News May 2010

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Eric Taylor Jr. and Mike Ruggiero Win LIGBT Major Titles

Posted On: May 30, 2010

Eric Taylor Jr., Scratch Champion

 
May 30, 2010
 
Garden City, NY:  The much anticipated LIGBT Memorial Day Weekend Major at Garden City was a big success. Close to 400 bowlers packed the bowling center on a beautiful weekend. After 6 qualifying squads, and a four round finals, two new LIGBT Champions were crowned. The scratch champion was Eric Taylor Jr. of Brooklyn, NY who won $3,000. The handicap champion was Mike Ruggiero of Smithtown, NY, who won $2,000.
 
The scratch event attracted 150 bowlers and it was obvious from the start the lefties were at a tremendous advantage. The PBA Viper pattern was used and the low scoring was expected but the dominance by the port side was frustrating. Twelve out of the 18 finalists were left-handed.
 
The final shootout was dominated by the young Eric Taylor who started his final game with the first 6 strikes. The other two finalists were trying their best to find a shot but before they could figure it out Eric had a 45 pin victory. To win his first LIGBT title Eric rolled a 243 while Senior Champion Tim Regan of E. Northport finished second with a 198 ($1,500) and Adam Sher of Commack took third ($1,000) with a 166.
 
The 210 and under handicap event had another great turnout as 236 bowlers packed AMF Garden City. A total of 29 bowlers advanced to the finals with 6 bowlers earning byes by leading a squad. High series for the handicap event was thrown by Tom Piazza of Roslyn, NY who rolled a 750 series with handicap and bonus pins. Tom earned 2 byes in the finals for his high series.
 
The final match was very close as Mike Ruggiero and Michael Bernard, Copaigue, NY, bowled head to head to determine the LIGBT Handicap Champion. Mike Ruggiero started with a 17 pin handicap advantage and never let his lead slip away. In fact, the 17 pin advantage wound up being a 16 pin victory; 204 to 188. Mike Ruggiero earned $2,000 for his victory while Michael Bernard took home $1,000. 
 
The LIGBT’s next event will be its Bowler Appreciation Tournament at South Levittown Lanes. This will be a special 2 squad tournament on Saturday evening, June 19th at 4pm and 7pm. Top prizes will pay as much as $1,500 for the scratch event and $1,000 for the handicap tournament. Free food and drinks will be served to all entrants. For complete details of the Garden City Major and our upcoming event at South Levittown please go to www.ligbtour.com or call us at 1.877.900.6464.
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SANDY CATALANO OPEN RAISES MONEY FOR SCHOLARSHIPS

Posted On: May 17, 2010

Top 3 scratch finalists; Brian Soto, Brian Ziesig, and Rich Ambrosino

East Islip, NY - May 16, 2010: The 1st annual Sandy Catalano Open was held at East Islip Lanes and over 400 bowlers competed for more than $25,000 in prizes. The two day event crowned three separate champions; Rich Ambrosino, Holtsville, NY won the 49 & under scratch title and $2,500, Tim Regan, East Northport, NY won the senior scratch title and $1,500, and Alex Ware, Brooklyn, NY won the handicap title and $1,500. But the biggest winners were the youth of Long Island as over $2,000 in scholarship money was raised.

 

The Sandy Catalano Open was created by the Catalano Family to remember a very special person, Sandy Catalano, who passed away in February, 2009. Sandy dedicated his entire life to his family, business, and bowling- especially coaching youth bowlers. To honor Sandy’s accomplishments, both as a bowler and person, a tournament was born. The Sandy Catalano Open will be an annual event with proceeds donated to The Sandy Catalano Scholarship fund.

 

What makes the Sandy Catalano Open unique is it is actually three separate competitions with three separate champions crowned. The richest event was the 49 & under scratch tournament which attracted some of the best bowlers in the tri-state area. But in the end it was a local house bowler that won the title. Rich Ambrosino bowls in league at East Islip Lanes and he promised the Catalano family whatever money he won would be donated back to the scholarship fund. Rich came through in a big way by winning the title and its $2,500 top prize.

