Team USA guaranteed two medals in men's doubles at World Senior Championships in Colombia
December 12, 2023
(From left to right: Chris Barnes, Parker Bohn III, Tom Hess and John Janawicz)
CALI, Colombia – It was a good news, bad news situation for Team USA at the end of Monday’s men’s doubles qualifying competition at the International Bowling Federation 2023 World Senior Championships in Cali, Colombia.
The good news was that both sets of American bowlers – Parker Bohn III of Jackson, New Jersey, and Tom Hess of Granger, Iowa; and Chris Barnes of Denton, Texas, and John Janawicz of Winter Haven, Florida – finished in the top four to earn berths in the semifinals and guarantee themselves a medal.
The bad news was that because the duos finished first and fourth, they will face one another when semifinal action begins at Cali’s sports complex Tuesday morning at 10 a.m. Eastern.
That means that at the conclusion of the all-Team USA matchup, one set of American bowlers will be forced to settle for bronze medals while their teammates move on to bowl for gold.
Bohn and Hess will enter as the top seed after lapping the 36-team field during Monday’s qualifying round, putting up a six-game total of 2,775 (a 231.25 average) thanks to 1,422 from Bohn (244, 214, 202, 238, 261 and 263) and 1,353 from Hess (267, 225, 203, 215, 239 and 204).
Things didn’t go quite as smoothly for Barnes and Janawicz, who battled through inconsistent ball reaction to grind their way to a fourth-place finish with 2,597, which was helped greatly by Barnes’ final-game 264.
That score and a pair of 230s (234 and 236) helped Barnes to a 1,295 total. Janawicz was slightly better, recording 1,302 for the block on games of 202, 203, 210, 223, 266 and 198.
Rolando Sebelen and Jose Perez of the Dominican Republic qualified second with 2,634, and Mexico’s Mario Quintero and Jose Covarrubias placed third with 2,612.
Both sets of American bowlers cited teamwork as playing a pivotal role in Monday’s qualifying-round success.
Bohn and Hess took turns doing the heavy lifting with Hess carrying the load early and Bohn leading the way as the duo crossed the finish line.
“Tom (Hess) coming out of the gate as strong as he did the first couple of games allowed me to relax,” Bohn said. “He had enough pins by himself that it gave me a chance to figure something out with my ball reaction that would not just help us medal but help us be victorious and get the gold.
“Kelly (Team USA Coach Kelly Kulick) and me talked about it, and she brought me a ball to try, and it just saw the lane about as well as any bowler could ever want a ball to see the lane. I mean, look what I did the last two and a half games.”
Hess was certainly looking, and he was thoroughly impressed by the show his partner put on.
“I can’t say enough about this guy,” Hess said of Bohn. “He’s one of my best friends on tour, a true legend of the game, and I get to bowl with him. I got off to a great start, and then he made that great ball change, and the rest was history.”
If it weren’t for similar teamwork, Barnes and Janawicz may have been history as instead of leading the pack, they were forced to chase from behind throughout their set.
“It sure wasn’t an easy route to get there,” Janawicz said. “Fortunately, near the end, the two of us figured it out and were able to bail it out and get ourselves through to the medal round.”
Even though Barnes has been in this position many times throughout his international career, it’s not something that he takes for granted.
“It’s always great to make it through to the medal round,” Barnes said. “It was a rough day, but if it was easy, I guess everybody would do it.
“It was tough out there because we didn’t have great ball reaction, and when our reaction was good, it was almost never at the same time. Still, it was a great day from a teamwork standpoint because, without it, I don’t think we’d still be playing tomorrow.”
And there will be plenty for Team USA bowlers to play for on Tuesday.
Men’s and women’s singles semifinal action kicks things off at 8 a.m. Eastern with the finals following immediately thereafter.
The American women will be represented by Dana Ausec of Colorado Springs, Colorado, who will battle Italy’s Alessandra Morra in one semifinal while Jodi Woessner of Oregon, Ohio, faces Colombia’s Sandra Montealegre in the other.
Hess will be Team USA’s only participant in the men’s singles semifinals. He will face Sebelen for the chance to move on to the gold-medal match against the winner of the bout between Quintero and England’s Ian Hollands.
Once the singles medals have been awarded, it will be time for the doubles semis to begin.
The Team USA ladies will be well represented there as well with the duo of Ausec and Tish Johnson of Colorado Springs, Colorado, taking on Italy’s Paola Barison and Morra in one semifinal as Woessner and Sharon Powers of Lakewood, Colorado, square off with another Italian duo, Monica Di Paolantonio and Elga Biagia Di Benedetto, in the other.
The action won’t end after the medals have been awarded, however, as the opening round of women’s team qualifying is scheduled to begin at 1:30 p.m. Eastern with the men’s competition following at 6 p.m. Eastern.
The 2023 World Senior Championships started with official practice sessions on Dec. 7 and will end with the men’s and women’s team finals and a farewell dinner on Dec. 14.
Livestreaming coverage and updated standings are available by visiting worldseniors2023.com.
