Mini Eliminator Results!

I'm back home and finally settled in and getting back into my daily routine.  I had a good time in Vegas, but I'm so glad to be back in Chicago.  Although I was there for about 10 days, we still didn't have any time to go to the strip or catch a show.  Not a big deal since we go there about 2-3 times a year, for a minimum of 7 days at a time.  Maybe in April we'll get to see Zumanity.  After flying in Friday afternoon, I unpacked, freshened up, watched some matches for the USBC Masters, and went to dinner with Dan McCarty and his family.  We went to dinner at Outback Steakhouse and enjoyed the company and conversation of these new friends.  We found out the they will be moving to Massachusetts, which Dan isn't too excited about, but we know he will adjust well because he is charismatic and resilient.  Hopefully we will be able to visit them after the move.

As for the bowling part of my trip, it went well.  I enjoyed getting back on the lanes in a competitive scene, but I seemed to have forgotten how to settle my nerves.  With all the time I spent practicing before leaving, I felt pretty confident, especially knowing that I had Sean there along with all the Brunswick guys.  I ended up only bowling the International Mini because the scores for the International Open became extremely high and I would only receive 6 pins per game, whereas I received 14 pins per game in the Mini.  The reason for that is because women receive 6 pins in the Open and in the Mini there are 3 different divisions based on age and average amongst other factors.  I belonged to the Bronze division because my combined average for the past 3 years was 194.  Handicap was 90% of 210, thus giving me 56 pins for 4 games.  So here's the recap...

I bowled my first squad on Saturday at 3pm.  This was the squad to get most of the jitters out of my body.   I had a good start shooting 212, but then fell apart the second with a 145.  I couldn't quite settle down and in the third game I smashed my ankle with my ball.  Not only was it embarrassing, but it hurt like you-know-what... I moved onto the last game after shooting 169 and bounced back with a 205.  785 for the day, a little disappointing, but I had at least 4 more re-entries.
That evening, Sean was to fulfill Benjamin Doyle's wish granted by the Make-A-Wish Foundation of Wyoming.  Benjamin is a 16 year old battling brain cancer, but he doesn't let it get in the way of his dreams and goals.  He and his family came to Sunset Station and on the USBC Masters television set, Benjamin got to meet his favorite bowler, Sean.  Benjamin had bowled a 300 a few months ago and Sean was able to present Ben with his first 300 ring.  After a few pictures and interviews, Sean led Benjamin out to the PBA trucks to drill a Brunswick Nexus Solid for him.  They took the ball back to the TV pair and let Ben take a couple practice balls, and after making a few minor adjustments to the thumb hole, Benjamin proceeded to throw a 6-bagger!  It was so great to sit back and watch Sean and Benjamin work together and to see the smile across both their faces after each strike, simply amazing. 

I took Sunday off, only practiced.  I had also drilled the new C-System Versa Max and the Nexxus, so I wanted to get used to them .  I would have to say that I love the Nexxus and I'm still trying to get used to the Versa Max.  I have a difficult time trying to read that ball since it is all black and it's hard to tell the shape.  I know that it does go long though, that's for sure.  I had started using it for a few of my spares though.  Typically for the 2-8, the bucket, 3-6-10 and washouts.  (Spares that I typically chop with my plastic ball.)  The next squad I bowled was Monday morning.  I threw the Nexxus all 4 games, shooting 228, 219, 169, and  234.  Total with handicap was 906 and I thought that my score would be good enough to get me into the finals, but I was feeling pretty good and wanted to try to improve my score in the next squad.  Unfortunately, I didn't bowl as well on the burn.  I ended up with an 815, which was high for that squad, and I waited for the last squad of the day to finish up to see where I placed.  Both my scores were only good enough to get a free re-entry, since in the last squad a kid shot 941 earning him a spot in the finals.  I was bummed, but still grateful that I got those additional entries. 

Tuesday morning I went at it again.  I had a little bit of a slow start with a 181.  I felt like I was playing the right part of the lane, I just had a lot of ring 10's and knew I had to stay patient.  Next game was 256 and I was having fun!  Game 3 I shot 259 and game 4 was 203.  I had a really good feeling about this set and was pretty confident that it wouldn't be beat this time.  By the end of the day, I advanced to the finals and was so excited and proud of myself!  Celebration dinner at PF Changs with the Brunswick group was in order!  A side note here, the Kung Pao scallops were amazing!  Sooo good!

