New tournament increases Dayton’s bowling royalty


12th Annual Angie Kreitzer Memorial Queens Tournament

What: Scratch tournament for GDUSBC female members, adult or youth, with a 170 or higher average

When: Qualifying (6 games) – Nov. 10, 2:30 p.m.; Match play finals – Nov. 11, 1 p.m.

Where: Bowl 10 Fairborn

Entry: $60, forms available at local bowling centers and at www.daytonbowler.com

Angie Kreitzer Memorial Princess Tournament

What: Handicap tournament for GDUSBC female members, adult or youth, with a 169 or lower average.

When: Qualifying (4 games) – Nov. 11, 10 a.m.; championship round – 1 p.m.

Where: Bowl 10 Fairborn

Entry: $40, forms available at local bowling centers and at www.daytonbowler.com

Angie Kreitzer Memorial Queens Tournament

Past Champions

2011 – Teresa Suber

2010 – Trisha Reid

2009 – Jennifer Owens

2008 – Trisha Reid

2007 – Mandy Wilson

2006 – Jane Bloom

2005 – Jennifer Owens

2004 – Linda Kelly

2003 – Kari Watson

2002 – Lori Reasoner

2001 – Linda Kelly

The list of tournament champions is a who’s who of the best women bowlers in the city and the state.

Linda Kelly, Jennifer Owens and Trisha Reid, all two-time champions, are just three of the eight accomplished bowlers who have laid claim to the crown at the Angie Kreitzer Memorial Queens Tournament since the event’s inception in 2001. Competition is always tough in the elite scratch tournament for bowlers with a 170 or better average.

“It’s an incredibly strong field every year,” tournament director Candace Sawmiller said.

But tournament organizers believe that high average bowlers aren’t the only ones who have a competitive streak so the Greater Dayton United States Bowling Congress has added the Angie Kreitzer Memorial Princess Tournament to its slate of events this season. The Princess and Queens tournaments will be held at Bowl 10 Fairborn Nov. 10-11.

“We want to expose female bowlers who carry a lower average to the same type of tournament experience,” Sawmiller said. “Some people tend to be a little afraid of scratch events so we made it a handicap tournament.”

The Princess Tournament is for adult and youth bowlers who carry an average of 169 or less. Youth bowlers who cash will be awarded scholarship money. The tournament formats are similar with the Queens entrants bowling six games of qualifying and Princess competitors four games before the fields are cut to the top half. The Queens Tournament will have double elimination match play while the Princess Tournament will use an eliminator format.

“The suggestion for the new tournament actually came from one of our bowlers,” Sawmiller said. “And it’s great because we want to increase the number of bowlers who compete in our tournaments.”

There are more than 1,400 adult women and 360 youth female bowlers in the local association. The addition of the Princess Tournament opens the door for many of those bowlers to compete.

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