Chris Pounders defeated Robby Ambrose 233-221 to win the Survivor finals at the MAST event at Leisure Lanes in Monroe Sunday. With the victory, he also locked up the top spot in this season’s M & J Truck and Auto Points Race.
Pounders qualified sixth at 920 and averaged over 228 through three rounds of Survivor play en route to the win, his sixteenth career MAST title. Ambrose was the eighth & final qualifier at 918 and averaged 242 through his first two rounds of Survivor play to reach the final.
Pounders earned $406 for the win, with Ambrose taking home $293 for second. The other Survivor-round payouts Sunday were $191 for 3rd-4th and $151 for 5th-8th. MAST also paid out one additional cash spot, with $87 going to Stan Moffitt (9th – 916). Pounders also won $300 from the Bet To Win pot.
Thirty-five bowlers competed on Leisure’s house shot. There were tightly-contested battles for both the first and last qualifying spots. The bowlers finishing in the sixth through eleventh positions in qualifying were separated by only six pins. At the top of the field, Brittany Pollentier shot 279 in game three to take over the lead at 743, with Jay Heinzelman shooting 255 to climb to second at 741, before Heinzelman shot 278 to Pollentier’s 266 to grab the top spot at 1,019, earning him twenty-five bonus points in the M & J Points Race. Despite the relatively-high scoring pace, there were no honor counts during the day Sunday.
Tour co-sponsor Bob Holzbauer and Phoenix Pro Shop provided a Roto Grip Gem bowling ball at cost, won by Joe Johnson. Host center Leisure Lanes added three $10 gift cards, won by Johnson, Jay Heinzelman, and Aaron Turner. Total proceeds resulted in $339 added to the prize fund for this event. MAST extends a huge Thank You to Phoenix Pro Shop and Leisure Lanes for their generosity.
Our final event of the 2021-22 season will be our two-day Year End invitational event at Spartan Bowl in McFarland on April 9th & 10th. Eligible bowlers participating in this event will bowl eight games of qualifying on Saturday, with the top twelve advancing to round-robin match play and stepladder finals on Sunday.