46th NYS Queens Championship -- RESULTS
Shannon Sellens Captures Queens Open Division Title for Fourth Straight Year; Emens 1st in Classified
APRIL 22, 2017 -- Shannon Sellens of Copiague, Long Island claimed her fourth consecutive NYS Queens Open Division title on Saturday, defeating Amber Dominic of Latham, 216-172, in the title match of the 46th NYS Queens Championship at Rapids Bowling Center in Niagara Falls.
Sellens joined Barbara Leicht-Bowers of Albany as the only four-time winner of the state's most prestigious women's scratch singles tournament and continued her domination of the event by leading all qualifiers with an 1,158 five-game score (a 231 average) on the challenging Kegel Tower of Pisa oil pattern.
Leicht-Bowers won the event in 1982, 1983, 1986 and 1992.
In match play, the 34-year-old right-hander defeated Kristina Szczerbinski of Tonawanda, 203-181, and Emily Notebaert of Rochester, 259-191, to capture the No. 1 seed for the stepladder finals.
With the victory, she earned $1,050, and another tiara and bracelet to add to her collection.
"I think I used a different ball every game (of the tournament)," said Sellens, who used a 900 Global Dream On in the title match. "I switch balls a lot to get the right feel."
Her strategy worked as she posted 210-244-221-224-259 in qualifying to outdistance No. 2 qualifier Laura Rotter of Schenectay, who posted 1,073.
A mortgage banker during the week, Sellens bowls in numerous tournaments and has her sights set on the USBC Queens in Baton Rouge in May.
Dominic, 24, won $650 as she reached the finals in only her second Queens appearance.
She made it to the title match with a 204-171 win over Michelle Sterner of Niagara Falls. Sterner had advanced with a 177-168 triumph over Alexandra Stein of Brooklyn.
Sterner won $475 for third and Stein made $325 for placing fourth.
The Open Division attracted 94 entrants -- with the top 16 advancing to match play and the top 23 cashing.
EMENS FINALLY BREAKS THROUGH!
In the Classified (194-and-under) Division, Amy Emens of Rochester won for the first time after a half-dozen top four finishes, including a second-place finish in 2003.
Emens topped No. 1 seed Donna Fitzpatrick of Buffalo, 151-128, for the $450 first prize, after eliminating Michelle Scioria of Rochester, 171-154, in the semifinal match.
"My nerves were a mess so it was hard to make consistent good shots," said Emens, who is on the IT support team for a Rochester law firm. "So it wasn't so much skill that got me the win, but luck."
Luck aside, Emens rolled 609 for the last three qualifying games to shoot 954, only nine pins behind Fitzpatrick, who topped the list of 25 participants in the Classified Division.
"During qualifying I followed my teammates Steph Alexander and Ruth Rose and they would tell me what they were experiencing on their pairs, which helped me adjust for my next game," the 43-year-old righty said.
"After starting with two 170 games, I watched Shannon Sellens' ball reaction so I slowed down my ball speed and relaxed my back swing and ended up finishing plus-9 for the last three games."
Scioria had advanced with a 175-126 win over Tina Becciu of East Syracuse. Fitzpatrick earned $275, Scioria $225 and Beccui $175.
Defending champion Dena Alberti of Rochester qualified in the sixth position before dropping her semifinal match to Scioria.
