FAMILY AFFAIR FOR COSTAS
Brazilian couple shines, but Dominican bowlers rise in the name of
Sebelen, the guest of honor.
by LYDIA RYPCINSKI
BACK IN 1992, when Walter and Jacque Costa
competed in the AMF Lee Evans Tournament of
the Americas, they both rolled 289 games in
singles, identical to the very pin (No. 7) that each left to spoil the
string of 12 strikes. It was not enough, though, and they missed out on
the gold medal.
They proved in 1998, however, that pooling that talent into the same
division makes them an unbeatable force.
The Brazilians scored a 46-pin victory over Team Canada's Sandy Lowe and
Frank Buffa, clinched by Jacque's 258 closing game, to trump the adult
field at the 36th edition of the Miami classic. "Jacque is the star
of the family right now," boasted Walter, who won three other T of
A titles in the 1980s. "I'll probably wind up sleeping in the
bathtub from now on."
As unexpected as it was, the Costas' victory wasn't the upset of the tournament.
That honor went to two youngsters from the Dominican Republic, Jose
Alberti and Maximiliano Gil. The duo generated front-page headlines
across their island nation by winning the junior men's doubles by four
pins, becoming the Republic's first-ever youth bowlers to win gold in
international competition.
"I dedicate this victory to the father of Dominican bowling,
Rolando Sebelen," choked an emotional Gil afterward. "Look, my
thumb is ready to split wide open, but it is worth it for the gold."
It was a fitting tribute to Sebelen, recipient of this year's Lee
Evans Memorial Award for devotion to the sport; but the Dominican
star missed hearing it in person at The Cloverleaf. After accepting his
award at the opening ceremonies, Sebelen flew to Maracaibo, Venezuela,
to join his team at the Central American/Caribbean Games. A last-minute
change in centers for the Games resulted in schedule overlapping between
the two tournaments, and many T of A regulars were detoured to Maracaibo.
Unfortunately for the U.S., which traditionally dominates the T of A,
not enough first-stringers bypassed Miami. Uncle Sam was shut out in
adult mixed doubles by Latin and Canadian players, and it was an
all-Latin affair in the junior men's doubles. Still, the Americans won
32 out of a possible 42 medals. Colombia, whose depth grows daily, sent
national team members Andres Gomez, Luz Leal, David Romero and Carlos
Acosta to Miami before flying them to Venezuela. All they did was win
the gold in men's all-events (Gomez), silver in adult men's doubles (Gomez
and Romero) and junior men's singles (Acosta), and bronze in adult
singles (Gomez and Leal). Throw in the tournament's
lone perfect game by Gomez (his first in sanctioned play, and the tournament's
sixth ever), and it was scary to think what Colombia might have done at
full strength.
Team Canada had a productive week, too. Besides the silver she and Frank
Buffa won in mixed doubles, Sandy Lowe bronzed in women's doubles with
Jennifer Willis and in adult women's all-events. Joe Ciach took the men's
singles, and then anchored his squad's silver performance in mixed team
and national all-events, closing the tournament
with a 222 game in his run for individual all-events. Leading Colombia's
Gomez by just nine pins going into that last game, "I figured I had
to shoot 230 to be pretty sure of winning it," Ciach said. "I
gave him an opening."
Gomez took it. His closing four-bagger and final eight-count gave him
all-events by four pins.
"I knew Joe was ahead and all I could do was keep striking. The
pressure was tremendous," confessed the 25-year-old, who luckily Đ
and belatedly Đ felled the 4-pin from behind when he pulled up on his
final strike.
"Last year in all-events, it was Team USA [Matt Ratliff], Team USA
[Mike Faliero] and then me. So I guess this was meant to be."
The U.S. adults' firepower came primarily from the women this year. Team
USA's Lisa Duenow appeared to strike at will in taking the singles,
women's doubles and women's all-events. Her 36-game all-events score of
7392 topped not only teammate Lynda Norry's, but even John Gaines' and
Carl Fietek's totals. It was a personal best in international
competition for the 27-year-old Duenow, who is pointing toward Team USA
1999 and the World Championships.
Norry, on her Team USA farewell tour (she plans to turn pro in January),
shadowed Duenow all week, winning doubles with her and taking second in
women's adult singles and all-events. Gaines and Fietek added another
gold in adult men's doubles, prior to helping the U.S. come from behind
to win the mixed-team event. That two-day competition found Mexico in
the lead after the first six games, with Canada breathing down its neck
two pins away and the U.S. struggling in third.
"We weren't matching up equipment and conditions very well,"
Gaines said. "We knew we had to find something fast with just six
games left."
"John sacrificed his own game for us," Norry said. "He
took it on himself to find a line and then watched each of us to put the
right ball in our hands and help us make the right moves. It broke his
concentration to do that, but that's what enabled us to start scoring."
Gaines' willingness to fall on his sword helped the U.S. get past Canada
and Mexico to win by 115 pins. It also put a little frosting on the
national all-events cake the Americans took home.
It was "second verse, same as the first" in the senior and
junior divisions. Former Team USAer Ed Roberts went six-for-six in the
senior men's categories, as did teammate Linda Lunsford and junior
standout Jennifer Petrick. The U.S. seniors and juniors dashed tournament
records by the fistful; the youngsters (Petrick, Missy Bellinder, James
Kowalski and Sean Rash) in particular set some kind of all-universe
record with the margin of their national all-events victory (1,695 pins).
With the exception of Alberti and Gil's win in junior men's doubles, the
U.S. swept every junior and senior category available. Canada feasted on
most of the seniors' silver medals, while an amalgam of nations shared
the same among the juniors.
Next year's Pan Am Games in Winnipeg, Canada, in which bowling is a
medal sport, are scheduled for the week prior to the AMF Lee
Evans Tournament of the Americas. Tournament
director Paulette Watson says she'll juggle her schedule accordingly so
that teams can participate in both events. "After all, Miami is
where many of the Latin teams will stop over on their return from
Winnipeg anyway," she reasons. "Why not take advantage of the
opportunity to bring home a few more medals?"
Why not, indeed? As the veteran Costas and youngsters Alberti and Gil
proved, nothing is impossible in Miami.
