Staff
Four local bowlers were part of the Sunset Country contingent which competed at the Northern Ontario Open championships March 27-30 in North Bay.
Once again, Jeff Watts led the way for the men, qualifying third in the singles competition after averaging 272.7 in the 10-game preliminary roll-off last Wednesday afternoon.
But Watts, who had advanced to the national championships last year, was unable to repeat the feat this time around—falling to Mike McNamara of Nickel District by just six pins (248-242) in the 3 vs. 4 match Saturday afternoon to miss out on a medal.
Greg DeGrazia (Thunder Bay), who had qualified in first place during the preliminary round, wound up with the gold medal after downing Kevin Freeland (Cambrian North) by a score of 265-260 in the final.
Freeland settled for the silver medal while McNamara took home the bronze.
DeGrazia now will represent Northern Ontario at the national roll-offs in late May in Newfoundland.
In ladies’ singles action, meanwhile, Shelley Petsnick of Dryden was tops for Sunset Country, qualifying first with a 256.6 average following the 10-game preliminary round last Wednesday.
As a result, Petsnick earned a bye to Saturday’s final, where she faced Jeannette Gobeil (Cambrian North), who had qualified third.
In order to capture the gold medal, Gobeil had to beat Petsnick twice—and did just that, winning their first match 249-232 before taking the second one 320-224.
Even though she had to settle for silver, Petsnick still will represent Northern Ontario at the nationals because Gobeil chose to bowl with the Cambrian North ladies’ squad, which had won gold in the team competition earlier Saturday to advance to Newfoundland.
Yvette McLellan (Cambrian North) took the bronze medal in the ladies’ singles competition after falling 254-225 to Gobeil in the previous match.
It was a different story for Sunset Country in the team competition, however, as all three squads failed to qualify for the stepladder playoffs on Saturday.
The men’s team, which included Watts and Rick Stamarski of Fort Frances, finished in sixth place with 36 points following the 15-game round-robin portion held over Thursday and Friday.
The squad also featured Chris Gadd, Tim Gadd, and Norm Sanders of Dryden and Mike Cox of Atikokan, with Arnie Rollins of Dryden serving as coach.
Thunder Bay wound up with the gold medal and will represent Northern Ontario at the nationals next month in Newfoundland.
Cambrian North won the silver medal while Nickel District took the bronze.
The Sunset Country women’s team, which included Toni Benning of Fort Frances, earned a fifth-place finish after totalling 48 points over the 15-game round-robin.
The squad also included Petsnick, Jackie Miner, Charlotte Hazlewood, and Tammi Woitowicz of Dryden and Shauna McKay of Kenora, with Bill Luchka of Dryden as coach.
As mentioned, Cambrian North captured the gold medal, with Thunder Bay taking the silver and Gold Belt (Timmins) the bronze.
And Mike Behan of Fort Frances, who advanced to North Bay after another bowler was a late drop-out, was a member of the Sunset Country mixed team, which finished sixth with 47.5 points after the 15-game round-robin.
That squad also included Chris Rollins, Terry DeLaronde, and Jeanine Murray of Dryden and Mike Magee and Cheryl Stefanik of Kenora, with John MacDougall of Kenora as coach.
Cambrian North won the gold medal and now represents Northern Ontario at the nationals in Newfoundland.
Thunder Bay took the silver, with Gold Belt capturing the bronze.
On the bright side, Sunset Country finished tied for third with Nickel District in the aggregate standings (23 points).
Cambrian North captured the aggregate banner with 56 points, followed by Thunder Bay in second (50).
Gateway was fifth with 20 points while host Gateway finished sixth (19).
As well, Watts earned a spot on the men’s all-star team, finishing fourth with a 264.48 average overall (singles and team play combined).
Petsnick, meanwhile, just missed a berth on the ladies’ all-star team, finishing sixth with a 234.18 average overall (the fifth-place bowler averaged 235.56).
