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Michael Fagan Leads PBA Bowling Foundation Long Island Classic

Australian two-handed star Jason Belmonte in Seventh



West Babylon, N.Y. (March 26, 2009) – With a 3,296 14-game pinfall (235.43 average), Michael Fagan of Patchogue, N.Y., led Thursday’s Round of 64 in the Professional Bowlers Association Bowling Foundation Long Island Classic at AMF Babylon Lanes.



With recent second and fourth place finishes, Fagan is looking for his first Lumber Liquidators PBA Tour title and credited his performance to being able to adjust to the different lane condition patterns between the first and second qualifying blocks.



“In the first block on the shorter oil pattern I was able to throw a little harder with a cleaner release,” said the 28-year-old Fagan. “The last seven games I was able to roll it a little heavier on the longer pattern and bowled a couple of good games late.”



Looking for his first television finals appearance, Australian two-handed player Jason Belmonte is in seventh place with a 3,127 pinfall (223.36 average). The international bowling star had finishes of 11th, 12th and 15th on the Lumber Liquidators PBA Tour in the month of February and averaged 243 in Thursday’s second block.



“The longer lane condition seemed more suited to my game,” Belmonte said. “I found a good reaction and started stringing strikes.



“From here on out you’re going to need to come out warm in the first few games and whip the horse over the last nine games and get to the finish.”



Another area favorite, Rudy Kasimakis, originally from Long Island who now makes his home in Baldwyn, Miss., is in 13th with a 3,106 pinfall (221.86 average).



The top 32 players advance to a nine-game modified round robin match play round Friday morning after which the field will be cut to the top 16 who will advance to another round of match play to determine the top five for the stepladder finals to be televised by ESPN live at 2 p.m. Eastern.



The tournament features two of the Lumber Liquidators PBA Tour’s lane conditioning patterns: Viper and Shark for the first two qualifying rounds, respectively, and for match play the left lane will use the Shark condition and the right lane Viper.





Lumber Liquidators PBA Tour

2009 Bowling Foundation Long Island Classic

AMF West Babylon Lanes, West Babylon, N.Y.

