BEAT THE CHAMPS: Mike Volsansky looking to better dad’s 2nd-place finish
BY DALE BOWMAN For Sun-Times Media March 2, 2013 4:52PM
Beat the Champions sectional is held at Lakes Bowl in Round Lake on Saturday, February 11, 2012. | Richard A. Chapman~Sun-Times
men’s finalists
Beginning at 11 a.m. Sunday,
Skyway Lanes, Chicago.
Bowler Center Avg. Hcp.
Henry Ausley Castaways 212 0
Scott Bozzi AMF Forest 219 0
Andrew Cadie Four Seasons 225 0
Rodney Carroll Burr Oak 174 129
Mike Dlhy Willowbrook 189 75
John Ellis Diversey Rvr 161 176
Eugene Enriquez Diversey Rvr 187 82
Dave Gustafson Beverly 183 97
Alan Halik Fox 205 18
Eric Halvorsen River Rand 193 61
Andre Jones Oak Forest 163 169
Raymond Kabet Striker 174 129
Kevin Kullman Orland 236 0
Kyle Lane Lisle 226 0
Kyle Loving Dolton 196 50
Dave Malesky Fox 199 39
Dwight McKinley Burr Oak 203 25
J.D. Mich Habetler 189 75
Travis Mitchell Castaways 230 0
Marty Nelson III Lakes 178 115
Clyde Outlaw Skyway 193 61
Craig Pasch Peotone 160 180
Ryan Perotti Stardust 219 0
Don Purcell Tinley Park 185 90
Jim Reitz Pioneer 221 0
Jon Sabadosa Rolling 188 79
Chris Schuch Orland 240 0
Jim Vangeertruy Lawn 140 252
Mike Volsansky Rolling 167 154
Gary Wade Classic 195 54
Joshua Watters Rolling 186 86
A. Willoughby Dolton 201 32
Updated: March 2, 2013 10:13PM
Mike Volsansky is making the men’s finals of the 52nd Beat the Champions a family affair.
When he begins bowling at
11 a.m. Sunday at Skyway Lanes in Chicago, Volsansky will follow in his father’s path.
‘‘I went to the house the other day,’’ said Volsansky, who recalled a venerable Chicago bowling center. ‘‘It is kind of like a Miami-type bowling alley. I got the feel of the house to see how it is and stuff. Just have to put my head together.’’
His father, Steven Volsansky, did well enough when he reached the finals in 1998. He finished second, winning a big television set. The top prize this year is a 2013 Ford car.
‘‘He told me to follow through and come all the way straight up with my arm,’’ said Volsansky, a freelance fitness instructor from Bridgeview. ‘‘He told me if the lanes are oily or dry, just move a little bit left or right. He has a good idea.’’
Family coaching aside, bowling is a solitary pursuit of bowler, lanes, ball and pins. The finals feature four games, with bowlers jumping a pair of lanes after each game.
‘‘I will have to do it,’’ Volsansky said. ‘‘Not think about it so much, just go out there and bowl. Overthinking it tends to go against you.’’
So can looking at the other 31 men who qualified for the finals. Nine are scratch bowlers, and a handful are within a few pins of the 210 scratch line. Those averaging less than 210 add 90 percent of the difference as handicap.
Volsansky, who advanced from Rolling Lanes, has a best average of 167 and will have 154 pins of handicap.
‘‘I am excited for Sunday,’’ he said. ‘‘Nervous? Of course, I am nervous. There are lot of high bowlers, especially from Orland.’’
The highest number, after the first 51 years the Sun-Times and the Chicagoland Bowling Proprietors Association have co-sponsored Champs, is the $2,783,374.87 raised for charity.
The women’s finals begin at noon next Sunday at Sunset Bowl in Waukegan.
