EDITOR’S NOTE: This lead with results will be updated tonight when the second half of the tournament field completes its first round

 

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Bill Vint | PBA Media Relations

Professional Bowlers Association | 55 E. Jackson Blvd., Suite 401 | Chicago, IL 60604

bill.vint@pba.com | cell: 414.339.0404

New York’s Anthony Pepe Takes Early First Round Lead in Go Bowling! PBA 60th Anniversary Classic

INDIANAPOLIS (Feb. 13, 2018) – Anthony Pepe, a 29-year-old left-hander from Elmhurst, N.Y., averaged 252 for his first eight games in the Go Bowling! PBA 60th Anniversary Classic Tuesday to take the early first-round lead at Woodland Bowl by 20 pins fellow lefty Jakob Butturff of Tempe, Ariz.

Pepe, who is trying for his second Professional Bowlers Association Tour title, had a dazzling round, rolling games of 254, 266, 258, 257, 279, 202, 256 and 245 for a 2,017 total to pace the 75 players on A Squad. B squad, the other half of the tournament field, bowled its opening round at 4 p.m. EST.

Pepe, who came into the 2018 season off a solid performance in the GEICO PBA World Series of Bowling IX in Reno, Nev., in late November, said he had a game plan for playing the lanes at Woodland Bowl based on previous experiences in the center.

“The biggest thing was I had an arsenal of bowling balls in wanted to use, and I was able to make the ball choices quickly,” Pepe said. “I also came into the season with a lot of confidence after the World Series. After Matt O’Grady won the PBA Tournament of Champions last week, he said it was proof of what hard work can do, and I couldn’t agree more.”

The Go Bowling! PBA 60th Anniversary Classic is a one-time special event on the PBA schedule, commemorating the organization’s birth in 1958 and 60 years of memorable competition. Over the course of the next few weeks, the PBA will unveil its 60 Most Memorable Moments. This week’s tournament began with 84-year-old PBA Hall of Famer Carmen Salvino of Chicago, who bowled in the first PBA tournament held in 1959, becoming the oldest bowler ever to participate in a PBA Tour event, and it will include the PBA 60th Anniversary Celebration dinner and hall of fame induction ceremonies Saturday, leading into Sunday’s live 1 p.m. ESPN finals of the 60th Anniversary Classic.

Qualifying continues Wednesday with B and A squads bowling another eight games at 9 a.m. and 4 p.m., respectively. After 16 games, the top 37 players will advance to an eight-game cashers round Thursday at 9 a.m. After 24 qualifying games, the top 24 will bowl eight-game head-to-head match play rounds Thursday at 6 p.m. and Friday at 11 a.m. and 6 p.m. All preliminary rounds, plus the annual PBA League Draft on Saturday at 10:30 a.m., will be live stream on PBA’s online bowling channel, Xtra Frame. To sign up, visit xtraframe.tv.

GO BOWLING! PBA 60TH ANNIVERSARY CLASSIC

Woodland Bowl, Indianapolis, Feb. 13

 EARLY FIRST ROUND STANDINGS (Squad A top 60 after 8 games; Squad B bowled its 8 games at 4 p.m.)

