AUBURN - “Tomorrow's another day,” said Mike Crowley, moments after walking off the Falcon Lanes Saturday. “I'll just lace'em up and see what happens.”
Chet Susslin / The Citizen
Mike Ryan, of Auburn, participates in The Citizen Masters bowling tournament at Falcon Lanes on Saturday afternoon.
Mike Ryan, of Auburn, participates in The Citizen Masters bowling tournament at Falcon Lanes on Saturday afternoon.
Indeed, a simple statement. But it nails down the emotions in the men's portion of The Citizen Masters, for 46 years Auburn's best bowling tournament.
Crowley and 23 others still have a chance to win the championship. The losers' bracket starts today at 11 a.m. The winners' bracket, along with the survivors of the first squad, competes at 12:30 p.m. Those remaining in the losers' bracket will square off at 2 p.m.
Mike Rouse stole the hearts of the fans early Saturday. The Weedsport resident fired his first 300 game en route to a 714-501 triumph over Jim Fedyshyn on the opening losers' bracket squad.
“I looked up in the seventh frame and saw that I had all strikes,” Rouse said. “I tried not to pay attention, but then I threw the eighth one. I was really throwing the ball good.”
The right-hander jammed the pocket on his 10th ball, but then crossed over for a Brooklyn strike on his 11th.
“Take a deep breath, Mike,” someone called out softly before his last shot. The 26-year-old answered with a perfect hit.
He jumped into the air and pumped his fist. High fives and hugs from bowlers and friends followed.
“Oh, I was definitely nervous,” he said. “I think I even missed a step on that 11th shot.”
Later, the gracious Fedyshyn could only shake his head after the humbling defeat.
“What are you going to do?” he said. “God bless him.”
But Rouse ran into a sizzling Jeff Matty his next match. Matty, who had won his opener over Jim Melfi, 715-681, then eliminated Rouse, 722-615.
In the winners' bracket, Mike Ryan, who had a perfect game of his own in qualifying, earned a 737-652 win over Derek Locastro. Ryan, ahead by 25 pins after two games, fired a 267 finale to settle the issue.
More clutch shooting kept a group of fine bowlers unbeaten.
Jim Locastro rolled 257 and 254 his last two games to best Greg Walczyk, 707-516; steady left-hander Mike Sheehan built a 71-pin advantage after two in holding off Crowley, 700-613; and, Dan Guzalak rode a 256 start to knock off Geary Gioia, 647-528.
Also, Kevin Mead survived a 165 finale to slip past Joe Chekansky, 642-629. Chekansky rolled 215 his third game but fell just short; Jamie Mills, on the strength of a 249 first game, turned away Pete Bommersbach, 640-565.
Gary Sutton remained unscathed by converting the 6-7-10 split in the 10th frame. He edged Mike Prior, 604-595.
“I tried to make it interesting,” the right-hander deadpanned afterward. His unorthodox approach, in which he finishes off the wrong foot, has served him well. One more victory puts him in great shape heading to the final weekend.
Gary Fedigan, Lou Tabone, Brian Parry, Bill Gentilcore, Lee Burnett, John Ashby Jr. and Dan Pilat joined Matty as two-time winners for the day.
Pilat ended the bids of Steve Gardner (668-602) and Matt Thomas (645-625), and he tried to wind down later.
“No match is easy. Both of my opponents pushed me today,” Pilat said. “When the game is tight, you feel it. I just try to take a deep breath and block out any nervousness.”
It gets no easier for Pilat, who today takes on former champion Lou Tabone.
Tabone defeated Ed DeTomaso, 670-515 his first match, and then eliminated last year's winner Rick Liccion, 673-667. Liccion chopped the 2-4-5 spare in the final frame, his only open of the match, in a tough defeat.
Burnett, meanwhile, capped off a rollercoaster day with a late flurry of strikes. His first smash in the 10th frame propelled him past Harold Frisbie, 662-445. The lefty remains alive in the losers' bracket.
“I hit the pocket all match, but I kept leaving single pins and I didn't know whether I should change equipment,” said Burnett, who sported broken calluses on his bowling hand when it was over.
“But I got through it, and I'll be back to battle tomorrow.”
The Waterloo resident, who competes in Auburn chiefly to bowl in The Citizen Masters, clearly enjoyed the rush of emotion.
“This is super cool,” he said.
