The 24th season of the Michigan Junior Masters Association kicked off in grand style at Lodge Lanes in Belleville, Michigan on August 8th. With the new age limits now in place we were not sure what to expect for a turn out at this first event but we were pleasantly surprised when we filled the house with 120 bowlers and we even had a seven person waiting list.

A lot of new faces donned the landscape but that did not mean we were not going to challenge them right off the bat either. With many of our members just coming off of the recently completed Junior Gold Championship, we decided to give them a little déjà’ vu and let them bowl once again on the medium pattern from Indianapolis, a pattern that many did not fair well on. Well the results were not much different here at Lodge Lanes either as many of the bowlers struggled on the demanding conditions with only three bowlers ended up averaging 200 or better for the event.

After the eight games of qualifying, Megan Seavey (Fenton, MI) and Justin Netherland (Port Clinton, OH) led the way but there were 7 other ladies and 15 other guys looking to make up ground in the match play portion of the event which followed right after qualifying. In the first round of best 2-of-3 competition three of the higher seeded guys and two of the higher seeded girls fell victim and were out of the competition.

The next round for the boys was another best 2-of-3 competition and we saw two higher seeded bowlers get bounced including the #1 seed Netherland. Left were #2 Erik Stanley (Warren, MI), #5 Aaron Lorincz (Belleville, MI), #6 Nic Sutherland (Grand Blanc, MI) and #9 seed Richard Galya Jr. (Pittsburg, PA). These four advanced to the single elimination semi-finals to see which two would face off for the title.

Galya started strong with 5 strikes in the first six frames and Lorincz just could not muster the striking power to keep pace and Galya advanced to one half of the finals 245-192. In the other match it was Erik Stanley catching a couple of good breaks to advance with a 187-146 win over Sutherland. In the finals Galya went out strong while Stanley could not seem to carry ten when he hit the pocket and that was just enough to give Galya the win and his first MJMA title 191-147.

The girls had their own share of upsets in their match play rounds as well. The first round saw both the #2 seed Kara Richard, last seasons Bowler-Of-the-Year, and #3 seed Tori Ferris, last seasons Rookie-of0the-Year, both get eliminated from the competition. In the single game elimination semi-final round #1 seed Seavey faced off against #4 Carrie Hopkinson (Drumbo, Ont.) while #6 seed Haley Richard (Tecumseh, MI), who is Kara’s younger sister would face off against #7 seed Sarah Lokker (New Baltimore, MI), who had knocked Kara out in the first round.

Seavey was in control most of her match, as she had been the entire tournament, and when the dust cleared she moved onto the finals with a 224-172 victory. Richard on the other hand may have been showing some of those rookie nerves as she opened in five of the first six frames and when Lokker threw a double in the 6th and 7th frames that pretty much ended it for Richard as Lokker advanced to the finals in a 156-130 win.

In the finals, Seavey continued her good bowling and was in the pocket almost every shot while Lokker seemed to struggle to find the sweet part of the lane. However, a couple of good breaks kept Lokker in the match and when she threw the first strike in the tenth frame; she had won her 4th MJMA title with a 211-206 win.

Along with the good news of the start of the season came some sad news. Alro Steel , our presenting sponsor for the past 9 seasons, has had to withdraw their sponsorship this season, As with many companies in the state of Michigan, economics play a large part in the financial decision making process and this year it has caught up to even Alro Steel. We want to thank Alro Steel and the Glick family for their dedication and support these many years and we are hoping, as they are, to be back with us again in the future. Alro Steel has been a predominant reason why we have been able to award as much scholarship money as we have in the past. Over their sponsorship time they have contributed nearly $150,000.00 in scholarship money for the bowlers who have come through MJMA. They will be greatly missed but it is our hope that they will be able to return in the very near future.

Our next event will be in Clarkston, Michigan at Cheery Hill Lanes North, where this whole thing started 24 years ago. The folks at Cheery Hill North will once again give us the oil machine and allow us to continue to challenge our members on the demanding sport; Junior Gold and PBA style patterns we have been known for. With entries limited to 108 bowlers it will be important to get your entry in early so you do not get shut out as seven bowlers did last event. Check-in will begin at 9:30AM and we start rolling at 11:00AM.

We will also be hosting the Alumni event right after the junior event is completed. If you know of any former MJMA bowlers interested in coming in to bowl on the demanding conditions we put out today, have them check the website for information and entry forms.