DICK ALLEN WINS PBA XTRA FRAME CHAMPIONSHIP

Dick Allen Wins PBA Xtra Frame Chesapeake Open for Fourth PBA Tour Title

South Carolina veteran ends six-year title drought with win over Ryan Ciminelli

CHESAPEAKE, Va. (Aug. 13, 2017)  - Dick Allen of Columbia, S.C., defeated top qualifier Ryan Ciminelli of Cheektowaga, N.Y., 205-176, to win his fourth Professional Bowlers Association Tour title Sunday in the PBA Xtra Frame Chesapeake Open at AMF Western Branch Lanes.

Allen, who won his most recent PBA Tour title in Indianapolis in 2011, was in or near the lead throughout the final stages of qualifying before surrendering the lead to Ciminelli in the final qualifying game. But making the finals as the no. 2 qualifier was fine with Allen, who knew he would at least get a shot at ending his six-year title drought.

“I’ve been close a couple of times,” Allen said, “but after coming so close (a third-place finish in the Mark Roth-Marshall Holman PBA Doubles Championship) with Zeke (Bayt) made me want to really focus on my game, so I’ve been working at it.

“These young kids out here now are so good, you really have to work at it if you want to win again. And I love to bowl, and I wanted to win again.”

Allen and Bayt finished third in the Roth-Holman Doubles event in Portland, Maine, in April for Allen’s best finish since a runner-up finish in the 2014 Cheetah Championship in Las Vegas.

In the championship match, Ciminelli never got comfortable. He failed to convert the 3-5-6-10 in the second frame, and didn’t throw his first strike until the sixth frame. He got his second strike in the seventh frame, but then left a 7 pin – his fifth single pin leave. In the meantime, Allen’s early double was followed by a 2-8-10 split. And then a turkey was followed by a 4-7-10 split, giving Ciminelli a fighting chance. But the Cheektowaga left-hander left a 4-10 split in the ninth frame and his comeback hopes evaporated.

“The guy’s a great bowler, but I definitely left it open for him,” Allen said of his match with Ciminelli. “I was fortunate to escape this time. You don’t escape those moments very often out there.”

In the first stepladder match between a pair of 23-year-old PBA newcomers, Anthony Caso of Spring Hill, Fla., eliminated five-time Puerto Rico national team member Cristian Azcona, 244-219. Caso struck on five of his first six shots, held a 37-pin lead after Azcona failed to convert the 3-6-10 in the seventh frame, and doubled in the ninth and 10th frames to clinch the win.

Allen, a 38-year-old, 18-year PBA Tour veteran, eliminated Caso in almost identical fashion in the semifinal match, 228-201. Allen started the contest with five strikes on his first six attempts while Caso, a third-year PBA member who was bowling in only his second PBA Tour event, struggled to find the pocket until the final two frames.

The Xtra Frame Chesapeake Open was the fifth tournament in the seven-event PBA Xtra Frame Storm Cup series that will award $50,000 in bonus prizes to the five points leaders. With his win, Allen will be in the thick of the race heading into the Xtra Frame Gene Carter’s Pro Shop Classic from Mid-County Bowling and Entertainment in Middletown, Del., Aug. 19-20, and the series finale, the PBA Xtra Frame Kenn-Feld Group Classic at Pla-Mor Lanes in Coldwater, Ohio, Aug. 26-27.

Both events will be live streamed on PBA’s online bowling channel, Xtra Frame. For Xtra Frame subscription information, visit xtraframe.tv.

PBA XTRA FRAME CHESAPEAKE OPEN

AMF Western Branch Lanes, Chesapeake, Va.  Sunday

Final Standings:

1, Dick Allen, Columbia, S.C., $10,000.

2, Ryan Ciminelli, Cheektowaga, N.Y., $6,000.

3, Anthony Caso, Spring Hill, Fla., $3,500.

4, Cristian Azcona, Puerto Rico, $2,000.

Stepladder Results:

Match One – Caso def. Azcona, 244-219.

Semifinal Match – Allen def. Caso, 228-201

Championship – Allen def. Ciminelli, 205-176.

Round of 8 Cashers (after 17 games):

1, Ciminelli, 3,959.
2, Allen, 3,924.
3, Caso, 3,885.
4, Azcona, 3,882.
5, Marshall Kent, Yakima, Wash., 3,865, $1,700.
6, Steven Arehart, Chesapeake, Va., 3,847, $1,500.
7 (tie), x-Dom Barrett, England, and Anthony Simonsen, Austin, Texas, 3,809, $1,425.

Round of 16 Cashers (did not advance, after 15 games):

9, Andres Gomez, Colombia, 3,370, $1,350.
10, EJ Tackett, Huntington, Ind., 3,346, $1,300.
11, n-Josh Garner, Hampton, Va., 3,335, $1,250.
12, Tom Daugherty, Riverview, Fla., 3,333, $1,200.
13, Rhino Page, Orlando, Fla., 3,300, $1,150.
14, Josh Blanchard, Mesa, Ariz., 3,276, $1,100.
15, Kyle Troup, Taylorsville, N.C., 3,260, $1,050.
16, Matt Taylor, Youngsville, N.C., 3,217, $1,000.

Cashers Round Cashers (did not advance, after 12 games):

17, Chris Arcaro, Carolina Beach, N.C., 2,606, $800.
18, Clifford Stanley II, Virginia Beach, Va., 2,582, $790.
19, Zulmazran Zulkifli, Malaysia, 2,575, $780.
20, Jason Sterner, Rockledge, Fla., 2,555, $770.
21, Shota Kawazoe, Japan, 2,549, $760.
22, Ildemaro Ruiz, Venezuela, 2,545, $750.
23, Darren Tang, San Francisco, 2,535, $740.
24, Michael Tang, San Francisco, 2,527, $730.
25, Cody Shoemaker, Hanover, Pa., 2,519, $720.
26, Andrew Klingler, Grand Rapids, Mich., 2,515, $710.
27, Chris Via, Springfield, Ohio, 2,512, $700.
28, Chris Polizzi, Spring Hill, Fla., 2,508, $690.
29, David Powers, Newport News, Va., 2,498, $680.
30, Richard Horsley, Morrisville, N.C., 2,495, $670.
31, Darrin Casstevens, Winston-Salem, N.C., 2,488, $660.
32, Kristian Rogers, Salisbury, N.C., 2,472, $655.
33, Anthony DeStasio, Fort Lauderdale, Fla., 2,463, $650.
34, Michael Vitalone, Jr., Lake Worth, Fla., 2,451, $645.
35, Jeremy Mooney, West Palm Beach, Fla., 2,431, $640.
36, Trevor Roberts, Crystal River, Fla., 2,406, $635.
37, Kip Roberts, Glen Allen, Va., 2,403, $630.
38, Jeff Evans, Supply, N.C., 2,393, $625.
39, n-Chris Kruschke, Newport News, Va., 2,391, $620.
40, Johnnie Payne, Savannah, Ga., 2,385, $615.
41, n-David Schmidtmann, Norfolk, Va., 2,377, $610.
42, Sean Rash, Montgomery, Ill., 1,767, $605.
43, Craig Nidiffer, Trenton, Mich., 1,660, $600.

x-Barrett def. Gomez, 245-196, in a one-game roll-off to advance to the Round of 8 after they tied for eighth place in the Round of 16.

n-denotes non-member.