1, Anthony Pepe, Elmhurst, N.Y., 2,017.
2, Jakob Butturff, Tempe, Ariz., 1,997.
3, Marshall Kent, Yakima, Wash., 1,945.
4, Osku Palermaa, Finland, 1,924.
5, Chris Via, Springfield, Ohio, 1,869.
6, Darren Tang, San Francisco, 1,868.
7, Tom Hess, Urbandale, Iowa, 1,855.
7, Aaron Lorincz, Center Line, Mich., 1,855.
9, Gary Faulkner Jr., Memphis, Tenn., 1,853.
10, Gabriel Garcia, Port St. Lucie, Fla., 1,832.
11, Dom Barrett, England, 1,821.
12, Bill O’Neill, Langhorne, Pa., 1,814.
13, Ryan Ciminelli, Clarence, N.Y., 1,797.
14, Stuart Williams, England, 1,796.
15, Pontus Andersson, Sweden, 1,794.
16, Connor Pickford, Charlotte, N.C., 1,791.
17, Tom Smallwood, Saginaw, Mich., 1,788.
18, AJ Chapman, Wichita, Kan., 1,782.
19, Tim Foy Jr., Seaford, Del., 1,781.
20, Andrew Cain, Phoenix, 1,775.
21, Jason Belmonte, Australia, 1,770.
22, Joe Paluszek, Bensalem, Pa., 1,759.
23, Walter Ray Williams Jr., Oxford, Fla., 1,756.
24, Zacharay Wilkins, Canada, 1,755.
24, Kristian Sieradzki, Seminole, Fla., 1,755.
26, Sean Lavery-Spahr, Pasadena, Texas, 1,754.
27, Dwight Adams, Greensboro, N.C., 1,752.
28, Brad Miller, Maryland Heights, Mo., 1,750.
29, Matthew O’Grady, Rahway, N.J., 1,744.
30, Trey Ford III, Bartlesville, Okla., 1,743.
30, Mitch Beasley, Clarksville, Tenn., 1,743.
32, Greg Ostrander, Freehold, N.J., 1,742.
33, Francois Lavoie, Canada, 1,736.
34, Jean Perez, Puerto Rico, 1,734.
35, Kyle Sherman, O’Fallon, Mo., 1,727.
36, Andrew Klingler, Grand Rapids, Mich., 1,725.
37, Anthony Lavery-Spahr, Pasadena, Texas, 1,723.
38, Chris Barnes, Double Oak, Texas, 1,719.
39, Patrick Girard, Canada, 1,717.
40, Michael Tang, San Francisco, Calif., 1,716.
40, Graham Fach, Canada, 1,716.
42, Christopher Sloan, Ireland, 1,715.
43, Marco Moretti, Costa Rica, 1,709.
44, Jeff Evans, Supply, N.C., 1,705.
45, Jake Peters, Henderson, Nev., 1,703.
46, Cameron Weier, Tacoma, Wash., 1,695.
47, Kim Bolleby, Thailand, 1,689.
48, AJ Johnson, Oswego, Ill., 1,688.
48, Danielle McEwan, Stony Point, N.Y., 1,688.
50, Norm Duke, Clermont, Fla., 1,685.
51, Steven Arehart, Chesapeake, Va., 1,672.
52, Kyle Bigelow, Troy, Ohio, 1,668.
53, Jesper Svensson, Sweden, 1,662.
54, Rhino Page, Orlando, 1,659.
55, John Furey, Freehold, N.J., 1,654.
55, Daniel Fransson, Sweden, 1,654.
57, JR Raymond, Clinton Twp., Mich., 1,631.
58, Chris Arcaro, Carolina Beach, N.C., 1,626.
59, Mitch Hupe, Towanda, Kan., 1,621.
59, Markus Jansson, Sweden, 1,621.

 

About the PBA

In 2018 the Professional Bowlers Association (PBA) celebrates its 60th anniversary. The PBA is an organization of more than 3,000 of the best bowlers from 27 countries who compete in Go Bowling! PBA Tour, PBA International Tour, PBA Regional Tour, PBA Women’s Regional and PBA50 Tour events. The 2018 season also marks the 59th consecutive year of nationally-televised competition, reaching bowling fans around the world who follow PBA activities through the PBA Network which includes Xtra Frame, the PBA’s exclusive online bowling channel, ESPN and CBS Sports Network, and the PBA on Facebook, Twitter and YouTube. PBA sponsors include Barbasol, Brunswick, Ebonite International, GEICO, GoBowling.com, HotelPlanner.com, MOTIV, 900 Global, PBA Bowling Challenge Mobile Game, Storm Products and the United States Bowling Congress, among others. For more information, log on to www.pba.com.

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