Men's Citizen Masters
Falcon Lanes
Losers' Bracket
11:30 a.m. Saturday
Rick Liccion 682 def. Jerry Locastro 570
Lou Tabone 670 def. Ed DeTomaso 515
Matt Thomas 649 def. Greg Hypes 634
Dan Pilat 668 def. Steve Gardner 602
Jeff Lumb 662 def. Kevin Ashby 612
Gary Fedigan 694 def. Darrin Emperato 578
Jeff Matty 715 def. Jim Melfi 681
Mike Rouse 714 def. Jim Fedyshyn 501
Gavin Dennis 691 def. Marc Chalupnicki 554
Brian Parry 623 Pat Donahue 620
Brian Richardson 683 def. Bill Dockstader 534
Bill Gentilcore 686 def. David MacDonald 538
Lee Burnett 646 def. Greg Bibbens 612
Harold Frisbie 691 def. Tom Knapp 672
John Ashby Jr. 643 def. Tim Waters 595
Nick Pingryn 655 def. David Ashby 627
(16 eliminated)
1:30 p.m.
Winners' Bracket
Gary Sutton 604 def. Mike Prior 595
Mike Sheehan 700 def. Mike Crowley 613
J.T. Locastro 587 def. Joe Bennett 568
Dan Guzalak 647 def. Geary Gioia 528
Mike Ryan 737 def. Derek Locastro 652
Jamie Mills 640 def. Pete Bommersbach 565
Jim Locastro 707 def. Greg Walczyk 516
Kevin Mead 642 def. Joe Chekansky 629
Losers' Bracket
Gary Fedigan 689 def. Jeff Lumb 659
Jeff Matty 722 def. Mike Rouse 615
Lou Tabone 673 def. Rick Liccion 667
Dan Pilat 645 def. Matt Thomas 625
Brian Parry 641 def. Gavin Dennis 537
Bill Gentilcore 600 def. Brian Richardson 576
Lee Burnett 662 def. Harold Frisbie 645
John Ashby Jr. 591 def. Nick Pingryn 589
(Eight eliminated)
Falcon Lanes
11 a.m. today
Losers' Bracket
Gary Fedigan vs. Jeff Matty
Lou Tabone vs. Dan Pilat
Brian Parry vs. Bill Gentilcore
Lee Burnett vs. John Ashby Jr.
Derek Locastro vs. Pete Bommersbach
Greg Walczyk vs. Joe Chekansky
Mike Prior vs. Mike Crowley
Joe Bennett vs. Geary Gioia
12:30 p.m. today
Winners' Bracket
Mike Ryan vs. Jamie Mills
Jim Locastro vs. Kevin Mead
Gary Sutton vs. Mike Sheehan
J.T. Locastro vs. Dan Guzalak
(Winners from 11 a.m. squad will also bowl)
(A 2 p.m. Losers' Bracket squad will follow)
Crowley and 23 others still have a chance to win the championship. The losers' bracket starts today at 11 a.m. The winners' bracket, along with the survivors of the first squad, competes at 12:30 p.m. Those remaining in the losers' bracket will square off at 2 p.m.
Mike Rouse stole the hearts of the fans early Saturday. The Weedsport resident fired his first 300 game en route to a 714-501 triumph over Jim Fedyshyn on the opening losers' bracket squad.
“I looked up in the seventh frame and saw that I had all strikes,” Rouse said. “I tried not to pay attention, but then I threw the eighth one. I was really throwing the ball good.”
The right-hander jammed the pocket on his 10th ball, but then crossed over for a Brooklyn strike on his 11th.
“Take a deep breath, Mike,” someone called out softly before his last shot. The 26-year-old answered with a perfect hit.
He jumped into the air and pumped his fist. High fives and hugs from bowlers and friends followed.
“Oh, I was definitely nervous,” he said. “I think I even missed a step on that 11th shot.”
Later, the gracious Fedyshyn could only shake his head after the humbling defeat.
“What are you going to do?” he said. “God bless him.”
But Rouse ran into a sizzling Jeff Matty his next match. Matty, who had won his opener over Jim Melfi, 715-681, then eliminated Rouse, 722-615.
In the winners' bracket, Mike Ryan, who had a perfect game of his own in qualifying, earned a 737-652 win over Derek Locastro. Ryan, ahead by 25 pins after two games, fired a 267 finale to settle the issue.
More clutch shooting kept a group of fine bowlers unbeaten.
Jim Locastro rolled 257 and 254 his last two games to best Greg Walczyk, 707-516; steady left-hander Mike Sheehan built a 71-pin advantage after two in holding off Crowley, 700-613; and, Dan Guzalak rode a 256 start to knock off Geary Gioia, 647-528.
Also, Kevin Mead survived a 165 finale to slip past Joe Chekansky, 642-629. Chekansky rolled 215 his third game but fell just short; Jamie Mills, on the strength of a 249 first game, turned away Pete Bommersbach, 640-565.
