On A Mission

I headed to Lodi Lanes in Lodi on February 27th to bowl the Bergen County Women's Tournament.  I bowled league there during the 2007-2008 season and had an amazing year. So needless to say I was looking forward to bowling there again.  I was bowling with some of the best female bowlers in NJ; Christine "Ms. 800" Mockenhaupt, Valarie Johannessen, and Jackie Willis.

Doubles was first. I started with the front six using my Ebonite Mission.  It was the first time I was bringing it into play. I couldn't miss.  As I was getting up for the seventh frame, the lights went dark.  The front desk had moved a pair to our lanes instead of the empty ones next to us! Someone ran to the desk to let them know that had messed up.  They were taken off our lanes but our scores wouldn't show up. Luckily they were get a print out but it took them at least 15 minutes to manually enter the frames for each of us.  I tried to stay calm the entire wait. Long story short I was able to finish the game and shot 300 #8!  The day was long but it was enjoyable.  I finished with 2147 for all-events.  I believe I finished 2nd in all-events but the official standings have not been released yet.

The following day, February 28th, Vicki bowled a singles tournament at Hy-Way Bowl in Union.  She bowled two squads and was on fire, using her Ebonite Mission.  Her first was a 743 and included a 290 game.  The following three games included a 299 game en route to a 769.  Three honor scores in less than 24 hours for the SpratPACK!  Vicki finished 2nd in the scratch division and fifth in handicap.

Bacaardi Singles (Day 2)

The Sprat PACK headed to Freeway Lanes early Sunday morning to bowl the quarter-final round of five games in the Bacardi Singles tournament.

I was completely lost and struggling all morning.  I went through five balls in my bag with no carry.  I was feeling confident and throwing the ball well but could find nothing.  My five games were: 202 - 192 - 198 - 226 - 208.  (+358) Not a good bracket session, but I was just hoping to make the next cut to the top 12.  Thirteenth place was the last cash spot.

Michelle bowled well: 256 - 223 - 198 - 225 - 213 (+240) which moved her up in the standings.

Vicki was bowling her heart out in order to make the next cut.  She fired games of: 204 - 191 - 258 - 204 - 300 (!) It was very exciting to watch my little sister throw all 12!  Her 300 pushed her ahead of me in the standings.

Vicki was 8th and I was 11th heading into the Semi-finals.  The 12th spot was +350.  Whew! I barely made it but was only 50 pins from the top 5.  Still in striking distance for a repeat!  Michelle finished somewhere in the top 24 but missed the cash spot.

Vicki and I bowled another four games.  She started with a 251 and finished with a 213 - 213 - 227.  I started off with my Roto-Grip Cell and began to lose carry in the second game.  My last four games were: 236 - 205 - 163 - 202.  Vicki finished 7th and I finished 10th.

All in all it was a good weekend for the Sprat PACK.  We came back to Jersey with a couple extra bucks, a couple more 300s, and more determination for the next tournament.

The Spratford Sisters head to CLE (Day 1)

The Spratford Sisters headed to Cleveland, OH this past weekend to bowl in the 51st Annual Bacardi Singles. It is a prestigious tournament hosted by the TNBA at Freeway Lanes in Wickliffe. I was hoping to defend my title. Qualifying consisted of two-5 game blocks on Saturday. The top half returned on Sunday morning to bowl another five games. The field was then cut to the top 12 to bowl another four games. The top five after 19 games bowl the stepladder finals.

Michelle and Vicki arrived early on Friday to bowl the practice session and check out the Hammer demo day. They were scheduled to bowl squad A early Saturday morning. I chose to bowl squad B so I didn't have to bowl on the fresh or cross my sisters in the many brackets that they have to offer.

Michelle started off slow, undecided on which ball to use. Her first set consisted of: 189 - 160 - 245 - 227 - 193 (+14)

Vicki was consistent, using her Ebonite Lane Breaker and Magic Action. Her first five games: 205 - 255 - 203 - 221 - 231 (+115)

The lanes were not dressed between the squads, so I got to bowl on the broken down lanes, where I am more comfortable. I used my Columbia Freeze that I recently got drilled by Jo Ann Foti of Ten in the Pit Shop at North Arlington Lanes. My first set consisted of: 208 - 220 - 236 - 215 - 258 (+137). I missed two easy spares in game four. I had a couple of other opens that were splits.

The pattern was definitely more playable than last year. If I remember crrectly, only one person was plus on day one. Rumor has it that we were bowling on the "White" sport pattern this year, as were the Seniors. The Men were bowling on the "Red" pattern. +225 was leading for the women after five games! The scores were very high; not typical for a "sport" pattern.