So after all that bowling, I figured my body deserved a massage, so that's exactly what I did Wednesday morning.  Called up Massage Envy, since I have a membership with them, and got a car service from our casino host.  I had a wonderful hour massage and since DSW was within walking distance, I couldn't resist.  I was in need of tan/brown flats and that's exactly what I got, plus a new black pair... :)  Back at the hotel, I grabbed lunch and went up to the room.  The night before I noticed that our door didn't lock shut and I had to pull it to hear the latch click.  I knew that housekeeping had already cleaned our room, so out of curiosity I tried opening the door without inserting my room key and it opened!  So I felt a bit uneasy knowing that our door doesn't completely close and lock, so I had maintenance come up and check out the door.  They open and closed the door about 20 times and of course it locked every time for them...  After about an hour of replacing a part and adjusting it, they finally had it fixed.  I didn't have enough time to get ready and bowl the last squad, so it turned out to be a complete day off for me. 

I had 3 more entries left, and now I was bowling to get into the bye tournament.  So Thursday morning I attempted to post a number, but was pretty unsuccessful.  I shot 757 and was pretty disappointed and confused.  I tried again the next day and didn't do much better with a 798.  I needed to bowl about even scratch to have a better chance of making it into the bye tournament.  Saturday morning was my last chance since I only had 1 entry left.  My 4 games consisted of a 194, 238, 150, and 216.  Game 3 was a let down, I got lost in the transition, but Robert Lawrence came over in the 10th frame and gave me some encouragement and told me what I needed to do.  So, I ended up with an 854 grand total and it was enough to get me into the bye tournament.  I was the 7th seed and later that night I had to bowl the 2nd seed.  I took some time to relax up in the room and get re-energized.

I was already guaranteed 1 bye in the finals, and I need to win matches in the bye tournament to gain more byes.  I was so nervous because I knew winning the bye tournament meant more money and a guarantee of at least $2000.  Through practice, I threw only a couple of shots that I felt confident in, and was unsure if I would be able to repeat those shots during the match.  I was feeling butterflies not just in my stomach but all throughout my body.  I tried calming down before each shot by taking a deep breath and going through my pre-shot routine, but as soon as I took that first step all those butterflies came fluttering back.  I was not consistent at all and the match was over before I knew it.  I lost the match, but my competitor also out bowled me... and he even had more handicap than me!  I was still in the finals though, and was still guaranteed $1000.

The finals came early at 8am on Sunday.  I watched the first round since I had the 1 bye.  Two people advanced and the 4 people who earned 1 bye, including me, joined in the 2nd round.  The top 3 bowlers after one game would move on to round 3.  Once again, my nerves got the best of me and I just could not put anything together.  I was checking my competitors scores throughout the game and about halfway through I just felt like I was out of it... especially since 4 out of 5 of my competitors had a higher handicap than me.  I didn't give up though, I was still determined to throw the best shots I possibly could. 

Overall, I am happy with the way I bowled and I definitely learned what I need to work on for some of my upcoming tournaments.  I'm extremely excited about throwing my new balls and practicing more with them.  I have the rest of this month to practice and half of March before I head to Paris and bowl the Euro Challenge.  So be on the lookout for a post on Paris!  This will be my second time going, but it will be a whole new experience for me.  I'm truly excited!

Anyway, that wraps up my Vegas trip.  Sean is currently in Japan and comes home Monday morning.  We've only been able to talk about 2 brief times a day, pretty much when I'm waking up, he's going to bed and vice versa.  We get to spend almost a week together before he heads off to New Jersey for the US Open.  Also, we get to spend Valentine's day together, which I think this will be the 2nd time we're actually together in our 5 year relationship.  He usually would send flowers and chocolates to me, this year I'm not sure what's in store for us.  We bowl league Tuesday nights, so I know for sure we will be bowling at night, but we do have all day together.  Hopefully he gets rid of his jet lag all day Monday!

I hope my readers have someone they care about to share Valentine's day with, or maybe even tell that someone you've been crushing over your true feelings.  Whatever the case may be, know that someone is out there thinking of you and take time to remember those that you may have lost that were near and dear to your heart, whether they were a friend, family member, loved one, or classmate.  

We will never forget our fallen Huskies 2/14/08.