Valentine's Day bowling tourney ends in draw

RIO RANCHO — To say, “the bowlers turned out in droves at Tenpins & More on Valentine’s Day” would be an understatement. 208 games were bowled at the Valentine’s Doubles Tournament, which kicked off at Tenpins& More on Feb. 14.

The tourney ran from Friday to Sunday and saw a lot of drama as the day-one leaders, Rio Ranchoans Laurie and Steve Shultz saw their lead diminish over the weekend and found themselves in third place, 20 pins behind the winners.

The winning spot was a tie between Socorro’s Teri and Joseph Paterson, and Mike Lee and Joseph LaPointe, both of whom finished with 1,888 points.

Other place-getters included Tom Garcia and Joe Romero with 1,863 points, followed by Adrian Brown and Jeremiah Martin with 1,862. Next was Jeanne Hietpas-Carver and Andrew Carver with 1,851 who placed in one of the most closely held events in months.

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On Sunday, Mar. 2, Tenpins & More is hosting a unique tournament with a top prize of $1,500.

According to Tenpins & More owner Steve Mackie, “the event is being bowled with dual lane oiling patterns on each pair of lanes, presenting quite a challenge in both physical and mental game preparation.”

One lane will feature “short oil”, meaning the wood panels are coated with very little oil. The other lane will feature “long oil”, requiring the use of different bowling balls on the pair.

The format of the tournament means bowlers will need to switch lanes each game for five games before the field is cut in half.

For signups and more information, visit tenpinsmore.com.

Adding to the affair is that bowlers change lanes each game for five games, before the field is cut in half or more for further cuts before the championship round.