Scratch Champion, Steve Tripp
May 8, 2010
Babylon, NY: The LIGBT, sponsored by Columbia 300, visited AMF Babylon on the Saturday of Mother’s Day weekend and 163 bowlers jammed the center. Senior bowler Steve Tripp, of Garwood, NJ, won his first LIGBT Scratch Title and the $1,000 top prize. Winning his first handicap LIGBT trophy was Kevin Dekenipp of Shirley, NY who earned $600.
Steve Tripp, who is one of the most talented senior bowlers in the tri-state area, averaged 243 to be the qualifying leader. Steve dominated in qualifying and in the finals as he shot a 279 in the final senior match to advance to the Championship Shootout against the final two 49 & under bowlers; John Randazzo, who was looking for his second consecutive LIGBT title, and Doug Feldman of Huntington Station, NY.
The final match started tight as Steve only had a ten pin lead in the 5th frame over John Randazzo of Floral Park. John was the 49 & under qualifying leader by averaging 240 and automatically was seeded into the final match. But Steve took control after the 5th frame and defeated John 256-227 to earn the $1,000 top prize. John took home $600 for his second place finish while Doug Feldman, who struggled with a 156 to finish third, earned $400.
The 210 and under handicap event had another great turnout as 102 bowlers packed AMF Babylon. A total of 26 bowlers advanced to the finals as it took a 655 series (including handicap and bonus pins) to make the cut and cash for at least $100- $40 more than the entry fee.
Kevin Dekenipp’s road to the handicap title started with a 705 series (636 scratch) in qualifying which placed him 6th out of 26 qualifiers. Kevin had to bowl in 3 rounds of the finals to advance to the championship shootout. In the Championship Shootout Kevin rolled a 228 game (190 scratch) to defeat the second place finisher and top qualifier, Josh Handler (221) of Levittown, NY by 7 pins. While Kevin earned $600, Josh took home $350 for his second place finish. Rounding out the top 4 was third place finisher Donna Bertuglia (201) of Dix Hills earning $250 and Jennifer Christopher (169) of Kings Park, NY who took home $225.
The LIGBT’s next event will be a special “major” tournament which will take place Memorial Day Weekend at AMF Garden City. Top prizes for the weekend major are $3,000 for the scratch event and $2,000 for handicap. For complete details of the AMF Babylon tournament, and the LIGBT Garden City Major, please visit our website;
www.ligbtour.com or call the tournament office at 1.877.900.6464.