The 25th Michigan Junior Masters Association season ended this past Sunday with the finals of the Daniel C. Ottman Memorial Championships at Nortel. After 18 games of qualifying and two rounds of match play for both the girls and the guys, nine bowlers awaited their opportunity to claim this year’s title and their “Eagle”.

The ladies side saw four title holders in the step ladder finals, a combined 15 titles between them, with Victoria Ferris (Kalamazoo, MI) leading the way. In the first match Sarah Lokker (New Baltimore, MI) faced Olivia Wirtz (Battle Creek, MI) who had gotten into the finals in the very last game of match play when she rolled a 237 to match the finals by ten pins. She quickly proved she belonged in the finals as Wirtz disposed of Lokker in the first match 205-187. Wirtz then faced our Rookie-of-the-Year, Andreya Teuber (Swartz Creek, MI) and in a match that saw both bowlers struggle with splits, Wirtz advanced to the finals with a late run of strikes 213-161. Ferris, the ladies Bowler-of-the-Year, was next but Wirtz was not to be denied as she finished the run up the ladder to win the Championship and her first eagle 187-157.

The guy’s had just as much excitement as the ladies. Nicolas Cooper (Davisburg, MI) who had won the JTBA Championships the weekend prior by running the ladder was again in the first match against Robby Leser (Midland, MI). Cooper fought to stay in the match as Leser took an early lead but a late 3-bagger put Cooper over the top to win the first match 225-187. Cooper next faced Blake Nottle (Macomb, MI) who had qualified third. Cooper took control early in this match by throwing five out of six strikes to start and cruised in with a 223-172 win to advance to the semi-finals.

In the semi-finals Nic Sutherland (Grand Blanc, MI) was waiting for Cooper. Sutherland had seen what Cooper did the previous weekend and was determined to stop the run and continue his own quest for a title in his last MJMA event. Both players struggled as the tension mounted but it was a Greek Church split in the ninth that sealed Cooper’s fate and gave the win to Sutherland 190-187. Sutherland was off to the finals against the defending Champion James Koss (Brighton, MI).

Sutherland kept things clean through the first seven frames of the finals match but that could not be said for Koss. After starting with a strike in the first, an errant shot off of his ankle in the second seemed to shake Koss up a bit and four splits later, going into the ninth, it was all but over. Sutherland captures the match, his first Championship Eagle and his second overall title with a 204-140 victory.

Scholarship money was awarded to all the bowlers who made it to the match-play portion of the tournament and the step-ladder finalists earned their share of the scholarships. For her win, Wirtz received $1,000.00, Ferris $800.00 for second, Teuber $600.00 for third and Lokker took home $500.00 for fourth. On the guys side Sutherland earned $2,000.00 while Koss took $1,600.00, Cooper $1,400.00, Nottle $1,200.00 and Leser $1,000.00 for their second through fifth place finishes.

Along with the Championship tournament scholarships there were a number of year end awards also given out. The Ottman Memorial Scholarship Award was presented to Blake Nottle and Andreya Teuber who each received a $1,000.00 scholarship. James Koss and Victoria Ferris each earned $400.00 scholarships for being named the Bowler of the Year, sponsored by Pro-Am Bowling and Trophy. The Rookie of the Year honors went to Charles Easton (Sylvania, OH) and Andreya Teuber who each took home a $300.00 scholarship. The Brunswick High Average award and the $200.00 scholarships went to James Koss and Victoria Ferris.

One award that the bowlers themselves vote on is the Ottman Sportsmanship award. This year 16 guys and 9 girls received votes and this years winners of the $100.00 scholarships were Samantha Johnson, back to back seasons, and James Koss.

In all, we awarded nearly $20,000.00 over the weekend which took our season awards over $65,000.00. Over the course of our 25 seasons, we have now awarded nearly $945,000.00 in scholarship money to our members. This would not be possible without the dedication of our sponsors. Brunswick, Turbo 2-N- 1, Bowling IQ and Applebee’s all stepped up this year to allow our members to have larger scholarship funds to bowl for and give them the opportunities to increase their knowledge and skills through clinics and on lane programs. Our hats tip to all out sponsors and we look forward to having you back again next season.

One award that has no scholarships attached to it is the Cass Sicilia Memorial Service Award. This is given to a person / persons who have gone above and beyond to help the organization continue to proper. This year’s recipient was John White who as set a new standard when it comes to our cookie dough fund-raiser. John and his family have been our leading sellers the past three years and this past year they brought in nearly 25% of our overall total. This meant that all our members could enjoy a lot more scholarship money to bowl for. John, thank you and let’s see if we can get to 400 tubs next year!!!!

With each ending comes a new beginning and we are looking forward to our 26th season as we will kick off at Lodge Lanes on August 6th. Information packets will be mailed out to the membership in the coming week so look for those in a mailbox near you.

In the meantime, enjoy the trip to Las Vegas, for those going to Junior Gold, and let’s add to the list of Junior Team USA members again this year. For everyone else, enjoy the summer, be safe and we look forward to seeing you in August for our next fun-filled season.