Bowling
Smith wins opener and gains first exemption
By PHIL GULICK, Times Correspondent
Published October 16, 2003
Robert Smith stopped Mike Machuga 244-177 to win the PBA Tour season opener, the Banquet Open, Sunday at Council Bluffs, Iowa.
Smith, of Thousand Oaks, Calif., claimed the first exemption into the tour's 2004-05 64-man field as the PBA moves toward a new format that includes an all-exempt field. Points earned this year will determine the seedings and exemptions of players next year.
Machuga was in trouble from the start, starting with four spares and an open.
"If you're going to beat these guys out here, you have to jump on them quick and force them to try to catch up," said Smith, who won his fifth title and $40,000. Smith tossed 18 strikes in 24 frames and used a power game to march to the title.
Steve Hoskins, 10-time winner from Tarpon Springs, defeated Lee Vanderhoef of Rising Sun, Md., 4-2 in the round of 32 but was eliminated by Lonnie Waliczek of Wichita, Kan., 4-2 in the round of 16. Hurd defeated Ocala's Walter Ray Williams Jr. 4-1 in the round of 16.
The tour continues with the Greater Kansas City Classic at Blue Springs, Mo. The final is 1 p.m. Sunday on ESPN.
TEAMS, TOO: The PBA expanded its team competition, starting at the Banquet Open, with a $100,000 prize fund up for grabs for the sponsorship teams.
Each tour sponsor drafted three players for their teams. Teams will compete by accumulating weekly points based on the performance of each team member. During every tournament, the team's top two finishers will have points applied to the cumulative team total. The winning team earns $60,000, second $30,000 and third $10,000.
Hoskins teamed with Blaise Bedolla of Roseburg, Ore., and Atlanta's Brian Voss. Clermont's five-time winner Jason Couch is teamed with Mike Aulby of Indianapolis and Jason Duran of Greeley, Colo. Ocala's Walter Ray Williams Jr. has Tommy Jones of Greenville, S.C., and Rudy Kasimakis of Gouldsboro, Penn., as partners.
FIEBIG HONORED: Cora Fiebig of Madison Heights, Mich., will be inducted into the Women's International Bowling Congress hall of fame at its annual convention in Wichita, Kan., on May 3-5.
"I was quite emotional and just thrilled when they called to tell me that I had been elected," Fiebig said. "That's not the reason one takes up a sport such as bowling, but it sure is the icing on the cake and very much appreciated."
Fiebig was the 1986 WIBC Queens champion and Team USA national amateur champion. She won the 1981 U.S. Team Trials. She was a member of 1981 Federation Internationale des Quilleurs American Zone team event champions and the 1987 FIQ World Championships team and doubles event champions. She also was a member of the 1987 Tournament of Americas champions and named the 1987 U.S. Olympic Committee athlete of the year.
Dixie Hollins graduate Sue Holton was a member of Fiebig's 1987 FIQ team.
ABC RENO A GO: The American Bowling Congress signed a letter-of-intent extension with the Reno-Sparks Convention and Visitors Authority for the National Bowling Stadium to remain the home of the ABC Championships Tournaments in 2010, 2013 and 2016. SPORT'S HIGHEST AVERAGES: Scott Weber of Green Bay, Wis., and Robin Crawford of Greenfield, Wis., earned the national high average awards for the 2002-03 season of the Sport Bowling program from the ABC and WIBC.
The right-handed Weber captured the ABC honor with a 222.65 average for 93 games in the Manhattan Masters League at Manhattan Lanes in De Pere, Wis. Crawford, a Canadian citizen and marketing manager for the Young American Bowling Alliance in Greendale, Wis., posted a 203.18 average over 57 games.
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