Hanrahan’s Near-Historic Performance Helps Lead Him and Hupé Into Match Play Roth/Holman PBA Doubles Championship
During the second round of qualifying at the Roth/Holman PBA Doubles Championship presented by Bally’s Dover Casino Resort, Packy Hanrahan and Mitch Hupé continued their stellar bowling to lead the field into match play.
The former Wichita State Shocker teammates paced the 64-team field with a total pinfall of 5,947 (+1,147) for their 24 combined games on the 38-foot Holman and 42-foot Roth patterns.
Sean Rash and Matt Ogle briefly took the lead following B-squad’s second round of qualifying at 5,740 (+940) at Mid County Lanes & Entertainment Center in Middletown, Del. They sit in second place as match play begins on Thursday.
Matt Kuba and Michael Davidson qualified in third place at +865, while Cortez Schenck and Michael Fitzgerald took fourth. The top four teams after tomorrow’s round-robin match play will advance to the stepladder finals.
Also advancing to match play: Sean Lavery-Spahr and Santtu Tahvanainan, Dom Barrett and Anthony Simonsen, Benjy Martinez and Nate Stubler, Brad Miller and Kyle Sherman, Jakob Butturff and Matt Zweig, Andrew Anderson and Kris Prather, Kyle Troup and Jesper Svensson, and Jason Belmonte and Bill O’Neill.
Four former Roth/Holman PBA Doubles champions advanced to match play: Rash/Ogle (2019), Anderson/Prather (2021), Troup/Svensson (2017 and 2020) and Belmonte/O’Neill (2018).
Hanrahan and Hupé led the first round of qualifying at +627. It took them just two games on A-squad this evening to surpass Rash and Ogle’s +940.
“We didn't think we could take it easy by any means,” Hupé said. “Coming out the gates with 300 and Packy at 279, and then the next game we both had 268, it made it a little easier to go from there since we kind of already did the job in the first two.
“Our whole pair really was scoring so high that even bowling like 300 or 260 just felt like I was keeping pace with them,” added Hupé, who bowled with Lavery-Spahr and Tahvanained during both qualifying rounds. “For the most part, I didn't feel like I was bowling amazing, just keeping pace with my pair, not even the field.”
While Hupé finished ninth overall among individuals, firing 2,865, Hanrahan’s performance approached history.
Hanrahan shot 3,082 — one pin shy of Mike Aulby’s 12-game record set in 1996.
The two-handed lefty needed 225 in his final game to usurp Aulby; he remained in striking distance of the record until he left a bucket in the eight frame, then struck out for 224. He averaged 256.83 for his dozen games across the 38-foot Holman and 42-foot Roth patterns.
“Because everybody was scoring around us, I knew I was bowling well, but I never was like, ‘Oh, yeah I'm gonna get the 12-game scoring record. No one's touched this,’” Hanrahan said. “I thought it’d be cool, but there are a lot more important things than setting a scoring record. There are titles on the line.”
Thursday’s match play rounds will feature baker doubles and a dual-pattern format, which means each player will bowl on one pattern (barring lineup changes). With fewer teams in the field and the baker format, less transition is expected during match play than qualifying as well.
For Rash and Ogle, the decision was simple. Ogle posted the ninth-best block on the Holman pattern, while Rash excelled on the Roth pattern.
“We're both confident in each other's game,” Ogle said. “We're both lined up on our pattern that we want to go on and that's what we're gonna pick tomorrow.”
Hanrahan and Hupé, by virtue of each player’s dominance on the fresh, remain undecided and will make their decision after practice. For the first three games of each round, Hanrahan shot 815 and 802, respectively, while Hupé shot 736 and 785.
The first round of round robin match play begins at 10 a.m. ET on Thursday.
Round 2 Leaders
- Packy Hanrahan and Mitch Hupé, 5,947 (+1,147)
- Sean Rash and Matt Ogle, 5,740 (+940)
- Matt Kuba and Michael Davidson, 5,665 (+865)
- Cortez Schenck and Michael Fitzgerald, 5,640 (+840)
- Sean Lavery-Spahr and Santtu Tahvanainen, 5,633 (+833)
- Dom Barrett and Anthony Simonsen, 5,622 (+822)
- Benjy Martinez and Nate Stubler, 5,595 (+795)
- Brad Miller and Kyle Sherman, 5,569 (+769)
- Jakob Butturff and Matt Zweig, 5,561 (+761)
- Andrew Anderson and Kris Prather, 5,552 (+752)
- Kyle Troup and Jesper Svensson, 5,546 (+746)
- Jason Belmonte and Bill O’Neill, 5,527 (+727)
Full standings are available here.
Tournament Schedule
Thursday, May 11
10 a.m. — Baker Match Play Round 1 (six games)
2 p.m. — Baker Match Play Round 2 (six games)
Top four teams advance
6 p.m. — Stepladder finals
More information on the Roth/Holman PBA Doubles Championship presented by Bally’s Dover Casino Resort is available here.