Gary Sutton remained unscathed by converting the 6-7-10 split in the 10th frame. He edged Mike Prior, 604-595.
“I tried to make it interesting,” the right-hander deadpanned afterward. His unorthodox approach, in which he finishes off the wrong foot, has served him well. One more victory puts him in great shape heading to the final weekend.
Gary Fedigan, Lou Tabone, Brian Parry, Bill Gentilcore, Lee Burnett, John Ashby Jr. and Dan Pilat joined Matty as two-time winners for the day.
Pilat ended the bids of Steve Gardner (668-602) and Matt Thomas (645-625), and he tried to wind down later.
“No match is easy. Both of my opponents pushed me today,” Pilat said. “When the game is tight, you feel it. I just try to take a deep breath and block out any nervousness.”
It gets no easier for Pilat, who today takes on former champion Lou Tabone.
Tabone defeated Ed DeTomaso, 670-515 his first match, and then eliminated last year's winner Rick Liccion, 673-667. Liccion chopped the 2-4-5 spare in the final frame, his only open of the match, in a tough defeat.
Burnett, meanwhile, capped off a rollercoaster day with a late flurry of strikes. His first smash in the 10th frame propelled him past Harold Frisbie, 662-445. The lefty remains alive in the losers' bracket.
“I hit the pocket all match, but I kept leaving single pins and I didn't know whether I should change equipment,” said Burnett, who sported broken calluses on his bowling hand when it was over.
“But I got through it, and I'll be back to battle tomorrow.”
The Waterloo resident, who competes in Auburn chiefly to bowl in The Citizen Masters, clearly enjoyed the rush of emotion.
“This is super cool,” he said.
Men's Citizen Masters
Falcon Lanes
Losers' Bracket
11:30 a.m. Saturday
Rick Liccion 682 def. Jerry Locastro 570
Lou Tabone 670 def. Ed DeTomaso 515
Matt Thomas 649 def. Greg Hypes 634
Dan Pilat 668 def. Steve Gardner 602
Jeff Lumb 662 def. Kevin Ashby 612
Gary Fedigan 694 def. Darrin Emperato 578
Jeff Matty 715 def. Jim Melfi 681
Mike Rouse 714 def. Jim Fedyshyn 501
Gavin Dennis 691 def. Marc Chalupnicki 554
Brian Parry 623 Pat Donahue 620
Brian Richardson 683 def. Bill Dockstader 534
Bill Gentilcore 686 def. David MacDonald 538
Lee Burnett 646 def. Greg Bibbens 612
Harold Frisbie 691 def. Tom Knapp 672
John Ashby Jr. 643 def. Tim Waters 595
Nick Pingryn 655 def. David Ashby 627
(16 eliminated)
1:30 p.m.
Winners' Bracket
Gary Sutton 604 def. Mike Prior 595
Mike Sheehan 700 def. Mike Crowley 613
J.T. Locastro 587 def. Joe Bennett 568
Dan Guzalak 647 def. Geary Gioia 528
Mike Ryan 737 def. Derek Locastro 652
Jamie Mills 640 def. Pete Bommersbach 565
Jim Locastro 707 def. Greg Walczyk 516
Kevin Mead 642 def. Joe Chekansky 629
Losers' Bracket
Gary Fedigan 689 def. Jeff Lumb 659
Jeff Matty 722 def. Mike Rouse 615
Lou Tabone 673 def. Rick Liccion 667
Dan Pilat 645 def. Matt Thomas 625
Brian Parry 641 def. Gavin Dennis 537
Bill Gentilcore 600 def. Brian Richardson 576
Lee Burnett 662 def. Harold Frisbie 645
John Ashby Jr. 591 def. Nick Pingryn 589
(Eight eliminated)
Falcon Lanes
11 a.m. today
Losers' Bracket
Gary Fedigan vs. Jeff Matty
Lou Tabone vs. Dan Pilat
Brian Parry vs. Bill Gentilcore
Lee Burnett vs. John Ashby Jr.
Derek Locastro vs. Pete Bommersbach
Greg Walczyk vs. Joe Chekansky
Mike Prior vs. Mike Crowley
Joe Bennett vs. Geary Gioia
12:30 p.m. today
Winners' Bracket
Mike Ryan vs. Jamie Mills
Jim Locastro vs. Kevin Mead
Gary Sutton vs. Mike Sheehan
J.T. Locastro vs. Dan Guzalak
(Winners from 11 a.m. squad will also bowl)
(A 2 p.m. Losers' Bracket squad will follow)
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