Michelle and Vicki headed back to the lanes to start their second set at 4:00 pm on the fresh again. Michelle settled on her original Storm Dimension and shot: 220 - 212 - 205 - 215 - 259. She was + 125 after 10 games.

Vicki started her second set low, but bounced back the next four games. She added 158 - 216 - 217 - 258 - 248 for +220.

I returned to the lanes at 8:00 pm to bowl my second set. I was still using my Freeze but switched to my Ebonite Clash in the middle. I finished with my Freeze as I was getting a little carry down. My next five games: 201 - 225 - 234 - 235 - 300 (!). I was the last lane to finish, even after someone had shot 299. I was a little nervouse but focused on my breathing and pre-shot routine that I had learned earlier in the year during my trip to the Kegel Training Center.  This was my 7th 300 game and very exciting. I finished my two blocks with +332.

After the ten games, I was in 4th, Vicki was in 13th, and Michelle was 24th. Leading was +411! We were all safely in the cut and bowling early the next morning.

After bowling, I headed to the Tournament Office to drop off my 300 paperwork and ran into Eric Kearney, husband of Kim Terrell, an elite bowler and Assistant Team USA Coach.  Eric works for USBC and was checking out this year's tournament.  He told me he was going to have one of his weriters call me to talk about the tournament.  During the phone interview, I couldn't help but mention the Sprat PACK blog.


http://www.bowl.com/news/xmlburner.jsp?xa=./webapps/ROOT/news/main/data/021410TNBA1.xml

Michelle is named Queen at the Monmouth County Tournament

Two-thirds of the pack, Michelle and Vicki, headed to Howell Lanes for the Monmouth County Queens Tournament on January 17, 2010.

After five games of the qualifying, Michelle was in fourth with a 1037 five-game total. She added a 608 series for a 1645 total to stay in fourth for the step-ladder finals.

In her first match, Michelle defeated the 2009 Queens Champion Cara Lukosius 213-192. She won her next two matches against Annie Orbano (239 - 156) and Jessica Worsley (244 - 203) to make it to the Championship Round. She defeated the tournament elader, Sandy Davis 202-186.

Michelle won a the top prize and an entry into the 2010 USBC Queens Tournament held in El Paso, TX.


The Sprat PACK will be heading to Texas at the end of April to compete at the Queens.

Check out Michelle's picture on the front of the January 20 - 26, 2010 issue of the Sports Reporter!

Big Daddy's Tournament

We headed to Center Lanes in Philadelphia on January 16th to bowl in Big Daddy's Annual "Big Gun's" Tournament. According to the flyer, this is the 22nd year of the tournament. Michelle and I bowled in it a couple of years ago but missed it last year due to a half a foot of snow. This was Vicki's first time.

I started off slow with a 190. I was throwing my Angualr One and didn't match up well. Michelle shot something in the 250's. Vicki was on fire from frame one and I finally looked over and realized she had the front 7. She finished close to perfection with a 297.

The rest of the day went about average for me. I finally switched to the Clash and was hitting the pocket consistently but couldn't carry. I ended the day with a 268 for +92 for four games. Michelle finished somewhere around +60. Vicki didn't lose steam. She added 245 and 276 for an 828 series. Her first 800 series! Unfortunately, I do not think the tournament was sanctioned. She added a 224 for a 1042 series.

The tournament paid the top 10. I believe the cash line was +160! Crazy! Vicki was leading the pack by 40 pins. One other girl was over +200.

We waited around for the title match. It was a little shaky with Vicki opening twice in the first five frames, then the heat came on. Vicki has a ton of experience in pressure situations, bowling as the anchor on her NCAA ranked team while in college. Instead of giving up, she kept her focus, frame by frame. She chose to finish first. She threw the one in the ninth and the first two in the tenth and filled it with a nine count, forcing her opponent to mark. The girl got up, tugged the shot and almost left a split. The ten pin was the only one standing. We were sitting in the back thinking, "Vicki still has a shot." We watched the ball fall into the moat as our mouths fell open. Vicki had won!

The title came down to the last shot. It was an exciting match. Believe it or not, it is more nail-biting watching from the promenade than actually throwing the ball. Watching my sister win comes in a very close second to accepting the trophy myself. :o)

Welcome to the "Sprat Pack"

"A family that bowls together, stays together."

Bowling has always been a topic of discussion at the Spratford dinner table for more than 20 years. Now that Vicki, the youngest, has joined the adult ranks, the siblings travel and compete together, adding to their long list of accomplishments.

"A win for one is a win for all."

This blog was created as a record of the love, competitive spirit, and admiration that they share.

Follow the "Sprat PACK" as they continue their journey to gain the bragging rights of the family.