MONTE CARLO AT BEL MATEO THIS WEEKEND

There's Monte Carlo bowling in San Mateo this Saturday night. Count me in.

LUCK O' THE IRISH TOURNAMENT

I'm not particularly fond of no-tap but I know Olivia morphs into Cheryl Daniels when she walks into Bel Mateo Bowl (a.k.a. Olivia's Bowl). I will sacrifice my personal preferences for a solid shot at winning a tournament.

WAYNE LANSER MEMORIAL TOURNAMENT

Olivia & The Coach at Bel Mateo Bowl

The Wayne Lanser Memorial Tournament (celebrating the life of Wayne Lanser and raising funds for the Alzheimer's Association) was held at Bel Mateo Bowl this afternoon. Olivia, The Coach, and I made the trip into "Niner" territory with hopes of bringing some of their money back over to the East Bay. Sharon wasn't able to join us for this one.

The Coach signals for a strike

In our previous trips to Bel Mateo Bowl, we've spoken with a young woman on the staff who enjoys working there but doesn't like to bowl. We learned today that she is the granddaughter of Wayne Lanser. Her mother, brother, and sister were also present today.

Olivia & Ray Jr., today's winners

As always, the bowling at Bel Mateo was excellent. We bowled on lanes 11-12 with Ray, Ray Jr., and Kevin.  Olivia and I bowled previously with Ray Jr. and Kevin in the Holiday Cash Doubles Tournament in December. The Coach and I each had a bad game that kept us out of the money but Olivia bowled well and finished in second place. She also won two of the raffle prizes. She won a Brunswick bowling ball and a basket that included barbecue grilling tools, a bottle of sauce, and a Safeway gift card. Ray Jr. came on strong in the second and third games to finish first.

Olivia with a prize & The Coach

Olivia has now bowled in three tournaments at Bel Mateo Bowl and finished in the money all three times. With her past success and today's two raffle winners, we were kidding her about renaming the place "House of Olivia." When she finished second, even Craig Gabriel got in on it, commenting that it may be time to change the name from Bel Mateo Bowl to Olivia's Bowl.

Besides Olivia's winnings and the fun we had bowling this Sunday, the tournament raised close to $500 for Alzheimer's research. It was a good day in every respect.

HOLIDAY CASH DOUBLES

Prepping the lanes for play

Olivia and I had an exceptional time bowling in Bel Mateo Bowl's Holiday Cash Doubles Tournament tonight. Earlier in the year, we finished second and third in a Monte Carlo tournament there so we figured the Holiday Cash Doubles would be worth another trek across the bay. Our hunch turned out to be quite correct as this time we finished in first place!

Things started off well in the first game which had red and gold pins in the mix. Striking with a red head pin was worth $2.00 while the gold head pin was worth $4.00. I drew two red head pins and struck both times to win $4.00. Olivia struck with a red head pin to win $2.00 but missed her only shot with a gold headpin. Olivia's game score was 168 while I started with a 205. We were a respectable 53 pins above our averages at the conclusion of the first game. It could have been better but I opened in the tenth frame by missing a 7-pin.

Bel Mateo Bowl's gift wrapped lanes

In the second game, the women could earn $5.00 by striking in the third and ninth frames while the men needed strikes in the third, sixth, and ninth frames. Olivia got off to a slow start with open frames in the second through fifth frames. This put her out of the running for the $5.00 prize and left her wondering if she would even reach 100. A few adjustments and a ball change turned her game around and she rebounded to shoot a respectable 146 despite the slow start. I had strikes in the third, sixth, and ninth frames as well as a few others on my way to a 229 game. I earned $5.00 and we found ourselves 108 pins over our average. At this point, we started to believe we had a good chance to cash.

Craig Gabriel handed over the $250 prize for first place

The third game was a nine pin no-tap. Olivia has bowled no-tap before but this was first for me. We started with a salvo of proper strikes which made us regret it was a no-tap game. Leaving a 10-pin in the fourth frame changed my mind about that.

Olivia continued to bowl well and scored a 193 for an excellent 507 series. My 232 game gave me a 666 series. We bowled 213 pins over our average and by then we were wondering if we had a shot at finishing first. With our handicap, our total series score was 1443. As I turned in our scoresheet to Craig Gabriel, Bel Mateo Bowl's manager and the tournament director, he looked at it and said, "Don't go anywhere." At that point we were nearly certain we finished somewhere in the top three. (It was announced at the outset that prize money would be paid to the top three duos.)



Olivia flashes the cash

When Craig announced the third place team won $100.00 with a score of 1400, we started to get a little giddy. Next he announced the second place team won $150.00 with a score of 1417. That meant first place was ours. Even though we already knew the outcome, it was still quite exciting to hear our names announced as the winners and to receive congratulations from the other bowlers.

By the way, we met some very good bowlers tonight. It wasn't easy for us to finish on top. They were good sports and it was fun to bowl with them. As always, the lanes at Bel Mateo Bowl were in splendid condition and the staff were fine hosts. I've known Craig Gabriel for a long time as he ran Manor Bowl in San Leandro where I learned the game. (It was within walking distance of my parents' house.) Though I have been in contact with Craig through email, tonight was the first time I saw him in person since 1992.

          01  02  03  SER   AVG
Olivia   168 146 193  507 169.0
Mark     205 229 232  666 222.0
Subtotal 373 375 425 1173 391.0
HDCP      90  90  90  270
Total    463 465 515 1443 240.5