Saturday 10th
October - Session 1
Europe 7 – 7 USA
Team USA just
about edged it in the
second session of the
2004 Ladbrokespoker.com
Weber Cup as they won
the session 4 – 3 to
leave the match finely
poised at seven games
apiece.
It had potential to go
horribly wrong for
Tim Mack’s team
as they trailed by 7 – 4
at one point but some
sterling performances
under tough conditions
brought the match back
to level terms.
New York’s Mike
Mullin won his second
singles match of the
event as he put in a
consistent performance
to overcome Gery
Verbruggen and get Team
USA back on track at 4 –
4. The Belgian scored
his third 200-plus game
of the event but an open
frame early on meant he
was always chasing the
assured Mullin.
With the lane a little
more receptive after a
change of oil pattern,
it was up to Phil
Scammell and Lasse
Lintila to show the way
as the first of the
doubles matches got
underway. Yesterday’s
average in the singles
was just 195 as the lane
played hard, making
hooking a tough
prospect.
The English / Finnish
duo found their stride
quickly as they drilled
home the strikes and
although it was close,
they did just enough to
regain the lead for Team
Europe at 5 - 4.
In game ten,
Europe finally put some
daylight between them
and Team USA as Texan
Dino Castillo continued
his woeful run at the
Weber Cup. He could only
manage 160 pins as he
failed to get to grips
with the conditions.
Euro skipper Tomas
Leandersson kept his end
up, bowling a 215 game
to take the overall
score to 6 – 4 in favour
of the Europeans.
There was more misery
for Castillo in the next
doubles match as he and
Tim Mack recorded
a derisory 155 game to
see Team USA go further
behind.
Their opponents –
Torgersen and
Leandersson – bowled
steadily to break 200
but the Americans will
looked to be on a
slippery slope.
In the final singles
match of the afternoon
session, USA
captain Tim Mack dug
deep to claim a point
from arch rival Tore
Torgersen to restore
some US pride to the
proceedings.
Togersen was
still in with a shout at
the last but slipped and
fell on the approach as
he bowled his final ball
to foul and subsequently
lose. A defeat for Mack
would have left his team
looking at a four point
deficit but his point
kept his team right back
in it.
There was more joy for
the Americans in the
next as the pairing of
Mike Mullin and
Bill Hoffman recorded a
quality win over
Scammell and Verbruggen
to reduce the deficit to
just one point.
Mullin has emerged as
Team USA’s most valuable
player so far with three
wins from three and with
solid back up from
Hoffman, they had too
much for a European
pairing that really
struggled to strike.
In the final match of
the session, it was
Baker time once again
and Team USA
squared the overall
match up with a 30 pin
victory.
The
Scores
Gery Verbruggen
204 - 222 Mike Mullin
Scammell
/ Lintila 225 - 212
Manna Jnr / Hoffman
Tomas
Leandersson 215 – 160
Dino Castillo
Torgersen
/ Leandersson 204 – 155
Mack / Castillo
Tore Torgersen 176
– 194 Tim
Mack
Scammell / Verbruggen
182 – 223 Hoffman /
Mullin
Europe 184 –
214 USA
Session 2:
Europe 11 – 10 USAAs the 2004 Ladbrokespoker.com Weber Cup enters the final day, there is everything to play for with the scores delicately poised at 11 – 10 in favor of the Europeans. The main story of the day, though, was the lane, which clearly got the better of all ten players as the day progressed.
The evening started out at seven games apiece and it was European captain Tomas Leandersson who restored his side’s lead at 8 – 7 as he comfortably went past Bill Hoffman in a fairly low scoring encounter. The match was dogged by open frames and Hoffman left three big splits which sealed his fate. In fact, the first double of the match came in the last frame as Leandersson wrapped up his win.
However, Tony Manna put Team USA back on level terms as he got the better of Gery Verbruggen in a tight match. Although the winning margin was 23 pins, it came down to the final frame and Manna struck out to clinch the point.
In the third match of the evening, the Americans took the lead for the first time since they were 3 – 2 ahead as the ever reliable Mike Mullin recorded his fourth win in four games as he edged past Lasse Lintila. With the conditions tough and scoring low, the New York-based Mullin is the only player so far to deliver consistent 200-plus performances.
The USA’s lead didn’t last long though as England’s Phil Scammell took care of the hapless Dino Castillo in the lowest scoring match in Weber Cup history. The pair of them could only manage 324 pins between them and Castillo’s tally of 149 was a testament to his lack of confidence and the brutal lane conditions.
In what turned into a battle of the splits, Tim Mack and Tore Torgersen managed nine between them which surely must constitute some kind of record. Mack had the misfortune of making six splits and that was enough for Torgersen to win the game and restore Europe’s lead to 10 – 9.
Gery Verbruggen made it three wins in three starts for Team Europe as he narrowly beat Mike Mullin in the battle of the lefties. It was a split in the final frame that lost it for Mullin but both bowlers, like their predecessors, struggled to master the tough lane conditions.
After a promising spell for Team USA, Verbruggen’s win restored the European’s two point margin as the overall score moved to 11 – 9.
In the finally match of the evening, Team USA’s superiority over the years in the Baker format continued as they won by 36 pins to take the match to 11 – 10.
The Scores
Tomas Leandersson 213 – 159 Bill Hoffman
Gery Verbruggen 180 - 203 Tony Manna Jnr
Lasse Lintila 203 – 219 Mike Mullin
Phil Scammell 175 – 149 Dino Castillo
Tore Torgersen 182 – 163 Tim Mack
Gery Verbruggen 187 – 178 Mike Mullin
Europe 177 – 213 USA
Courtesy Luke Riches, Matchroom.com
|
|
