a perfect 300 game in the tournament, and she had to use all her nerve to hold off a strong challenge from Cullen. Scotland’s former champion Laura Rhoney finished third, with Ireland’s two-time winner Kerena Dykes, Amanda McDermott and Aimee Kellegher finishing sixth, seventh and eighth respectively.

The event will be remembered for its incredibly high standard of scoring, with seven perfect 300 games bowled over the four days of play, and a qualifying average for the second round (top 64) of 206, and the top 32 qualifying average of a remarkable 217.  

Next year is bound to see the standard only improve again as more and more top bowlers make their way to the event, which will once again be sponsored by Columbia 300, one of the biggest companies in the world of tenpin bowling. And with the 2013 championships coinciding with the 50^th anniversary of tenpin bowling in Ireland, it certainly looks like onwards and upwards for Irish bowling.

24th Irish Open Championships

The 24^th Irish Open Tenpin Bowling Championships take place in Leisureplex Stillorgan this weekend, with a record number of bowlers making the trip from across the country and the world.

The championships are hosted in Stillorgan each year, but this year’s impressive entry can be put down to the introduction of a new top-of-the-range oiling machine which the centre purchased towards the end of 2011. The new machine allows the centre to create conditions which can match the European and American bowling tours, which has almost certainly caused the influx of entries from abroad.

The tournament has a history of attracting the world’s top bowlers, with previous winners ranging from EBT legends Tomas Leanderson and Tore Torgersen to Europe’s newest world star, England’s Dominic Barrett, who has won the tournament in three of the last four years.

There has never been an Irish male winner in the event, something that many of our bowlers are desperate to amend. And there is a glimmer of hope for the locals, with the dominant Barrett not making the trip to defend his 2011 title due to other commitments. Irish men have gone close before, no more so than Alan Gibbons’ runner-up finish last year. He will be looking to go one better when the action kicks off on Thursday January 19^th. Others to watch out for locally are Irish Champion Alan Bride and regular finalist Graham Turner. There are plenty of other contenders, including young talent such as Simon English and EBT winner this year Paul Stott. All-in-all there is reason for optimism going into the event. 

On the women’s side we have had some recent success, with Kerena Dykes winning in 2007 and again in 2009. Similar to the men’s section, the reigning female champion, Australia’s Cassie Staudinger, is not returning to defend her title this year.  Dykes will not be the only female hope for Ireland going into the event, either. Irish champion Hannah Cullen will certainly be hoping to go all the way this year, and others such as Caitriona Mulhall could also use international experience to her advantage when the pressure is on this weekend.

Overall 2012 is an exciting year for the Irish Open Championships, with the tournament being sponsored by American giants Columbia 300. Columbia are one of the biggest names in tenpin bowling, making equipment brands such as Ebonite and Hammer, along with their own signature equipment. The involvement of such a prestigious company has added some real credibility to an event which is already steeped in history, and the strength of the field making the trip from overseas backs this up. Former champion Tore  Torgersen is returning for the first time in several years to an event he has always excelled in, and former PBA American Tour bowler Brian Voss is making the long journey from the States to make his first appearance in the tournament.

To have a big name from the United States coming to the event speaks volumes for the reputation which this event has built up over the years, especially when you consider how small of a following tenpin bowling has at a competitive level in this country. It is the biggest event on the tenpin bowling calendar, and it always provides some world class action over the course of the weekend.

The event begins with the first squad at 14:30 on Thursday, January 19^th, and runs all weekend to the 8-player round robin finals on the Sunday afternoon. If you are involved in tenpin bowling, or whether you simply are interested in coming down for a taste of the electric atmosphere, this one is not to be missed.

Phil Hulst becomes the new face of DV8 Bowling

21-year-old Dutch bowler Phil Hulst has become the latest staff player for DV8 Bowling, the brand introduced this year Valcke services.

"With DV8 I want to do the best I can," Phil says. Phil sowed his intentions by bowling a perfect game with the DV8 Misfit on October 9th in his first appearance as a DV8 staff member.

