The Junior Tournament Bowlers Association held its 5th event of the 2009-2010 season on Sunday October 11, 2009, the Isalys Open at Tim Voss’s Sequoia Pro Bowl in Columbus. Thanks to Tim and staff for hosting with great lane conditions and a great professional atmosphere for the 65 players who took on the challenging 40ft high volume sport pattern, applied to Sequoia’s Brunswick ProLane Surface. We had a total of 4 players break into the plus column during the 6 game qualifying block. 3 boys, lead by Travis Hardesty of Zanesville, OH at +62, Zeke Bayt of Westerville, OH at +23 and Bryan Buckosh of Vermillion, OH at +21. The top girl was Pikeville collegiate star and 2 Time Jr. Team USA member Kim Yioulos of Rochester, NY at +55. On the boys side the cut to the top 16 for match play was -112 and the top eight girls was -156. High games of the day were rolled by Brianne Schmansky of Westland, MI with a 268 and 274 by Justin Netherland of Port Clinton,OH.Blair Blumenscheid

Yioulos continued to dominate after lunch as she edged out Rachael Albright of Genoa, OH in the semi-finals in a very close match 2-1, to reach the championship match. Facing Yioulos would be Ohio State’s Blair Blumenscheid of Columbus in her first ever JTBA appearance. Blumenscheid reached the final by beating Westerville, OH’s Paige Trein 2-0 in the semi. In a great championship match Blumenscheid was rock solid shooting 216. Meanwhile, Yioulos was also solid throughout, but an open frame in the 8th led to her needing the first strike in the tenth to win the title. It wasn’t to be, as Yioulos once again delivered a quality shot, but a stubborn 8-10 split stood, leaving Blumenscheid with her first career title.

On the guys side there were a few new faces in match play as some of the younger players are adjusting to the more demanding lane patterns of the JTBA. After the elimination rounds, one semi-final featured a pair of University of Toledo freshman going head to head for the right to advance to the championship. Last month’s Sport Challenge winner Joe Sabo of Parma, OH squared off against Port Clinton’s Justin Netherland with Justin striking early and often for a 224-179 victory. Netherland would face left hander Eric Sacks of Vandalia, OH who defeated Pikeville College’s Mark Allen 190-153. After finishing runner-up to Sabo last month at the Sport Challenge, Netherland was not to be denied his first ever JTBA title by besting Sacks 192-163. Justin Netherland

Next up on the JTBA schedule is the always popular JTBA Adult-Youth event at the beautiful Southwyck Lanes in Toledo, OH on November 1st. Youth and adults interested in participating and not having a partner are asked to contact the JTBA office by email at cpfeifer@jtba.com or calling the office at (724)779-9875 or Carl’s cell (724)766-4174. We have male and female adults who want to bowl, so feel free to contact us! Remember all divisional rules apply so girls must bowl with women and boys must bowl with men. No mixed teams are permitted. However new this year, we are allowing PBA Exempt players to participate. We conduct this event on a modified house shot so it’s always a fun day! We hope to see everyone at Southwyck on the 1st!