Central men sweep US National Championships

What a week it was for the Central Division men’s team at the US National Championships, held in October at the Long Beach LBC in California. Central men swept both the pairs and singles events, a feat accomplished only by Southwest and Central divisions in the past 20 years.*Bob Schneider (River Hills, WI) and Joe Zinna (Rockton, IL) claimed gold with a tournament record of 6-1. Schneider and Zinna are no strangers to championships, having teamed up to win the pairs event in 2006. More surprising was Steve Nelson (Park Ridge, IL) claiming the singles title, also with a record of 6-1. This was Nelson’s third appearance in the Championships but his first title. He had to get by three former national champions and one US Open champion on his way to the gold.The women's pairs team of Glorianne Mather and Anna Witt finished 2-5 and lost three games by a total of only four points. Singles representative, Kathy Alton, finished 3-4 , losing two games by 20-21 and 18-21.More information on the National Championships is available on the United States Lawn Bowling Association website. An engaging article about the 2009 Championships, posted under the pseudonym of ‘Dr. Vickster’, can be found on the shotdrawn.com website.*Central's other sweep at the Championships was in 1997 when Jim Cavender won the singles crown and Joe Zinna and Sal Marino captured the pairs title. Southwest has swept the men's side four times in the past 10 years.