Dick Allen Ends Six-Year Title Drought with Victory in PBA Xtra Frame Chesapeake Open
by bvint | Sunday, August 13, 3:00 PM
CHESAPEAKE, Va. – 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.,
2, Ryan Ciminelli, Cheektowaga, N.Y.,
3, Anthony Caso, Spring Hill, Fla.,
4, Cristian Azcona, Puerto Rico
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
6, Steven Arehart, Chesapeake, Va., 3,847
7 (tie), x-Dom Barrett, England, and Anthony Simonsen, Austin, Texas, 3,809
Round of 16 Cashers (did not advance, after 15 games):
9, Andres Gomez, Colombia, 3,370
10, EJ Tackett, Huntington, Ind., 3,346
11, n-Josh Garner, Hampton, Va., 3,335
12, Tom Daugherty, Riverview, Fla., 3,333
13, Rhino Page, Orlando, Fla., 3,300
14, Josh Blanchard, Mesa, Ariz., 3,276
15, Kyle Troup, Taylorsville, N.C., 3,260
16, Matt Taylor, Youngsville, N.C., 3,217
Cashers Round Cashers (did not advance, after 12 games):
17, Chris Arcaro, Carolina Beach, N.C., 2,606
18, Clifford Stanley II, Virginia Beach, Va., 2,582
19, Zulmazran Zulkifli, Malaysia, 2,575
20, Jason Sterner, Rockledge, Fla., 2,555
21, Shota Kawazoe, Japan, 2,549
22, Ildemaro Ruiz, Venezuela, 2,545
23, Darren Tang, San Francisco, 2,535
24, Michael Tang, San Francisco, 2,527
25, Cody Shoemaker, Hanover, Pa., 2,519
26, Andrew Klingler, Grand Rapids, Mich., 2,515
27, Chris Via, Springfield, Ohio, 2,512
28, Chris Polizzi, Spring Hill, Fla., 2,508
29, David Powers, Newport News, Va., 2,498
30, Richard Horsley, Morrisville, N.C., 2,495
31, Darrin Casstevens, Winston-Salem, N.C., 2,488
32, Kristian Rogers, Salisbury, N.C., 2,472
33, Anthony DeStasio, Fort Lauderdale, Fla., 2,463
34, Michael Vitalone, Jr., Lake Worth, Fla., 2,451
35, Jeremy Mooney, West Palm Beach, Fla., 2,431
36, Trevor Roberts, Crystal River, Fla., 2,406
37, Kip Roberts, Glen Allen, Va., 2,403
38, Jeff Evans, Supply, N.C., 2,393
39, n-Chris Kruschke, Newport News, Va., 2,39
40, Johnnie Payne, Savannah, Ga., 2,385
41, n-David Schmidtmann, Norfolk, Va., 2,377
42, Sean Rash, Montgomery, Ill., 1,767
43, Craig Nidiffer, Trenton, Mich., 1,660