Stage set for May Masters Bowling tourney

The lanes of the Saipan Bowling Center in San Jose are expected to feature heated competition at the end of the month as the CNMI May Masters Bowling Tournament hits for the 23rd time.

Top guns from Saipan and Guam are expected to provide nail-biting performances in the three-day competition, scheduled to begin on May 27 and conclude on May 29.

The tournament, organized by the Saipan Bowling Association, features singles, doubles, and team divisions.

Registration is set to begin at 1:45pm on May 27. Men are required to pay a $30 fee, while women players pay $20 to play in each category.

An all-events fee of $10 is also required for men and women. Men will pay $50 to compete in the Masters event, while women pay a fee of $40.

Saipan youth bowlers are also welcome and have a cheaper fee of $20 per event and $35 for the Masters.

To qualify for the Masters competition, individuals must bowl in the singles, doubles, and team categories and pay for the all-events fee. The all-events fee must be paid during registration. Deadline to register for the women’s Masters event is May 28 at 5pm.

“This event will only be conducted if at least 12 ladies have registered by that time,” said tournament director Ross Zapanta. “The winner will be guaranteed to receive at least $300. Additional prizes will depend on the number of women participants.”

The tournament will come to a close with an awards banquet on May 29 at Shirley’s Coffee Shop.

Meanwhile, Zapanta credited the longevity of the tournament to Juan S. Tenorio of JET Holdings, SBC, MARPAC, Budweiser, and the Marianas Visitors Authority.

“Those establishments have been the principal sponsors for probably the last 20 years or more,” Zapanta said.

Also, Zapanta acknowledged the generous support of SBA president Jerry Tan and his group of companies that enable the tournament to continue “even with the bad economy.”

Last year, Mark “The Shark” Halstead rallied to beat fellow lefty Ronald Epan in the Masters event, while Diana Camacho triumphed in the women’s masters.

Halstead overcame a hot start by Epan and his own early struggles to win the men’s championship. He rolled a total of 3,155 pinfalls to beat Epan, who was just 43 pins behind at 3,112.

Camacho, meanwhile, knocked down 2,123 pins, just 29 ahead of second place Rizza Hensley’s 12-game total of 2,094.

Halstead earned a cool $1,000 for his masters win, while Epan and Jonathan Duenas of Guam settled for $600 and $300, respectively.

Camacho took home $400 for the masters win to add to her $125 earnings in the all-events. Hensley pocketed $250 for finishing second to Camacho, while Guam’s Felymar Mandapat and Becky Reyes came in third and fourth and took home $100 and $50, respectively.

In all, last year’s May Masters awarded close to $7,000 in prize money during the three-day tenpin bowling tournament.