Central US National Championship Playdowns

Grzybowski and Andresen Qualify in Pairs

Going into the final game of the round robin, the one loss team of Jim Grzybowski and Leif Andresen were up against the undefeated team of Bob Schneider and Jim Cavender.  A close game resulted in a win for Jim G. and Leif to finish in a tie for first.  In the playoff the following morning Grzybowski and Andresen were able to win their second straight game against Schneider and Cavender, who are both multiple time national champions.  Carl Landgren and Mark Mathwig finished in third place.Anna Witt and Rebecca Nguyen will be the women's representatives at the National Championships.  Kudos to Bob Schneider and his greenskeeping crew for the great condition of the greens which were running in the 13-14 second range.

Behnckes Will Be Packing for San Francisco in Singles

Rob Behncke withstood a determined challenge from the veteran Carl Landgren to eke out a victory  in the men's singles.  Carl won the closely contested first game, but was unable to maintain his momentum in the following two games.  Rob was able to prevail in the double elimination playoff.  With the temperature pushing 90 degrees, both players seemed to wear down towards the end of the three game final.  Rob and Carl also had to deal with many pesky fly(er)s.  An Air Show was going on featuring the USAF Thunderbirds.  Despite the "Thunderous" noise, both players somehow managed to keep their focus and play great bowls.Along with Rob, Olia Behncke will be playing in the women's singles.  They follow in the footsteps of other married Central Division entrants such as Edie and Bert McWilliams, Dora and John Stewart, and Lois and Ken Degenhardt.  Good luck to all.