Phil, who will be known to many bowlers in Ireland from his appearances in the Irish open and the Junior Irish Open in recent years,  has joined Gery Verbruggen, Wendy Kok, Nicole Sanders and Thierry Sacco on the DV8 team.

YAC Triple Crown Livingston 2011-Men's Section

All Events      Country Singles  Doubles Trios  T/MD  Total    Average

1	Sam Rose	Eng	1331	628	697	607	3263	217.53
2	Elliot Crosby	Eng	1295	638	650	674	3257	217.13
3	Paul Green	Wal	1279	617	701	645	3242	216.13
4	Jason Byrnes	Ire	1322	683	642	513	3160	210.67
5	Richard Teece	Eng	1232	602	626	624	3084	205.60
6	Kristian McWilliams	Sco	1090	670	662	656	3078	205.20
7	Tom Turner	Eng	1250	691	585	550	3076	205.07
8	Shane Hendrick	Ire	1168	617	677	607	3069	204.60
9	Chris Standell	Eng	1216	565	643	606	3030	202.00
10	Jamie Cunningham	Wal	1199	621	661	548	3029	201.93
11	Christopher Lam	Eng	1182	584	617	645	3028	201.87
12	Gary Redpath	Sco	1258	540	673	543	3014	200.93
13	James Footner	Wal	1192	641	599	572	3004	200.27
14	Stuart Snedden	Sco	1227	632	603	529	2991	199.40
15	Martin Williamson	Sco	1269	614	571	529	2983	198.87
16	Mark Tunnicliffe	Wal	1180	595	603	594	2972	198.13
17	Gareth Shannon	Ire	1264	617	573	508	2962	197.47
18	Lyndon Walters	Wal	1096	638	656	568	2958	197.20
19	Matt Southwell	Gsy	1126	614	592	593	2925	195.00
20	Derek O'Reilly	Ire	1198	562	480	632	2872	191.47
21	Brian Gillespie	Sco	1108	600	542	571	2821	188.07
22	Alan Johns	Gsy	1153	527	561	550	2791	186.07
23	Steven Reid	Sco	1096	513	582	599	2790	186.00
24	Alex Fairclough	Wal	1075	521	613	564	2773	184.87
25	David Noonan	Ire	1148	563	526	530	2767	184.47
26	Josh Harvey	Gsy	967	600	579	607	2753	183.53
27	Karl Doherty	Ire	1119	533	569	520	2741	182.73
28	John Gauvain	Gsy	1085	534	522	551	2692	179.47
29	Glen Mauger	Gsy	1131	460	446	579	2616	174.40
30	Robin Johns	Gsy	968	559	484	592	2603	173.53

YAC Triple Crown Livingston 2011-Ladies Section

1	All Events  Autum    Chamberlain	Eng	1295	573	642	669	3179	211.93
2	Danni Hopcroft	Eng	1260	677	580	629	3146	209.73
3	Katrina MacIver	Eng	1193	625	625	653	3096	206.40
4	Cherise Denham	Eng	1183	693	640	573	3089	205.93
5	Aimee Kellegher	Ire	1204	572	640	608	3024	201.60
6	Rebekah Hamlet	Eng	1166	680	582	528	2956	197.07
7	Katherine Wallace	Sco	1159	586	497	621	2863	190.87
8	Stephanie Fisher	Sco	1127	585	567	518	2797	186.47
9	Zara Yusaf	Sco	1065	580	558	586	2789	185.93
10	Stephanie Cleary	Ire	1067	548	582	583	2780	185.33
11	Tania Yusaf	Sco	1171	555	572	472	2770	184.67
12	Sara Kelly	Ire	1137	530	558	484	2709	180.60
13	Holly Fleming	Sco	1227	479	492	510	2708	180.53
14	Sarah Overall	Eng	1043	526	543	492	2604	173.60
15	Niamh Haughton	Ire	1034	556	488	506	2584	172.27
16	Hazel Morrison	Sco	930	590	475	526	2521	168.07
17	Olivia Flavin	Ire	955	509	467	480	2411	160.73
18	Jaye Kinsella	Ire	807	397	446	465	2115	141.00