Petersen and T. Chiappi ‘Divide’ and Conquer
MBA CHAPTER - STATEN ISLAND, NY
Petersen, pictured here, with trophy
It was a balmy 41 degrees as the masses gathered on December 15th for the season’s first team event. Excitement could be felt in the High Roller’s Lounge as league members waited with bristling anticipation to see who they would be partnered with for the day.
For the uninitiated, The Great Divide pairs league members in leaderboard order - first with last, second with second-last, third with third-last and so on and so forth. With their efforts combined, teams play two games with the highest team average taking home the coveted crystal trophies. Don’t ask us what people want them for (although, this is a good time to remind everyone that the Mediocre Bowling Association is not responsible for any injuries incurred on the lanes, to or from the lanes, or by any trophy hardware).
While Paul Drozek was top of the leaderboard and set to be paired with yet-to-be-seen-on-the-lanes-this-season, George Karyczak, he had to withdraw from the competition unexpectedly on the same day. Erin Chiappi, initially slated to bowl solo (which can be a blessing and a curse for ‘The Great Divide’), was paired with Karyczak who, without a season average established, was a wild card for the event. While E. Chiappi had an excellent first game of 175, her second game, 115, in combination with Karyczak’s 103 and 119 would only yield a final average of 128 for the duo.
Exhibit A: Krisma
The games kicked off with only mild confusion as Rab’s defaulted to Knock ‘Em Back artwork on the lanes for the event, which had everyone questioning what month it was. Meanwhile Justine Candrilli and Krista Hasbrouk were input into the system as Justime and Krisza, respectively, leading everyone to wonder if Rab’s was slippin’ or the excitement of hosting another Great Divide was just too much for the staff. (League officials later confirmed the artwork was their own fault, and the typos were correctly attributed to excitement.)
The games were off! But no sooner was Game 1 complete as scandal emerged. Ryan Petersen, paired with Tony Chiappi, who bowled an impressive 170 in his first game was suddenly called away from the event by fellow league member, and wife, Maggi Petersen to return home for childcare of his firstborn. “She’s puking…I…I gotta go” Petersen could be heard while packing his bowling bag full of uneaten snack bar fare.
Dan Fran thinks this “sick kid” bit is extremely sus
With such an impressive score in the first game, rumors started to spread about whether Petersen was “pulling a Costanza”, as they say, and leaving on a high note. His second game, unplayed, was a topic of an impromptu League High Council meeting where it was uncovered that an official PBA rule exists for such an occasion. Petersen’s absentee score, season average minus 10 pins, was used as his second score. This, in addition to T. Chiappi’s solid first game (132) and competitive second game (160) secured them the win with a final average of 150.5.
Chiappi and the winnings
Other notables for the evening include:
Rookies Katie Marks and Krista Hasbrouck returned after a November hiatus. We really thought we scared them off (phew!).
Co-commissioner Dan Derwin excitedly chatted members up about their recent bowling swag purchases after the League’s recent Etsy shop overhaul (shameless plug: https://www.etsy.com/shop/thembastinks), completely forgetting that the holidays were just around the corner and basically, completely ruined everyone’s gift surprises…what a bozo. Sorry, again.
Event Scores:
Event Winners: T. Chiappi (146 Avg) and R. Petersen (139 Avg)
Gutter Trash Award Winner: J. Candrilli (8)
Highest Total Strikes: 7 (D. Derwin, K. Mork)
Highest Total Spares: 11 (T. Chiappi )
Highest Total Gutters: 8 (J. Candrilli)
Highest Score: 185 (K. Mork)
Lowest Score: 82 (J. Candrilli)
Tom Ryan #fitcheck