Fast Lane
Maree Caltabiano and David Hayward shine
story first published in the Central Western Daily, Saturday 10 October, 1998
Orange tenpin bowlers turned in some great performances in two tournaments held in Sydney and Melbourne last weekend.
Five Orange juniors bowled well in the highly competitive 1998 Junior Sydney Cup at the Manhattan Super Bowl in Mascot.
Maree Caltabiano was the most successful Orange player and she finished an excellent sixth in the girls’ division behind Holly Faint (212 average) and Victorian Masters champion Suzanne Medwell (211 average) who totally dominated the event. Leigh Hayman finished third ahead of Lisa French and Sandi Edwards.
Caltabiano, a crowd favourite who earned the nickname “Bubbles” because of her unending smile during the tournament, averaged 187 with a high game of 233 and won eight of her fifteen matchplay games. It was a fantastic effort from the improving bowler against such high class opponents.
Melanie Brown finished 11th after averaging 168 in he final, including a 214 high game while Rhearne Trudgett averaged 167 in finishing 14th with a high game of 209.
In the 16 game qualifying round Maree Caltabiano finished fourth (189 average, 238 high game), Melanie Brown was sixth (187 average, 244 game) and Rhearne Trudgett was 15th (179 average, 225 game).
The boys’ division produced some high calibre bowling with Orange’s Jason Brown finishing eighth with a 198 average including a 256 high game. Brown, who won nine of his fifteen matches, shot a 265 game as part of his qualifying round where he averaged 207.
The tournament was won by Queenslander Brandon Qualischefski who averaged 219 in qualifying and 220 in matchplay to claim the $1,000 first prize. He streeted the field, finishing 169 pins clear of runner-up Phillip Ramsey with Adam Goldberg taking third.
1998 Orange Open winner Jamie Kyriacou finished 11th but thrilled the crowd with a conversion of the Big Four (4-6-7-10) split.
Jamie Sim of Maitland stole the show however with a remarkable patch of brilliant bowling where he rattled off 22 consecutive strikes in notching up games of 244-300-288 for a fantastic 832/3 series. He finished the tournament in seventh spot and earned $5,000 for the 300 game!
Craig Blachut of Western Australia rolled a 297 game and finished sixth.
Jason Belmonte, who bowled so well in this event last year, averaged 193 with a high game of 262 and finished 34th.
Deaf champion David Hayward added yet another victory to his impressive resume with a win in the 18th annual Victorian Deaf Masters at the Highpoint Bowl.
The tournament was a low scoring affair with Hayward finishing on top with a 189 average. He qualified in sixth position with a four game of tally of 725 the had an ordinary start in the matchplay final.
Hayward came to life from game four however, posting consecutive games of 256-225-214 (695) to grab the top spot in the stepladder play-off.
In the two game decider Hayward defeated Victorian bowler J Mallamace 159-219 ( 378) to 125-202 (327).
Jason Belmonte led the scoring this week with a 658 series in the always high-scoring Friday Triples after games of 279-200.
Others to shoot above 600/3 in that league included Peter Brown 245-204 (631), Steve Reil 216-209 (618) and Tony Richards 232 (607). Also doing well were Chris Collins 244, John Cooney 217, Les Gunner 208-201, Mark Lijic 205-223, John Rapley 211, Bonnea Wiseman 202 and Jonathan Thatcher 201.
Rhearne Trudgett led the way in the Tuesday Ladies Singles with a 241 ahead of Judy Streatfeild 206, Dianne Gee 210, Julie Wilson 202, Sharon Trudgett 217 and Melanie Brown 207.
Carl Bishop bowled a 218 game in the Tuesday 6.30 league while Kelvin Merchant produced a 223 in the Wednesday 7.30 league.
High games from the Wednesday Autostyle Doubles included Jason Brown 202-214 (614/3), Trish Sidwell 204, Ray Tyquin 212, Leo McKay 213 and John Hayward 202.
In the Friday 6.30 league Barbara Woodley rolled a personal best 131 game.
Two singles leagues, offering cash prizes and the chance to improve your average with increased competition, are re-forming this month and interested bowlers should contact the Bowl as soon as possible to gain a spot.
The Thursday 6.30 Singles recommences on 15 October while the Monday 8.30 Singles starts again on 26 October.
The 37th annual Australian National Championships commenced this week at the Gold Coast Superbowl in Burleigh Heads with two Orange bowlers, Chris Collins and Jim Dullaway, representing New South Wales in the Walter de Veer Trophy. The Nationals conclude on 17 October.
Upcoming events include the Bathurst Championships from 24 October to 1 November and the Dubbo Championships over the same dates.
Locally, the 3rd annual Ron Boulton Marine & Cycles and Harvey Norman Orange Junior Cup will be held on 15 November.
Looking further ahead the Brunswick Australian Cup is set for 12-13 December at the Canberra International Bowl in Tuggeranong while the Australian International Youth Championships will be held at the Manhattan Super Bowl from 6-10 January next year and are open to all bowlers under the age of 22.
Board of Director nominations are now being accepted for the Orange Tenpin Bowling Association. These nominations will close on 14 November prior to the O.T.B.A. Annual General Meeting on 28 November.
I’ll be on holidays for the next month and special guest writers over those four weeks will be Peter Brown and John Cooney.
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