October 2016 -
35
Monacelli Wins PBA50 National
Championship
to Benefit Riley Hospital for Children
for Fourth Career PBA50 Major Title
By Jerry Schneider
Venezuelan defeats Sam Maccarone 224-212 in title
match to win seventh career PBA50 title
Professional Bowlers Association Hall of Famer Am-
leto Monacelli concluded the 2016 PBA50 Tour sea-
son by winning the PBA50 National Championship to
Benefit Riley Hospital for Children Wednesday for his
fourth PBA50 major title on the tour for players 50
years and older.
The Venezuelan defeated two-time PBA Tour and
one-time PBA50 Tour titlist Sam Maccarone of Black-
wood, N.J., 224-212, in the title match at Signature
Lanes to also win his second title of the season and
the seventh of his career.
As the No. 3 qualifier for the stepladder finals, the 54
-year-old Monacelli had to win two come-from-behind
matches to get to the title match.
In the second match, he left splits in the first two
frames that he failed to convert before roaring back
with six consecutive strikes to beat fellow hall of famer
Parker Bohn III of Jackson, N.J., 235-233.
In the semifinal match against two-time PBA50
Player of the Year Ron Mohr of Las Vegas, Monacelli
was down by 30 pins in the fourth frame before string-
ing seven strikes together to win the match 256-244 to
advance to the title match against Maccarone.
―I hope I can perform mentally and physically the
way I did the last two days in every tournament I
bowl,‖ said Monacelli, who is also a 20-time PBA Tour
winner. ―Those two matches were the best example of
how I was able to stay calm and focus after making
mistakes.
―It would have been easy for me to lose my compo-
sure and let that get the best of me,‖ he continued. ―I
wasn‘t thinking, oh, I‘m going to lose the match. I was
thinking about what I needed to do to throw a better
shot. It helped that in both cases it was early in the
match because that gave me time to make the correc-
tions.‖
Monacelli‘s other PBA50 major titles were the USBC
Senior Masters in 2015 and back-to-back PBA Senior
U.S. Open titles in 2012 and 2013.
In winning his second title of the season, Monacelli
became only the second player to win multiple titles
this season. PBA Hall of Famer Pete Weber, who won
a record six PBA50 Tour titles, was the other.
―I‘m just trying to concentrate on learning as I go and
don‘t over analyze,‖ said Monacelli, who won the
PBA50 Fountain Valley Open in June. ―The way my
game is now it takes me back to my best years on the
tour in the ‗90s. I just need to do my thing.‖
In the opening stepladder match Bohn, a three-time
PBA50 Tour winner, beat Hall of Famer Brian Voss of
Centennial, Colo., who was trying for his second win of
the season, 216-180.
The other 2016 PBA50 major winners were Weber,
who won the Senior U.S. Open and Senior Masters
titles and Hall of Famer Norm Duke who won the
Treasure Island Resort & Casino World Champion-
ship.
PBA50 NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP
to Benefit Riley Hospital for Children
Signature Lanes, Elkhart, Ind., Wednesday
Final Standings:
1, Amleto Monacelli, Venezuela, $10,000.
2, Sam Maccarone, Blackwood, N.J., $6,000.
3, Ron Mohr, Las Vegas, $3,500.
4, Parker Bohn III, Jackson, N.J., $2,500.
5, Brian Voss, Centennial, Colo., $2,000.
Stepladder Results:
Match One – Bohn def. Voss, 216-180.
Match Two – Monacelli def. Bohn, 235-233
Semifinal Match – Monacelli def. Mohr, 256-244.
Championship – Monacelli def. Maccarone, 224-212.
Modified Match Play Round 2 (after six games, includ-
ing match play bonus pins. Top five advance to step-
ladder finals)
1, Sam Maccarone, Blackwood, N.J., 4-2, 1,583.
2, Ron Mohr, Las Vegas, 4-2, 1,548.
3, Amleto Monacelli, Venezuela, 4-2, 1,530.
4, Brian Voss, Centennial, Colo., 4-2, 1,516.
5, Parker Bohn III, Jackson, N.J., 4-2, 1,504.
6, Lennie Boresch Jr., Wis., 3-3, 1,485, $1,750.
7, John Brockland, Mo., 4-2, 1,461, $1,750.
8, Norm Duke, Clermont, Fla., 3-3, 1,459, $1,850.
9, Bo Goergen, Sanford, Mich., 4-2, 1,440, $1,500.
10, Jack Jurek, Lackawanna, N.Y., 3-3, 1,433, $1,500.
11, Brian LeClair, Delmar, N.Y., 3-3, 1,410, $1,500.
12, Walter Ray Williams Jr., Fla., 2-4, 1,370, $1,500.
13, Tony Johnson, Canton, Ohio, 3-3, 1,325, $1,500.
14, Bob Learn Jr., Erie, Pa., 1-5, 1,309, $1,500.
