June 3, 2023 Guest

RESULTS: Round 2

LAS VEGAS – United States Bowling Congress and Professional Bowlers Association Hall of Famer Lennie Boresch Jr. of Kenosha, Wisconsin, paced the field through two rounds of qualifying at the 2023 Super Senior Classic and leads the top 52 players to the next round at the Sam’s Town Bowling Center.

Boresch was in third place after Thursday’s opening round with a 1,408 total for his six games on the fresh 39-foot oil pattern, and he posted games of 225, 269, 186, 201, 225 and 257 on the burn Friday for a 1,363 score to finish qualifying with 2,771 (230.9 average).

Boresch, a 61-year-old right-hander who was the runner-up at the 2022 Super Senior Classic, held off a late charge for the top spot by fellow USBC and PBA Hall of Famer Walter Ray Williams Jr. of Oxford, Florida, who fired 300 in his final game to get to 2,764.

Jack Jurek of Lackawanna, New York, is third with 2,737, and Gary Reh of Jasper, Indiana, is fourth with 2,713. Skip Pavone of San Jose, California, finished fifth with 2,698.

Mike Dias of Lafayette, Colorado, led Thursday’s opening round of qualifying and advanced in seventh place with 2,679. Dias is the 2018 Super Senior Classic champion.

The defending champion – USBC and PBA Hall of Famer Ron Mohr of Las Vegas – will continue his quest for a third win at the tournament after finishing 31st at 2,568. Mohr also won the Super Senior Classic in 2017.

Other past winners advancing to the next round include the 2021 champion – USBC and PBA Hall of Famer Amleto Monacelli of Venezuela – and Kerry Painter of Henderson, Nevada, who won the first edition of the Super Senior Classic in 2013.

The final advancer in 52nd place was New York’s Glenn Smith, who finished with a 2,512 total (209.3 average).

Competitors at the 2023 Super Senior Classic bowled 12 games of qualifying over two days to determine the bowlers making their way to Saturday’s cashers’ round, which begins at noon Eastern. All advancers will bowl an additional six games, and at the conclusion of 18 games, the top 12 will make their way to a split match-play round. Match play will begin Saturday at 6 p.m. Eastern.

The competitors will be split based on the final qualifying position, with the six odd seeds (1, 3, 5, 7, 9 and 11) being placed in one group and six even seeds (2, 4, 6, 8, 10 and 12) being placed in another group.

The advancers will compete in round-robin match play, with the top finisher in each group earning an automatic spot in Sunday’s championship stepladder based on their 24-game pinfall total, including bonus pins. The final seeding for the top finishers will be determined by total pinfall.

The second, third and fourth seeds from each group will face off in simultaneous group stepladders starting Sunday at noon Eastern, before the field is set for the championship stepladder at 2 p.m. Eastern. The winners of each group stepladder will claim the No. 3 and No. 4 spots for the stepladder and have their seeding determined for the opening match based on their average.

The champion of the 2023 Super Senior Classic will earn $8,000 for the victory.

The Super Senior Classic features the top players age 60 and older.

The excitement will continue at Sam’s Town with the USBC Senior Masters from June 5-11. The event is a major on the PBA50 Tour schedule and is open to bowlers age 50 and older.

The winner of the 2023 Senior Masters will take home $20,000 for the win.

Both events are being livestreamed at BowlTV.com.

Aaron Smith, USBC Communications