Buncombe wins Parris Island Bowling Club championship

Roberta "Peachy" Buncombe won her first Parris Island Bowling Club championship with a narrow 168-156 victory over Ann Pierce-Lindo on June 14 at Parris Island Lanes from a field of 37 bowlers.

Qualifying from the first shift were Brandon Valentine (663), Teresa Coursey (657) and Charlie Simmons (635). Bill Jackson (703), John Manning (689) and Lindo (684) made the finals from the second shift, along with Lou Brown, who was the high-scratch, non-qualifier with a 619 set. Buncombe was the top qualifier for the tournament with a 715 and drew the No. 1 slot in the finals.

In the first match, Brandon Valentine bested the field by striking out in the final two frames to edge out Brown and advance to the second round to take on Pierce-Lindo, Jackson and Manning. The two-time champion Pierce-Lindo was too much for her challengers as she advanced to the finals to meet her old friend Peachy Buncombe.

In the championship match, strange things happened along the way. After starting the day off with great sets in the qualifying rounds by both finalists, they suddenly found that the lane conditions came into play as the hot, humid weather became a major factor. The two combatants just couldn't get anything going for them as they both struggled the entire game. The heat caused their hands to become swollen, which affected their ball release and their slide was also altered. Their timing was way off and they tried everything in their arsenals, but to little or no avail. There was no comfort zone for either one and it seemingly got worse as they went along.

It wasn't a pretty sight by any means as they looked quizzically at one another and searched for an answer. They tried trick after trick from their experience bag, but nothing was working.

Finally, when the last ball hit the lanes and the final pins had fallen, Buncombe emerged with a narrow 12-pin margin and with it went a big sigh of relief as she claimed her first PIBC title. It could be labeled as an ugly win, but a win is a win no matter how it looked to other folks, especially when it's your first ever. Buncombe and Pierce-Lindo barely had enough strength to even give each other a high five, but yet they smiled and laughed about this match and they will talk about it for years to come. Congratulations, champion. You deserved to win.

The Mystery Doubles winners from the first shift were Teresa Coursey and Tarrie Loving (883)while Tom Yuhas and Brandon Valentine (812) finished in second place. In the second shift, Buncombe and blind (868) took top honors while John Manning and Steve Borynski (865) were second while Mike Pernell and Tarrie Loving (837) took third place honors.

There were seven new members joining the tournament (Dustin Franklin, Jerry Cotton, Michael Johnson, Charlie Simmons, Kristine Brady, Teresa and John Manning) while six renewed their membership. The 275 handicap game jackpot was won by Ann Pierce-Lindo.

The next tournament will be at Victory Lanes in Savannah on August 9.

Strikes & Spares

• The official results of the SC USBC second annual ladies tournament in Greenville show that the Beaufort team, the Dragons (Loraine Ferguson, Lois Cable, Carolyn Bessinger, Lori Hooper) tallied a 2,439 to finish in 45th place among 84 teams entered. Hooper ranked 20th in Division 2 singles with a 690 handicap while Bessinger was 41st at 667. In the doubles event, Bessinger and Hooper ranked 44th with a 1,266. Hooper ranked 36th in handicap all events at 1,966 and 23rd in scratch all events at 1507 to lead the local gals.

• The results of the Lucky 13 tournament over the weekend will be highlighted in next week's column.

• There are several new leagues forming for the summer. Check them out as there is one just for you.

• Ribaut Lanes will open their doors on Monday, Wednesday, Friday at 5 p.m. and 11 a.m. on Tuesday and Thursday. Contact them at 524-3111 for weekend hours.

LEAGUE HIGHLIGHTS

PRIME TIMERS: Men-Tom Yuhas 616 (224-169-223), Jim Adamcheski 599 (204-201), Karl Waldhauer 591 (235), Bob Culp 546 (205), Lionel Cabaniss 533 (192), Mike Pernell 531 (185), HF Capps 156, George Ladson 145, Robert Smith 158. Women-Lucy Golden 522 (214), May Bell Hayes 468 (173), Gardenia White 157, Ellen Richardson 181, Lois Cochrane 145, Betty White 156, Miriam Enochs 145, Teege Culp 103, Fran Waddell 93.

VIP SENIORS: Men-John Cartwright 563 (220), Curtis Pauling 558 (201), Tom Yuhas 542 (198), Mike Pernell 529 (202), Roy Nygaard 527 (184), Sal Salomon 493 (181), George Ladson 479 (177), Dick Rider 469 (172), Ben Green 468 (161), Willie Faulkner 463 (173), Charlie Meyer 451 (179), Tony Martinez 157, Ike Johnson 179, David Hooper 168, Bob Culp 151, HF Capps 168, Bert Elzy 157. Women-Pat Powers 495 (183), Lori Hooper 490 (189), Ethel Ladson 485 (179), Barbara Tapio 480 (163), Ellen Richardson 467 (167), Gardenia White 460 (176), Loraine Ferguson 443 (158), Lois Cable 442 (174), Beverly Garrett 151, Ida Cuthbert 153, Mary Robinson 161, Earlene Bellamy 153, Theresa Jenkins 184.

SCRATCH DOUBLES: (based on 4 game format)-John Walton 855 (204-237-200-214), Jake Fulcher 849 (221-190-229-209), Mike Robinson 846 (234-192-203-217), Mike Pernell 844 (180-222-214-228), Jeff Toyne 838 (235-193-235-165), Roy Nygaard 832 (214-225-203-190), Tom Yuhas 817 (215-175-172-255), Ron Culberson 811 (214-199-244-154), Hawk Lewis 803 (157-234-229-183), Andy Oswald 787 (225-226), Bill Brady 782 (204), Andrew Leikvoll 779 (206-216), Clarence Heyward 775 (224-225), Chuck Lather 770 (234), Steve Dietz 752 (223), Jerry Cotton 740 (192).