DUCKPIN BOWLING

Mindy Thomas Wins Ladies All-Star Championship for 2008

2008 Ladies All-Stars Champ,
MINDY THOMAS
The weekend of March 15-16, 2008 was the landing point of the 28th annual get-together of the leading lady duckpinners in the nation, as they assembled to compete in the Ladies All-Star Classic tournament, held at AMF Westview Lanes in Baltimore, Maryland. 95 entrants rounded out the field of superstars as they challenged for the top prize of $2,000.00, but in the end, New Carrollton, Maryland's favorite star, MINDY THOMAS, rose to the mountaintop to claim the championship. More on Mindy in a moment.

The Ladies All-Star Classic event was founded and put into motion by Pat Rinaldi in 1981, and she has directed every All-Star event since. Since the tournament's inception in 1981, a veritable "Who's Who" of women duckpin bowlers have participated, in hopes of capturing the annual prestigious title. Even to this day, bowlers travel from as far north as Connecticut and Rhode Island, and as far south as South Carolina to compete.

Here are a couple of interesting tidbits...Theresa Vermillion, who won the event in 2002, and advanced to the semi-finals this year, is the only bowler to have perfect attendance in participating in the Ladies All-Stars throughout the history of the event. Also, another of our bowlers who made a good showing in this year's event, Sharon Shipley, is part of elite company, as she is one of the few 2-time winners of the Ladies All-Star Classic (1999 & 2003).

The White Oak Majors had a very impressive showing in the event, as there were a number of stellar efforts from our ladies in the Saturday qualifying round. Making the cut from our league to Sunday were 6 of the 24 semi-finalists, including Melissa Sellers, Jill Sachs, Tammy Ashworth, Theresa Vermillion, Lisa Pyles, and Mindy Thomas.

In the 2-day format, Saturday's action was highlighted by Halethorpe, Maryland's, Denise Nalls, who earned the high qualifier spot, with an impressive 1068 total for her 7-game qualifying block at the tough-scoring, but newly renovated, AMF Westview. AMF recently gave Westview a makeover in the form of synthetic lane surfacing over the first 2/3rds of the bowling area beyond the foul line, while leaving the original wood-covering intact in the final 15-20 feet in front of the pin decks. 24 qualifiers were taken on Saturday, with the cut being 937 for the 7-game block--the 24th spot occupied by Mindy Thomas, in which she started the qualifier like gangbusters, and later hung tough through adversity in the latter games to ease into the final qualifying position.

The Sunday semi-finals consisted of head-to-head match play, with the 24 ladies divided into 4 separate divisions. This projected some very intriguing match-ups from the outset of the match-play competition. Division A saw the game's fast-rising young starlet, Lisa Pyles, capture top honors and a trip to the stepladder finals, with a 3½-1½ match play record. The tightly contested division yielded the stepladder wildcard as well, as Woodbridge, Virginia's, Chris Primozic also claimed a 3½-1½ record, but Pyles nosed out Primozic by a 6-pin deficit in pinfall to gain the higher seeding.

Division B was won by the tall, angular southpaw, Andrea Lanahan, from Catonsville, Maryland. The well-experienced and multi-starred pro tour winner, Lanahan, took the top spot in the division with a 4-1 record and solid 694 pinfall.

Division C was captured by another young and bright light for the game, Kristy Kropfelder, who hails from Baltimore, Maryland. Kristy attained a 4-1 record with an impressive 723 pinfall in her divisional climb. (A couple of years ago in what may have been her rookie season, Kropfelder won her first star on the WNDA pro tour, and also a stop on the Virginia tour, which included the top women and men in the sport. Both victories came within several weeks of each other.)

Division D was taken by Mindy Thomas, with a 4-1 record. On the heels of a superb 5-game effort throughout the Sunday semi-finals, Thomas accumulated a pinfall total of 725, to edge out Kropfelder by 2 pins for the top seeding in the stepladder finals.

The 'ladder' finals opened with a rematch of an earlier divisional play contest, pitting the wildcard, Chris Primozic, against 4th-seeded Lisa Pyles. Just as they had done in their earlier encounter, the match was tightly contested throughout the course of the game. Pyles then pulled just far enough ahead in the latter stages to avert a late comeback by Primozic at the end of the game. At the finish, Lisa ousted Chris, 140-137. Pyles then moved on to face the 3rd seed, Andrea Lanahan. This was another game that proved most interesting before the match even started. But as the match got going, Lisa was up to the task and not to be denied, marking at key times, and again posted enough offense to withstand a gallant comeback from Andrea at the game's climax, to claim a 138-131 victory over Lanahan.

As the title match drew closer, the 2008 event was taking shape as a masterpiece. Lisa Pyles then went up against the 2nd seed, Kristy Kropfelder. As was customary for Lisa, the game was heading into another close finish. However, in this instance, it was Kropfelder who summoned the magic at the right times, as she eeked out a thrilling 146-142 victory. Waiting in the wings and ready for the showdown was the top seed, Mindy Thomas. The match started slow for both bowlers, and by the game's latter stages, it was still anybody's match. However, Mindy was able to reach back and put on a charge with a spare and a double-header in the last 3 frames to distance herself from Kristy, who couldn't quite get the surge she needed, and thus Thomas gained a 153-110 victory to claim the championship.

For the youthful Thomas, it was her first major tournament win in the adult rankings. Along with the $2,000.00 first prize, Mindy also will receive a handmade, beautiful 14 karat gold star, designed by a Bethesda jeweler renown as being the individual who reset the Hope diamond at the Smithsonian Museum of Natural History. Also, a handsome marble trophy is awarded to the All-Stars champion, as well.

Rounding out the top prizes, Kropfelder received $1,000.00 as the runner-up. Pyles won $650.00 for her 3rd place finish, Lanahan claimed $450.00 for 4th place, and Primozic earned $350.00 for 5th place.