2005 Southern Nevada Masters Tournament

Gold Coast Bowling Center

Salute to Salvemini in 2005 Southern Nevada USBC Masters

Joe Salvemini reasserted his position as one of the region's top bowlers by winning the 2005 Southern Nevada USBC Masters Tournament at the Gold Coast on July 31st.  Joe ground it out to a tenth place position in the 12 game qualifying round, then showed his grit and determination by winning all five of his tow-game matches in the championship round.  On his way to the title, he ran through a stellar field, including 2004 champion and tow-time High Roller Champion, Paul Renteria, PBA Regional Titlist, Rob Leathers, Team USA member, David Haynes, and rising star, Steven Villanueva. 

Joe's excitement started rising after he defeated Villanueva in an overtime roll off in his third finals match and his close victory over Haynes in the next round.  After those battles, Salvemini showed his savvy and competitive spirit as he took the title with a resounding victory in his rematch with Villanueva, who moved into the title match coming from the Challenger's Bracket.  When Joe ran out his winning strike, the crowd saw the spirited lefty as he appeared when he won his three PBA National Titles in the late 1980's, and his numerous regional and local tournament titles since that time.

In addition to the top cash prize, Salvemini was awarded an entry to the 2005 USBC Masters tournament to be held in Milwaukee in November, and as the leading senior qualifier, an entry from Coast Resorts into the 2006 USBC Senior Masters event to be held next summer.

Runner-up, Steve Villanueva showed great heart as he came back from at 68-pin deficit in his first finals match and went on to defeat two other young stars, Joel Reynoso, and 2005 TAT Champion, Chris Klerk.  After his overtime loss to Salvemini, he came back to eliminate two time Senior High Roller Champion, Ron DeGroat, and then David Haynes, to earn his way into the Championship Match.  Although he failed to prevail against Salvemini, his performance against this strong field showed that the will be a force to reckon with over the coming years.

As expected, David Haynes and Ron DeGroat were strong contenders until the very late stages of the event.  David lead the qualifying round by a large margin, then started strongly in the finals.  As the finals wore on, his scoring decreased, but he hung on until he was eliminated by Villanueva.  DeGroat recovered from an opening round loss, then used his knowledge and versatility to reel off four straight victories before the red-hot Villanueva ousted him form the tourney.

The tournament attracted 73 bowlers from the Southern Nevada area, Arizona, and California.  Eighteen individuals won at least their entry fee back, and 16 advanced to the finals after the 12 game qualifying round.  The finals featured two-game head-to-head matches with the bowlers proceeding through either the Champions, or Challengers brackets.  A bowler advanced through the Champions bracket until his first loss.  Another loss in the Challengers bracket meant elimination from the tournament.

Many thanks to Mike Monyak, Dave Kaus, Annette Kurzawa, Brenda Blandina, Mark Hammel, Norma Priess and the Gold Coast Bowling Center staff for their strong support in promoting and managing the tournament.  Much of the success of the tournament may also be traced to the efforts of Janie Neill and Bob Hughes, Sr of the Southern Nevada USBC Association who were instrumental in publicizing and certifying the event.