For more information on Senior Team USA, visit BOWL.com/Team-USA/Team-USA-Senior-Bowling.
CALI, Colombia – It was a good news, bad news situation for Team USA at the end of Monday’s men’s doubles qualifying competition at the International Bowling Federation 2023 World Senior Championships in Cali, Colombia.
The good news was that both sets of American bowlers – Parker Bohn III of Jackson, New Jersey, and Tom Hess of Granger, Iowa; and Chris Barnes of Denton, Texas, and John Janawicz of Winter Haven, Florida – finished in the top four to earn berths in the semifinals and guarantee themselves a medal.
The bad news was that because the duos finished first and fourth, they will face one another when semifinal action begins at Cali’s sports complex Tuesday morning at 10 a.m. Eastern.
That means that at the conclusion of the all-Team USA matchup, one set of American bowlers will be forced to settle for bronze medals while their teammates move on to bowl for gold.
Bohn and Hess will enter as the top seed after lapping the 36-team field during Monday’s qualifying round, putting up a six-game total of 2,775 (a 231.25 average) thanks to 1,422 from Bohn (244, 214, 202, 238, 261 and 263) and 1,353 from Hess (267, 225, 203, 215, 239 and 204).
Things didn’t go quite as smoothly for Barnes and Janawicz, who battled through inconsistent ball reaction to grind their way to a fourth-place finish with 2,597, which was helped greatly by Barnes’ final-game 264.
That score and a pair of 230s (234 and 236) helped Barnes to a 1,295 total. Janawicz was slightly better, recording 1,302 for the block on games of 202, 203, 210, 223, 266 and 198.
Rolando Sebelen and Jose Perez of the Dominican Republic qualified second with 2,634, and Mexico’s Mario Quintero and Jose Covarrubias placed third with 2,612.
Both sets of American bowlers cited teamwork as playing a pivotal role in Monday’s qualifying-round success.
Bohn and Hess took turns doing the heavy lifting with Hess carrying the load early and Bohn leading the way as the duo crossed the finish line.
“Tom (Hess) coming out of the gate as strong as he did the first couple of games allowed me to relax,” Bohn said. “He had enough pins by himself that it gave me a chance to figure something out with my ball reaction that would not just help us medal but help us be victorious and get the gold.
“Kelly (Team USA Coach Kelly Kulick) and me talked about it, and she brought me a ball to try, and it just saw the lane about as well as any bowler could ever want a ball to see the lane. I mean, look what I did the last two and a half games.”
Hess was certainly looking, and he was thoroughly impressed by the show his partner put on.
“I can’t say enough about this guy,” Hess said of Bohn. “He’s one of my best friends on tour, a true legend of the game, and I get to bowl with him. I got off to a great start, and then he made that great ball change, and the rest was history.”
If it weren’t for similar teamwork, Barnes and Janawicz may have been history as instead of leading the pack, they were forced to chase from behind throughout their set.
“It sure wasn’t an easy route to get there,” Janawicz said. “Fortunately, near the end, the two of us figured it out and were able to bail it out and get ourselves through to the medal round.”
Even though Barnes has been in this position many times throughout his international career, it’s not something that he takes for granted.
“It’s always great to make it through to the medal round,” Barnes said. “It was a rough day, but if it was easy, I guess everybody would do it.
“It was tough out there because we didn’t have great ball reaction, and when our reaction was good, it was almost never at the same time. Still, it was a great day from a teamwork standpoint because, without it, I don’t think we’d still be playing tomorrow.”
And there will be plenty for Team USA bowlers to play for on Tuesday.
Men’s and women’s singles semifinal action kicks things off at 8 a.m. Eastern with the finals following immediately thereafter.
The American women will be represented by Dana Ausec of Colorado Springs, Colorado, who will battle Italy’s Alessandra Morra in one semifinal while Jodi Woessner of Oregon, Ohio, faces Colombia’s Sandra Montealegre in the other.
Hess will be Team USA’s only participant in the men’s singles semifinals. He will face Sebelen for the chance to move on to the gold-medal match against the winner of the bout between Quintero and England’s Ian Hollands.
Once the singles medals have been awarded, it will be time for the doubles semis to begin.
The Team USA ladies will be well represented there as well with the duo of Ausec and Tish Johnson of Colorado Springs, Colorado, taking on Italy’s Paola Barison and Morra in one semifinal as Woessner and Sharon Powers of Lakewood, Colorado, square off with another Italian duo, Monica Di Paolantonio and Elga Biagia Di Benedetto, in the other.
The action won’t end after the medals have been awarded, however, as the opening round of women’s team qualifying is scheduled to begin at 1:30 p.m. Eastern with the men’s competition following at 6 p.m. Eastern.
The 2023 World Senior Championships started with official practice sessions on Dec. 7 and will end with the men’s and women’s team finals and a farewell dinner on Dec. 14.
Livestreaming coverage and updated standings are available by visiting worldseniors2023.com.
For more information on Senior Team USA, visit BOWL.com/Team-USA/Team-USA-Senior-Bowling.