Jurek Ends Record 14-Year Title Quest in PBA Shark Championship

Kulick tops Dorin-Ballard for second PBA Women’s Series title

 

ALLEN PARK, Mich. (Dec. 6, 2009) – Jack Jurek of Lackawanna, N.Y., ended a Professional Bowlers Association record 14-year void between titles when he defeated Mike Fagan of Patchogue, N.Y., in a one-ball, sudden-death roll-off to win the PBA Shark Championship at Thunderbowl Lanes.

In the final PBA “animal pattern” championships of the inaugural PBA World Series of Bowling which aired Sunday on ESPN, Kelly Kulick of Union, N.J., defeated Carolyn Dorin-Ballard of Keller, Texas, 198-182, to win the women’s Shark Championship.

Jurek, at age 46, ended his 14-year, 175-day quest for his second Lumber Liquidators PBA Tour title when he struck in the roll-off after he and Fagan had tied at 218-218, and then watched Fagan miss the headpin. It was a heart-stopping finish after an equally tense final frame that saw Jurek falter when victory was an eyelash away.

A pair of doubles early in the game gave Jurek an edge, but he let Fagan back into the match when he left the “Big Four” 4-6-7-10 split in the sixth frame. Jurek jumped back into command with strikes in the eighth and ninth frames, and on his first ball in the 10th. Needing only a nine-count/spare to lock up the title, Jurek left the 3-6-10. He got the spare, and held his breath.

Fagan, with a strike in the ninth, needed three more in the 10th to win by a pin. He got the first two, but left a 10 pin on his last shot to send the match into overtime.

“I got the first strike and gave myself a chance,” Jurek said, “but then the chills that went up my spine were indescribable. That was almost 15 years of waiting for the opportunity, and it was a little too much for me to handle at the moment. I thought about taking a re-rack, but I didn’t want to give myself too much time to think about what I was going to do.   “But it was overwhelming. I took a deep breath and thought I had myself under control. But three pins? I thought it was another opportunity I let slip away,” he confessed. “I was fortunate (Mike) left a pin on his third shot.”

Jurek had the right to bowl first in the roll-off, so he took a calculated risk.

“The last four shots (Fagan) threw on the left lane, he struck,” Jurek said. “The right lane was a little trickier. I was just kind of banking on the fact that I could throw the first strike and he’d leave something, and it worked out.”

It was not the result Jurek had grown to expect in his career. In 10 previous television appearances, he had averaged a respectable 223.8, but he had a 3-9 won-lost record because his opponents were averaging nearly 250 against him. In the Shark Championship, it was Jurek’s turn, racing to a 255-213 victory over reigning PBA Player of the Year Wes Malott of Pflugerville, Texas, to advance to the
championship match.

 

“It was nice to finally not have 250 shot at me,” Jurek grinned. “The odds were in my favor.”

Jurek knew it had been a long time since his only previous title in the 1995 Tums Classic in Windsor Locks, Conn., but “I didn’t keep track. I knew it was a long time. I knew I could go to my grave with my name on a banner for winning at least one title, but as the years went on, it was important to me to feel like I belonged out here and could win again.

“I may not have had the career I dreamed of when I was a kid, but bowling on tour is everything I still want to do. I’m sorry I’m getting older because realize my time is getting shorter. Maybe I’m like wine, getting better as I get older.”

Jurek’s record span between titles broke the previous record of 14 years, 6 days held by Les Zikes.

Along with his victory, Jurek earned $25,000, an exemption for the 2010-11 Lumber Liquidators PBA Tour season, a berth in the 2010 PBA Tournament of Champions and a
spot in the end-of-season PBA Experience Showdown presented by BOWL.COM.

Fagan, who was trying for his first PBA Tour singles title, defeated Jason Couch of Clermont, Fla., 224-201, to earn his spot in the championship match.

In the PBA Women’s Series presented by BOWL.COM title match, Kulick was in a strike-or-bust mode. Three strikes early in the game kept her in the match until she opened in the sixth and seventh frames. Dorin-Ballard, who was seeking her third career PBA Women’s Series title, gave her advantage back with splits and open frames in her eighth and ninth frames.