Round of 64 Results After 14 Games (Name, Hometown, Pinfall, Money for Non-Qualifiers)
1, Michael Fagan, Patchogue, N.Y., 3,296
2, Bill O'Neill, Southampton, Pa., 3,257
3, Chris Barnes, Double Oak, Texas, 3,213
4, Sean Rash, Wichita, Kan., 3,185
5, Patrick Allen, Wesley Chapel, Fla., 3,176
6, Wes Malott, Pflugerville, Texas, 3,140
7, Jason Belmonte, Australia, 3,127
8, Edward VanDaniker Jr., Essex, Md., 3,120
9, Tommy Jones, Simpsonville, S.C., 3,117
10, Steve Harman, Indianapolis, 3,114
11, Ritchie Allen, Columbia, S.C., 3,113
12, Ryan Shafer, Horseheads, N.Y., 3,108
13, Rudy Kasimakis, Baldwyn, Miss., 3,106
14, Mika Koivuniemi, Hartland, Mich., 3,102
15, Ken Simard, Greenville, S.C., 3,101
16, Parker Bohn III, Jackson, N.J., 3,099
17, John Nolen, Waterford, Mich., 3,086
18, Brian LeClair, Athens, N.Y., 3,063
19, Tom Baker, King, N.C., 3,056
20, Mike Edwards, Tulsa, Okla., 3,052
21, Pete Weber, St. Ann, Mo., 3,050
22, Robert Smith, Columbus, Ohio, 3,044
23, Walter Ray Williams Jr., Ocala, Fla., 3,040
24, Eugene McCune, Munster, Ind., 3,038
25, Todd Book, Wapakoneta, Ohio, 3,035
26, Jeff Carter, Springfield, Ill., 3,031
27, Randy Weiss, Columbia, S.C., 3,027
28, Brian Kretzer, Dayton, Ohio, 3,018
29, Brian Ziesig, Levittown, N.Y., 3,006
30, Dave D'Entremont, Middleburg Heights, Ohio, 3,001
31, Ronnie Russell, Indianapolis, 3,000
32, Joe Bailey, Pittsburgh, 2,995
33, Jack Jurek, Lackawanna, N.Y., 2,993, $1,890
34, P.J. Haggerty, Clovis, Calif., 2,990, $1,800
35, Nathan Bohr, Wichita, Kan., 2,979, $1,800
36, Brad Angelo, Lockport, N.Y., 2,969, $1,800
37, Jason Lundquist, Delaware Water Gap, Pa., 2,963, $1,800
38, Joe Ciccone, Buffalo, N.Y., 2,960, $1,800
39, Jason Wojnar, Chicago, 2,956, $1,800
40, Danny Wiseman, Baltimore, 2,953, $1,800
41, Jason Couch, Clermont, Fla., 2,932, $1,800
41, Mike Scroggins, Amarillo, Texas, 2,932, $1,800
43, Mike Wolfe, New Albany, Ind., 2,929, $1,800
44, Doug Kent, Newark, N.Y., 2,926, $1,800
45, Jason Sterner, McDonough, Ga., 2,922, $1,800
46, Dino Castillo, Carrollton, Texas, 2,919, $1,800
47, Tony Reyes, San Bruno, Calif., 2,912, $1,800
48, Chris Warren, Grants Pass, Ore., 2,910, $1,800
49, Mike DeVaney, San Diego, 2,903, $1,800
50, Steve Jaros, Yorkville, Ill., 2,895, $1,800
51, David Traber, Hebron, Ill., 2,893, $1,800
52, Craig Tuholski, Washougal, Wash., 2,889, $1,800
53, Andrew Cain, Scottsdale, Ariz., 2,869, $1,800
54, Jim Tomek Jr., Camp Hill, Pa., 2,868, $1,800
55, Rhino Page, Topeka, Kan., 2,847, $1,800
56, Johnny Petraglia, Jackson, N.J., 2,839, $1,800
57, Billy Oatman, Chicago, 2,827, $1,800
58, Chad Kloss, Greenfield, Wis., 2,822, $1,800
59, Chester Rogers Jr., Milwaukie, Ore., 2,773, $1,800
60, Chris Loschetter, Avon, Ohio, 2,764, $1,800
61, Mitch Beasley, Puyallup, Wash., 2,755, $1,800
62, Norm Ginsberg Jr., East Meadow, N.Y., 2,706, $1,800
63, Dale Aivaz Jr., Yonkers, N.Y., 2,679, $1,800
64, Terrance Reeves, Valrico, Fla., 2,652, $1,800





About the PBA

The Professional Bowlers Association (PBA) features the best bowlers in the world competing in National, Regional and Senior Tour events and will award over $4.3 million in prize money during the 2008-09 Lumber Liquidators PBA National Tour. The organization has more than 4,000 members spanning 13 countries, and nearly one million viewers tune-in to watch the Lumber Liquidators PBA Tour every Sunday on ESPN throughout the season. PBA sponsors include Bayer, Brunswick, CLR, Denny's, Etonic, Flomax, GEICO, Go RVing, H&R Block, Lumber Liquidators, Motel 6, Pepsi-Cola and the USBC, among others. For more information on the PBA, log on to www.pba.com. This season marks the 50th Anniversary of the PBA Tour.



About The Bowling Foundation
The Bowling Foundation operates and supports many youth related programs, bowling organizations and charitable causes through the efforts of bowlers, leagues, associations, and bowling centers. Some of the most important programs include: Bowl For The Cure with the Susan G Komen Breast Cancer Research Foundation, Special Olympics, Big Brothers/ Big Sisters, Bowl For Veterans, and various scholarships and grants for schools and youth organizations. For more information, log onto www.bowlingfoundation.org