PABCON Men's Championships Bowling Results 2015 - Janawicz Big Winner

bowlingball.com 10/29/2015

TEAM USA'S JANAWICZ TAKES PABCON SINGLES GOLD IN PUERTO RICO

Fueled by three big games, Team USA's John Janawicz of Winter Haven, Florida, captured the gold medal in singles in the opening event of the 2015 Pan American Bowling Confederation Men's Championships.

Janawicz had a six-game total of 1,319 (219.83 average) to take the gold medal at AMF Bolera Paradise Lanes in San Juan, Puerto Rico.

After opening the event with a 181 game, Janawicz caught fire and put up games of 258, 248 and 266 before finishing the event with 160 and 206 on the 33-foot Sydney pattern.

"I tried playing a little farther to the right the first game, and I think I got caught in the middle of what ball to use," said Janawicz, a seven-time Team USA member. "Then I made a ball switch, moved in and tried to open the lane up. All the sudden I found something and I had it for three games. I just kind of grinded it out from there and fortunately it was enough to hold up for the win."

It was the third time Janawicz has won the singles gold at the PABCON Men's Championships, also taking the title in 2007 and 2012. His gold-medal total this year was the lowest winning score since 1993 when Anthony Chapman won for the United States with 1,306 in Guadalajara, Mexico.

Team USA's Chris Barnes, who bowled alongside Janawicz in singles, took the silver medal with 1,316, while Venezuela's Reydnier Chavez took the bronze with 1,296.

HOST PUERTO RICO TAKES DOUBLES GOLD, TEAM USA EARNS SILVER, BRONZE IN DOUBLES

Puerto Rico took the gold medal, while Team USA earned the silver and bronze medals in the doubles event.

Cristian Azcona and Israel Hernandez gave host Puerto Rico the gold medal with a six-game total of 2,739 (228.3 average) on the 39-foot Seoul pattern.

Hernandez led the duo with a 1,404 total, while Azcona fired 1,335. The pair were propelled to the title by a huge fifth game, shooting a combined 537 to secure a big lead on the field.

The victory gave Puerto Rico its first doubles title in the event since 1993 when Jim Porter and Jaime Almendro won with 2,486 in Guadalajara, Mexico.

Team USA's Bill O'Neill of Langhorne, Pennsylvania, and Tommy Jones of Simpsonville, South Carolina, made a late charge at the gold but came up short, earning the silver with 2,711.

Jones had the highest individual total of the day with 1,424, while O'Neill added 1,287. The U.S. pair finished with a 455 game but fell 28 pins short of the top spot on the podium.

Marshall Kent of Yakima, Washington, and Sean Rash of Montgomery, Illinois, combined to earn the bronze medal for Team USA with 2,665. Rash shot 1,379, while Kent had 1,286.

USA TAKES GOLD, SILVER IN TRIOS

Team USA's John Janawicz, Marshall Kent and Sean Rash earned the gold medal with a six- game total of 3,879. The first three games of the event were contested on the 33-foot Sydney pattern and final three games on the 39-foot Seoul pattern.

Kent led the way with a 1,375 series and was followed by Rash (1,259) and Janawicz (1,245). The trio fired 712 in Game 5 to take a big lead on the field and coast to the gold medal.

The U.S. team of Bill O'Neill, Chris Barnes and Tommy Jones shot 3,767 to take the silver medal, overtaking Colombia in the final game to get to the No. 2 spot.

Jones fired 1,306, Barnes had 1,253 and O'Neill shot 1,208 as they finished with a 665 game in the finale to top Colombia by nine pins. "The afternoon pattern was difficult but our gold-medal team pulled away after the fifth game," Team USA coach Rod Ross said. "The last game, both teams bowled great and our silver-medal team was able to jump up the standings. We're very proud of how both teams performed with the difficult and challenging lane conditions."

The Colombian trio of Jaime Gonzalez, Andres Gomez and Manuel Otalora had 3,758 to earn the bronze medal. Gonzalez had 1,303, Otalora shot 1,250 and Gomez fired 1,205.

COLOMBIA EARNS TEAM GOLD, USA TAKES SILVER

Colombia grabbed the gold medal in the team event snapping Team USA's 26-year run of team titles.

Colombia posted a 6,223 pinfall total (207.4 average) to beat Team USA (6,162) by 61 pins with Puerto Rico taking third with a 6,075 total at AMF Bolera Paradise Lanes. Jaime E. Gonzalez led the way for Colombia with a 1,354 total for the six games, followed by Andres Gomez (1,257), Jaime Monroy (1,238), Manuel H. Otalora (1,216) and Santiago Meija (1,158).

Marshall Kent posted the high six-game block in this year's competition with 1,437 (239.5 average) to lead Team USA. He was followed by Bill O'Neill (1,241), John Janawicz (1,158), Tommy Jones (1,124), Sean Rash (641) and Chris Barnes (561). The last time a team other than the United States had captured the gold medal in the PABCON Men's Championships was in 1989 when the Dominican Republic took a 49-pin victory over Team USA in Wichita, Kansas. Team USA then reeled off eight consecutive team titles in the event.

Team USA's Kent, who won gold in trios and bronze in doubles, captured the All-Events title with a 5,383 total (224.3 average). Colombia's Gonzalez took silver with a 5,227 total while Cristian Azcona (5,053) of Puerto Rico took bronze. Team USA's Jones had a 5,014 total to finish fourth.

JANAWICZ CAPTURES MASTERS GOLD

Team USA's John Janawicz won the gold medal in Masters to cap off the 2015 Pan American Bowling Confederation Men's Championships in San Juan, Puerto Rico.

Janawicz cruised to a 2-0 victory over Puerto Rico's Michael Fonseca in the best-of-three championship match at AMF Bolera Paradise Lanes.

"I was able to line up pretty quickly and I think that made it a little tough for him to come back," said Janawicz, who won silver in Masters at the 2007 PABCON Men's Championships. "I had not been throwing the ball too well for the last couple of days, and I just found a pretty good groove physically today. I'm happy with my performance and fortunate that it turned out pretty well."

Janawicz needed to go to the deciding game each round leading to the finals, besting Mexico's Arturo Quintero and Colombia's Jaime Gonzalez before defeating Puerto Rico's Cristian Azcona in the semifinals, 2-1.

Fonseca, the final competitor to advance to the 16-player match-play bracket, earned his spot in the finals by defeating teammate Israel Hernandez, 2-0, in the semifinals. Both Azcona and Hernandez earned bronze medals.

With the victory, Janawicz earned his third gold medal of the 2015 event. He kicked off the PABCON Men's Championships by winning singles, and joined Team USA's Marshall Kent and Sean Rash to take home gold in trios.

"Overall, it was a very good week," Janawicz said. "I'm just really happy and fortunate to be a part of this team. We have a great group of guys and a great coaching staff and I'm very blessed to be a part of it."

Article was posted with permission from Stars & Strikes, America's Bowling Newsmagazine. www.starsandstrikesbowling.com