A key ball change by Kulick in the ninth frame led to another string of three strikes and a come-from-behind victory.

“I thought I made the right ball choice at the start, but as the game went along, things just got worse,” Kulick said. “I don’t know how I strung three strikes in a row early, but in the ninth and 10th, I made a ball change. I knew I had to do something. It was a good guess. I had an idea what I wanted to do, and what the ball was supposed to do, and when the first shot went flush, I knew that was the right
answer.”

The title was Kulick’s second during the PBA World Series of Bowling. She also won the inaugural PBA Women’s World Championship. Her Shark victory was worth $10,000.  Because Kulick had previously qualified for the PBA Women’s Series Showdown presented by BOWL.COM, Dorin-Ballard earned a spot in the end-of-season event which will be held in the United States Bowling Congress’ International Training Center in Arlington, Texas.

LUMBER LIQUIDATORS PBA TOUR
SHARK CHAMPIONSHIP
Thunderbowl Lanes, Allen Park, Mich.

Championship
Jack Jurek, Lackawanna, N.Y. ($25,000) def. Mike Fagan, Patchogue, N.Y. ($13,000),
218-218, 10-8 in one-ball sudden-death roll-off.

Semifinal Round
Fagan def. Jason Couch, Clermont, Fla. ($7,000), 224-201.
Jurek def. Wes Malott, Pflugerville, Texas ($7,000), 255-213.

PBA WOMEN’S SERIES PRESENTED BY BOWL.COM
SHARK CHAMPIONSHIP

Championship
Kelly Kulick, Union, N.J. ($10,000) def. Carolyn Dorin-Ballard, Keller, Texas
($6,000), 198-182.

2009-10 LUMBER LIQUIDATORS PBA TOUR
EARNINGS LEADERS
(After six events; not including PBA World Championship)
1, Rhino Page, Wesley Chapel, Fla.                     $41,400
2, Bill O’Neill, Southampton, Pa.                          $40,300
3, Jack Jurek, Lackawanna, N.Y.                        $40,200
4, Walter Ray Williams Jr., Ocala, Fla.                 $39,500
5, Norm Duke, Clermont, Fla.                             $37,900
6, Mike DeVaney, San Diego                              $37,100
7, Chris Barnes, Double Oak, Texas                    $31,200
8, Ryan Ciminelli, Cheektowaga, N.Y.                 $28,100
9, Jason Belmonte, Australia                              $27,000
10, Sean Rash, Wichita, Kan.                              $25,100
11, Mike Fagan, Patchogue, N.Y.                        $22,750
12, Ronnie Russell, Camby, Ind.                         $22,100
13, Steve Jaros, Yorkville, Ill.                             $20,950
14, Wes Malott, Pflugerville, Texas                     $20,900
15, Pete Weber, St. Ann, Mo.                             $20,300
16, Thomas Smallwood, Saginaw, Mich.              $19,100
17, Stevie Weber, Chalmette, La.                       $17,300
18, Tommy Jones, Simpsonville, S.C.                  $16,300
19, Ryan Shafer, Horseheads, N.Y.                     $15,840
20, Chris Loschetter, Avon, Ohio                         $15,580

About the PBA
The Professional Bowlers Association (PBA) features the best bowlers in the world competing in National, Regional and Senior Tour events and awarded over $4.3 million in prize money during the 2008-09 Lumber Liquidators PBA National Tour. The organization has more than 4,000 members spanning 13 countries, and nearly one million viewers tune-in to watch the Lumber Liquidators PBA Tour every Sunday on ESPN throughout the season. PBA sponsors include Barbasol, Bayer, Brunswick, Etonic, Flomax, GEICO, Go RVing, H&R Block, Lumber Liquidators, Pepsi-Cola and the USBC,
among others. For more information on the PBA, log on to www.pba.com.

Start Slide Show with PicLens Lite