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Bowling News USA - February 11, 2012 Josh Blanchard, Bryon Smith Storm To PBA Regional Players Doubles Championship

 

Professional Bowlers Association Tour rookie Josh Blanchard and 2003 United States Bowling Congress Masters champion Bryon Smith teamed up to win the PBA Regional Players Doubles Championship  at The Orleans Bowling Center.

Smith used the new Storm Crossroad™ and Blanchard used a Marvel and Victory Road™ Pearl.

With the win, both bowlers earn an Elite Round berth in the PBA Tournament of Champions April 8-15 at Red Rock Lanes in Las Vegas.

Blanchard, of Gilbert, Ariz., and Smith of Roseburg, Ore., had a 4-4 match play record and combined for a 5,629 16-game overall pinfall total which included match play bonus pins.  Finishing second 115 pins behind were Andrew Loose of Chicago and Michael Steil of Wheeling, Ill. with 5,514.

Blanchard has been on the comeback trail after taking a hard fall during a delivery in a PBA World Championship Mike Aulby Division final match. But not long after that misfortune, he finished third in the PBA Cheetah Open presented by Ebonite in Orange County, Calif., in January.

“It feels good to be back on a positive note,” said Blanchard. “I knew the fall at the World Championship was just something I was going to have to shake off.  I never felt it was going to be something that I couldn’t come back from.”

Both players were looking for a partner to compete in the RPC doubles when their paths crossed at the World Series of Bowling in November.

“Whenever you’re in a team or doubles format you want a player who matches up with your game,” Smith said. “Josh and I are very compatible because we play similar angles and throw the ball with a similar roll. It made it very easy for us to read the lanes and make the adjustments we needed to make.”

Competition included an eight-game qualifying round after which the top eight teams advanced to an eight-game Baker format doubles match play round.

PBA REGIONAL PLAYERS DOUBLES CHAMPIONSHIP
The Orleans Bowling Center, Las Vegas, Saturday

FINAL RESULTS
(After 16 games. Match play record, total pins with bonus and prize money.)

1, Josh Blanchard, Gilbert, Ariz./Bryon Smith, Roseburg, Ore., 4-4, 5,629, $8,000.
2, Andrew Loose, Chicago/Michael Steil, Wheeling, Ill., 5-3, 5,514, $4,500.
3, Stuart Williams, England/Dave Wodka, Henderson, Nev., 4-4, 5,478, $3,000.
4, Jeff Frankos, Daly City, Calif./PJ Haggerty, Roseville, Calif., 1-6-1, 5,468, $2,500.
5, Jason Sterner, McDonough, Ga./ Eddie VanDaniker Jr., Essex, Md., 4-4, 5,441, $2,300.
6, John Szczerbinski, North Tonawanda, N.Y./Jesse Buss, Wichita, Kan., 4-4, 5,421, $2,100.
7, Gregory Thompson Jr., Dublin, Calif./Ben Laughlin, Phoenix, 6-2, 5,395, $2,050.
8, Alan Grobmeier, Gilbert, Ariz./Carey Lee Hofmann, Phoenix, 3-4-1, 5,284, $2,000.

(courtesy: pba.com)

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February, 2012