EDEN SUPERBOWL, ST. JULIANS, MALTA - JUNE 15-19, 2005

SQUAD D - SECOND BLOCK
Friday, June 17 09:00
Last night, at the end of the first six-game block, it was Germany with the squad leader honors, Harald Ohlrogge and Martina setting the pace.
After this morning's opening squad, it is now Sweden leading the squad with Robert Andersson and Helen Johnsson topping the days' scores.
In the overall standings, after three of the six squads completing all twelve games, it is still Richard Beck of England atop the leader board, but Johnsson has deposed previous ladies' leader Ann Smith for pole position with a 206 average and total score of 2476 as the target to beat.
Johnsson gained good momentum this morning with a 276 to set a new high for the ladies' games. The 28-year-old economics assistant from Lund in Sweden is only competing in the Malta Open for the second time, the last being back in 1999. "A group of Swedish girls talked me into coming to Malta," she told us. "It is nice to come to a tournament where you can also have a very nice vacation. I'm going to have a boat trip and a lot of time by the pool, but I'm taking the bowling very seriously, right up until the end."
Andersson's 2511 currently places him sixth, 167 pins off Beck's pole position. "I didn't feel I bowled well so was surprised to have been the squad leader," he commented. A bronze medalist in the singles event of the recent Men's World Championships in Moscow, the 24-year-old from Gothenburg was critical of the allowed practice time before the squads. "I don't think that five minutes practice is sufficient when you have six people on a pair of lanes. It only gives you the time for a couple of balls on each lane."
That's a point that SuperBowl G.M. Neil Dent is going to consider for next year's Open.
Pic: Robert Andersson & Helen Johnsson

STANDINGS AFTER 12 GAMES - SQUADS B, C & D: