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Bowling News USA - August 18, 2010 Tom Baker Rolls to Victory at PBA Senior Pepsi Open

14TH TITLE THIS YEAR FOR FOR STORM/ROTO GRIP...

Roto Grip staffer Tom Baker of King, N.C., captured his first PBA Senior Tour title in three years Tuesday, defeating Dale Csuhta of Wadsworth, Ohio, 237-181, to win the PBA Senior Pepsi Open at Spare Time Lanes.

Baker, a PBA Hall of Famer and four-time Senior Player of the Year, earned $8,000 and denied Csuhta’s bid for his first Senior title. Csuhta earned $4,500 for second.

Baker used the Roto Grip Mutant Cell Pearl™ in the championship match.

Baker signed with Roto Grip earlier in the year and joined Wes Malott and Brian Kretzer on the Roto Grip Staff of Champions.

The win marked the 14th time this year a player has won a PBA/PBA Senior/PBA Women's Series national tournament using Storm or Roto Grip equipment. Baker's victory was the fourth PBA Senior victory for Storm/Roto Grip. Steve Ferraro, Mark Williams and Wayne Webb won earlier this season.

Baker, who won his ninth career Senior Tour title, has struggled after winning four consecutive PBA Senior Player of the Year awards and credited a change from a five-step to a six-step delivery in last week’s stop in Hammond, Ind., for giving his game new life.

Csuhta used a Roto Grip Nomad Pearl™ through qualifying and a Storm Prodigy™ throughout matchplay...

“I was watching Pete Weber bowling at a trade show in York, Pa., recently and I noticed he used a six-step delivery and thought I need to change something, so why not try it?” said the 55-year-old Baker. “I fell into it naturally and I could tell immediately the improvement it was making in my timing.

“I knew I had a timing and release problem but I didn’t know exactly how to correct it,” he added. “I think going to the six steps was the answer.”

Baker’s last Senior Tour win came in the Senior Dick Weber Invitational in August of 2007. His nine Senior titles ties Bob Glass and Pete Couture for fifth on the all-time Senior titles list. John Handegard is the leader with 14.

“When I first came out on the Senior Tour, those first few wins came easy,” Baker added. “But after bowling both the senior and regular tour it might have had a negative effect after awhile. Hopefully I’ve got it straightened out now.”

In the semifinal matches, Baker defeated Patric Donaghue of Honoeye Falls, N.Y., 231-201, and Csuhta defeated Senior Player of the Year contender Walter Ray Williams Jr. of Ocala, Fla., 268-237.

Two other Senior Player of the Year contenders – Wayne Webb of Columbus, Ohio and Mark Williams of Beaumont, Texas – were eliminated in the Round of 24 and Round of 16, respectively.

Heading into the Jackson, Mich., Senior Open – the final event of the 2010 season - Webb leads in Senior Player of the Year points with 48. Williams Jr. has 36 and Storm's Mark Williams has 32. Senior Player of the Year points are awarded only to the top four finishers: 16 points for first, 8 for second, 4 for third and 2 for fourth.

Webb will win his first Senior Player of the Year title in Jackson if he finishes in third place or higher, regardless of where Williams Jr. or Mark Williams finish. If Williams Jr. wins in Jackson, he can overtake Webb if Webb finishes fourth or lower. If Mark Williams wins in Jackson, he would pass Williams Jr. and could tie Webb if Webb finishes out of the top four. But Webb would win the tiebreaker, which is overall points for the season, if he finishes 13th or higher.

Williams Jr., who earlier won the 2009-10 Lumber Liquidators PBA Tour Player of the Year award for a record seventh time, could become the first bowler in history to win PBA Player of the Year, PBA Senior Player of the Year and PBA Senior Rookie of the Year honors in the same year.

The 2010 PBA Senior Tour finale gets underway Sunday at Airport Lanes in Jackson, Mich., and ends Tuesday, Aug. 24. Final day coverage of the event will be available on pba.com’s Xtra Frame video service.

PBA SENIOR PEPSI OPEN
Spare Time Lanes, Decatur, Ill., Aug. 17
Championship Match

Tom Baker, King, N.C. - Roto Grip ($8,000) def. Dale Csuhta, Wadsworth, Ohio ($4,500), 237-181.
Semifinal Round (losers earn $3,000)
Baker def. Patric Donaghue, Honeoye Falls, N.Y., 231-201.
Csuhta def. Walter Ray Williams Jr., Ocala, Fla., 268-237.

STORM/ROTO GRIP TITLES - 2009/2010 LUMBER LIQUIDATORS PBA/PBA SENIOR/WOMEN'S SERIES TOUR

14. 2010 PBA Senior Pepsi Open - Tom Baker - Roto Grip Mutant Cell Pearl™

13. 2010 USBC/PBA Senior Masters - Wayne Webb - Storm Hy-Road™
12. 2010 PBA Senior U.S Open - Mark Williams - Storm Hy-Road™
11. 2010 PBA Senior Dayton Classic - Steve Ferraro - Storm Virtual Gravity™
10. 2010 PBA Lumber Liquidators Marathon Open - Pete Weber - Storm Furious™/Hy-Road™
9. 2010 PBA Go RVing Match Play Championship - Brian Kretzer - Roto Grip Rogue Cell™/Cell Pearl™
8. 2010 PBA Bayer Don and Paula Carter Mixed Doubles - Brian Voss/Diandra Asbaty - Storm Hy-Road™/Roto Grip Nomad™
7. 2010 PBA Chris Paul Celebrity Invitational - Jason Belmonte/Chris Paul - Storm Invasion™
6. 2009/2010 PBA Scorpion Championship - Mike DeVaney - Storm Natural™/Street Rod™
5. 2009/2010 PBA Shark Championship - Jack Jurek - Roto Grip Mutant Cell™/Storm Virtual Energy™
4. 2009/2010 PBA Viper PBA Viper Championship - Rhino Page - Storm Natural™
3. 2009/2010 PBA Viper Championship Women's Series - Liz Johnson - Storm Reign™
2. 2009/2010 PBA Cheetah Championship - Norm Duke - Storm Second Dimension™
1. 2009/2010 PBA Senior World Championship - Harry Sullins - Roto Grip Cell Pearl™

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