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)