 

The final shootout was exciting as Rich shot a 265 to defeat two great bowlers; Brian Soto of Kew Gardens, NY who rolled a 236 and earned $1,250 and Long Island bowling hero Brian Ziesig of Levittown who earned $700 by shooting a 235. A total of 17 bowlers advanced to the finals which featured a beat half-the-field elimination format.

 

The second event was the senior scratch tournament and their final match was probably the most exciting duel of the weekend. Tim Regan of East Northport threw 3 strikes in the tenth frame to defeat Don Hicks of W. Babylon, NY 258-256. Tim earned $1,500 for his victory while Don took home $750 for second place. A total of 12 seniors advanced to the finals with Mike Dioguardo rolling the highest senior series of the event with a 744.

 

The largest entry count of the three events was the handicap tournament which drew an amazing 211 entries. Alex Ware of Brooklyn took home the title and won the $1,500 top prize. The final four shootout was exciting as Alex rolled a 272 (with handicap) just getting by James Walsh of Glen Cove, NY who rolled a 259 with handicap. Jim earned $750 for second while Mike Angelus of Centereach finished third with a 257 handicap game and earned $550. Rounding out the top 4 was Kevin Dekenipp of Shirley, NY who won $450 with a 244 handicap game. A total of 27 bowlers advanced to the handicap finals.

 

The 1st annual Sandy Catalano Open was considered a huge success and plans are already underway for the 2011 event. There were many tears throughout the weekend as everyone remembered what a great bowler, bowling coach, and person Sandy was. The Catalano family would like to thank all of the sponsors and volunteers that made the event possible. For complete results please visit the website; www.scholarshiptournament.com.  

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Senior Steve Tripp & Kevin Dekenipp Win LIGBT Titles

Posted On: May 08, 2010

Scratch Champion, Steve Tripp

May 8, 2010
 
Babylon, NY:  The LIGBT, sponsored by Columbia 300, visited AMF Babylon on the Saturday of Mother’s Day weekend and 163 bowlers jammed the center. Senior bowler Steve Tripp, of Garwood, NJ, won his first LIGBT Scratch Title and the $1,000 top prize. Winning his first handicap LIGBT trophy was Kevin Dekenipp of Shirley, NY who earned $600.
 
Steve Tripp, who is one of the most talented senior bowlers in the tri-state area, averaged 243 to be the qualifying leader. Steve dominated in qualifying and in the finals as he shot a 279 in the final senior match to advance to the Championship Shootout against the final two 49 & under bowlers; John Randazzo, who was looking for his second consecutive LIGBT title, and Doug Feldman of Huntington Station, NY.
 
The final match started tight as Steve only had a ten pin lead in the 5th frame over John Randazzo of Floral Park. John was the 49 & under qualifying leader by averaging 240 and automatically was seeded into the final match. But Steve took control after the 5th frame and defeated John 256-227 to earn the $1,000 top prize. John took home $600 for his second place finish while Doug Feldman, who struggled with a 156 to finish third, earned $400.
 
The 210 and under handicap event had another great turnout as 102 bowlers packed AMF Babylon. A total of 26 bowlers advanced to the finals as it took a 655 series (including handicap and bonus pins) to make the cut and cash for at least $100- $40 more than the entry fee.
 
Kevin Dekenipp’s road to the handicap title started with a 705 series (636 scratch) in qualifying which placed him 6th out of 26 qualifiers. Kevin had to bowl in 3 rounds of the finals to advance to the championship shootout. In the Championship Shootout Kevin rolled a 228 game (190 scratch) to defeat the second place finisher and top qualifier, Josh Handler (221) of Levittown, NY by 7 pins. While Kevin earned $600, Josh took home $350 for his second place finish. Rounding out the top 4 was third place finisher Donna Bertuglia (201) of Dix Hills earning $250 and Jennifer Christopher (169) of Kings Park, NY who took home $225.
 
The LIGBT’s next event will be a special “major” tournament which will take place Memorial Day Weekend at AMF Garden City. Top prizes for the weekend major are $3,000 for the scratch event and $2,000 for handicap. For complete details of the AMF Babylon tournament, and the LIGBT Garden City Major, please visit our website; www.ligbtour.com or call the tournament office at 1.877.900.6464.
 
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