Bulletin Board IN THE ZONE


AFTER sweeping all six gold med- als at the previous two Pan Ameri- can Bowling Confederation Men’s Championships, Team USA got off to an uncharacteristically balky start in Guadalajara, Mexico, site of the 2011 American Zone action. The first gold


medal awarded in the 16-country competition went to Manuel Otalora of Colombia, with Team USA’s Mike Fagan earning bronze. “There’s no doubt


that the talent level in the American Zone has gotten stronger,” noted Team USA’s Chris Barnes, a veteran of international competition. Following that unlikely scenario,


however, Team USA gobble up four of the remaining five gold medals, including a record-shattering per-


Bill O’Neill


NEWS, NOTES AND HAPPENINGS FROM THE WORLD OF BOWLING


Men’s Team USA once again dominated PABCON, striking gold in four of six events


formances in both doubles and trios, and the all-important team title. The Americans were also shut out of the match play Masters final, although Bill O’Neill and Barnes earned bronze medals. O’Neill proved


to be Team USA’s star. The 29-year- old, three-time Pro Bowlers Tour titlist anchored the squad’s team event run, including a double in the final frame to close out silver med- alist Puerto Rico. O’Neill’s 5,596 total pinfall (233.17 aver- age) also earned him the all-events gold,


outdistancing Canada’s Dan MacLel- land and Otalora. Following the tournament-open-


ing singles event, Team USA’s Walter Ray Williams Jr. and Patrick Allen turned in a record-setting perfor- mance in doubles. With both of


TEAM MEETING: Click on the play button (above) to watch Bill O’Neill (far left, with teammates Chris Barnes, Wes Mallot, Walter Ray Williams Jr., Mike Fagan and Patrick Allen) toss the clinching shot in the team finals at PABCON.


the Americans’ other duos already eliminated from medal contention, Williams and Allen carried the Team USA mantle with style, led by Wil- liams’ 298 in the opening game. Williams and Allen posted a six- game total of 2,917, easily surpass- ing Team USA’s Tommy Jones and Chris Barnes’ 2,788 mark set in 2009. Canada’s MacLelland and Michael Schmidt took silver. The Americans were their domi-


nant selves in trios, grabbing gold and silver. This time Barnes, O’Neill and Fagan etched their names in the


8 USBOWLER JUNE 2011


record book with a 4,179 total for six games. And, again, O’Neill paved the way with a 1,560 effort. Williams, Allen and Wes Mallot earned the silver with 4,035. The gold medalists erased the trio record of 4,024, set by Team USA in 1989. Contention for the team title was


tight throughout, with the U.S., Canada and Puerto Rico all within striking distance deep into the final game. O’Neill’s final-frame double gave Team USA a 6,772 total. Puerto Rico’s late charge fell short, finishing with 6,584.


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