15, Bryan Goebel, Shawnee, Kan., 0-6, 1,289, $1,500.
16, Eddie Graham, Ohio, 2-4, 1,287, $1,500.
Modified Match Play Round 1 (after five games, in-
cluding match play bonus pins)
17, Paul McCordic, Texas, 2-3, 1,146, $1,300.
18, Robert Brown, Cody, Wyo., 1-4, 1,144, $1,300.
19, James Knoblauch, Wis., 3-2, 1,128, $1,300.
20, Tom Carter, Columbus, Ohio, 3-2, 1,120, $1,300.
21, Mark Sullivan, Indianapolis, 2-3, 1,117, $1,300.
22, Kerry Fulford, Texas, 1-4, 1,072, $1,400.
23, Mike Scroggins, Amarillo, Texas, 1-4, 988, $1,300.
24, John Dudak, Orland Park, Ill., 1-4, 975, $1,300.
Other Cashers (after five-game cashers‘ round)
25, Brian Kretzer, Dayton, Ohio, 1,055, $1,150.
26, Christopher Keane, Fla., 1,040, $1,150.
27, John Petraglia, Jackson, N.J., 1,033, $1,100.
28, n-John Weltzien, Wellington, Fla., 1,032, $1,000.
29, Emilio Mora Sr., Defiance, Ohio, 1,024, $1,000.
30, Ernie Segura Jr., Taylor, Mich., 1,023, $1,000.
31, Dave Sill, Titusville, Fla., 986, $1,000.
32, Steve Stein, Staten Island, N.Y., 978, $1,000.
33, Bill Henson, Westerville, Ohio, 941, $1,000.
34, Steven Jansson, Barnes, Wis., 929, $1,000.
Californian Ron Schmidt Is “Cruising”
by Frank Weiler
LAS VEGAS - Ron Schmidt is a CALIFORNIA
BOWLER living his dream. He is a CALIFORNIA bowler
competing on the PBA 50 Tour. He is still bowling with
enthusiasm. Enthusiasm for conquering Bowling's big
time. He has done everything a bowler can do at the
local league and tournament level. His bowling bag is
full of league titles, Association and State wins. His bag
is full of dozens of honor scores and house records.
There is nothing left for Ron to do but make a splash on
the national stage, against the PBA's senior bowlers.
Can Ron do it? Can he move up to bowling's big time
and succeed?
After accomplishing everything a local bowler can ac-
complish can he take on the world successfully? YES
HE CAN! He is a CALIFORNIA BOWLER and we are
the best bowlers in the world.
I bumped into Ron in Las Vegas a few weeks ago when
he was competing in this years USBC Senior Masters
and watched him bowl phenomenally during the third
round of qualifying. He rolled games of 235-240-227-
230-201=1,133 to score the third highest third round
score for his squad. His plus 133 pins was the result of a
226 average. Overall, his 3,004 total pins for fifteen
qualifying games was the result of a 200 average on a
difficult sport oil condition.
If Ron had scored during the first two qualifying rounds
like he had during the third round he would have finished
near the "TOP TEN" qualifiers. Ron started the Senior
Masters slow but really got going after taking top quali-
fier PARKER BOHN'S advice. Implementing Parker's
advice Ron started "CRUISING". A CALIFORNIA
BOWLER cruising against the best senior bowlers in the
world.
So what did Ron learn from Parker? In two words:
"MOVE OUT". Ron started the tournament playing in-
side, rolling his strike ball over the fourteen board out to
about the seven board and back. He didn't start scoring
until he started playing a straighter outside line going
straight up the ten board. He started scoring when he
took Parker Bohn's advice. Such a small move for such
a big turn around.
Ron is limiting his league bowling these days and con-
centrating on sport bowling. He is focusing on tourna-
ments that feature sport oil conditions. According to Ron:
"bowling on house shots mess up your sport game".
Hence, he is staying away from house shots.
Earlier I mentioned that Ron had a bowling bag full of
awards and records. At the top of that list of accomplish-
ments is the 874 (300-299-273) he rolled to set a new
house record for Upland Bowl five years ago. A score
that topped the previous record held by PBA champion
JOSH BLANCHARD. Ron could not miss that record
setting night. After two games his score stood at 599!
He started that night with 23 consecutive strikes. He
started the third game with six more strikes and 29 out of
his first 30 shots. With four frames to go he had a
chance for an 899 series!
Ron and I spoke for several hours while he was compet-
ing at SAM'S TOWN at the Senior Masters. He ex-
plained to me the adjustments necessary to compete on
the PBA 50 Tour. He explained what equipment changes
were necessary to compete. He explained to me what
the mentality of a PBA player must be. Ron knows bowl-
ing at the professional level.
With his bowling knowledge and increasing experience
of competing against the best in the world, I look forward
to seeing Ron "CRUISING" to bigger things on the PBA
50 Tour.
