Lampman Wins First Pro Tour

Canada may not have left New England with the Stanley Cup, but they did take the championship this weekend at the WNDA Pro Tour at Johnson's Lanes in Hamden, CT.

Kristi Lampman, of Ontario, edged out Mindy Thomas of Glen Allen, Maryland, 141-136 to emerge as the winner at the second event of the 2011 season. The match was close and came down to the last three balls. This is Lampman's first WNDA victory and she has earned the right to wear the coveted "star" on her uniform.

Thomas won the season's inaugural event at Dual Lanes in Hagerstown, Maryland. She was the high qualifier at this Pro Tour with a score of 1199, and was the high qualifier in Hagerstown as well.

Lampman, a top tier 5-pin bowler, joined the WNDA in the middle of the 2010 season after having participated in an event through the Adopt-A-Bowler program*. After her first time, she was hooked on duckpins and the WNDA. She immediately became a member and has enthusiastically competed in several Pro Tours.

In her qualifying round on Saturday, Lampman qualified 6th with a score of 1133 for her eight games. In the semi-finals on Sunday, she lead her division with a 4-1 record and pinfall of 692. This earned her the top spot on the ladder for the finals.  Other bowlers on the finals ladder included 2nd seed Minday Thomas (4-1, 644), Connie Ward (3-2, 755), Jackie Adams (3-2, 685), and the wild card Chris Primozic (3-2, 710). 

The semi-final round was close in every division, with the winners of two divisions decided on the very last ball of the final game. In the B division, Jackie Adams faced Stephanie Adams, her daughter, for the division title. While Stephanie won the game and tied her mother, but she came up 1 pin short in overall pinfall, 685-684. Division D had four bowlers with 3-2 records, the winner being decided by total pinfall. 

In the first game of the ladder, Chris Primozic outscored #4 Jackie Adams, 153-112. She advanced to face #3 Connie Ward. Ward defeated Chris Primozic in a close game, 151 to 145, then moved on to bowl #2 Mindy Thomas, the high qualifier at Johnson's Lanes and winner of the Hagerstown event. Thomas was victorious over Connie Ward, 131 to 120. She then challenged Kristi Lampman in the final match, which Lampman won 141-136.

Sandy Thomas, the proprietor of Johnson's Lanes and a former WNDA member herself, gave a long hug to Lampman when presenting her award. Sandy Thomas has been a long-time supporter of professional women's bowling and the WNDA. At this event, she sponsored the minor awards in memory of Sandy L. Thomas, her daughter-in-law.