By BILL SNIER
AKRON — The four semifinalists moved to fresh oil for the semifinals of Sunday’s Akron Open Singles at Station 300.
Two matches — lefty on lefty and righty on righty. The problem was, one from each side had a better look — and carry — than the other.
Columbus 39-year-old right-hander Steve Pennington and Delaware 30-year-old lefty Jeffrey Scott came up short in their bids for spots in the Akron Open Singles final by falling to Tuna Böncü and AJ Rice, respectively, during the semifinal match-play round.
“I felt like we were moving to fresh oil every time and I said, ‘OK, I can line up off of that,’ ” said Pennington, a field engineer who shot 300 during his Round of 16 match against Tim Jones Jr.
“It just more or less came down to carry. I didn’t have to make any major changes all day.”
The Sunday match-play format was two-game cumulative matches by seed. Pennington entered as the No. 51 seed; Scott was No. 33. This came after the six-game qualifying rounds Saturday, with the top 64 advancing.
“I started off with 248 during qualifying and then kind of got mixed up with the transition and really had no look for about four games,” said Pennington, who made the cut in the event for the first time. “In the fourth game, I missed a couple of 10-pins, but got to 238. But I just didn’t have a consistent look, and that became a factor.”
But after a 194 in Game 5, he had his one big game after a move left — 279— in Game 6 to get into the cut. He liked his chances after that.
“I knew there was going to less bowlers, less traffic, so I could stay right a lot longer,” Pennington said. “It worked out for me all day.”
He started the day with wins over No. 14 Micael Turiano and fellow lefty Andrew Smith, before going big early against Jones and winning 493-461.
Pennington then shot just 216 and 195 in a round of eight win over former Triway High School star Aeron Meshew, who shot just 171 in Game 2 in a 411-372 loss. The latter missed a pair of spares in the second game and also left a pocket 7-10 split late to fall.
But Pennington was unable to keep up with Böncü.
The Turkish-born two-handed righty struck on 10 of his Game 1 shots en route to 278 while Pennington had a 1-2-4 spare in the second frame and left 10- and 7-pin spares late for 235.
Böncü’s run continued in Game 2 with 10 more strikes for 268 while Pennington had a run of eight out of his first nine, but finished with 258.
“I bowled really well, but he just threw the ball really well,” Pennington said. “But this event is on my list every year. It was a great weekend overall.”
SCOTT’S RUN
Scott, an HP Lanes employee, beat his highest finish of sixth in this event. Starting as the No. 33 seed, the lefty topped No. 32 Jordan Blair out of the gate and then knocked out top-seeded lefty George Gohagan by shooting 540
“Staying on the same pair after winning a match helped in trying to make something for yourself,” said Scott, whose high previous finish in this event was sixth. “Overall, Thursday (trios) and Friday (doubles) I sucked, but I was able to get to plus-160 Saturday and able to beat George and Hayden (Tarris). I threw it very well.”
Scott again went big for 484 to stop fellow lefty Tarris (466), who shot just 197 in Game 2 after opening with 269. Tarris left a pocket 7-10 split in the eighth and left a key 7-pin spare in the 10th to fall.
But Scott had his problems early against two-handed lefty Rice. While the latter stayed clear in Game 1, Scott failed to covert a 2-4-7-8 spare in the second and left a pocket 7-10 split in the fourth to fall behind 238-211.
“It just seemed like every time I doubled, I would leave something,” Scott said. “Lane 46 wasn’t hooking as much so I tried to smooth it out. Then I left the spare and open frame which wasn’t good.
“I was able to figure it out, but ultimately it was too late. The lower end hooked way more. Coming over here (high end) they were so much tighter and my ball didn’t want to see the lane as much.”
Scott still had a chance late in Game 2 after a double, but left a 7-pin spare in the ninth. Rice didn’t have an open until leaving a 2-8-10 split in the 10th for a 441-414 win.
Each received $1,600 for reaching the semifinals.
NOTEBOOK
ROUND OF 64: There were 38 right-handers, including 15 two-handers, and 26 lefties starting the day in the opening match-play round. No totals for the two-game matches were available. On the left side of the bracket, No. 4 seed Vicktor Varner was the lone high seed to fall. On the right side, No. 3 Andre Gonzales and No. 7 LeAndre Thomas were eliminated by Stark County bowlers T.J. Charles and Lewis Stansbury, respectively.
ROUND OF 32: Meshew and Massillon right-hander Frank Testa advanced with wins, with Meshew topping Meeco Walker and Testa, for the second week in a row, getting past Graham Fach. They also met at the Ohio Masters in match play. Gohagan and No. 2 seed Dustin Sword were eliminated by Scott and Jordan Nunn, respectively.
ROUND OF 16: Pennington’s 300 was the highlight of the round, with Böncü adding 289 and Rice also shooting 279. Meshew ended Testa’s run with a 469-463 win. Böncü defeated Dean Vargo 489-443 after trailing by 29 pins in Game 1. Böncü was the highest seed remaining at No. 10 after this round, along with No. 15 seed Charlie Brown II.
ROUND OF 8: This round was highlighted by a tie between Böncü and Brown, with the latter shooting 287 and leaving a 7-pin on his final shot of regulation. Böncü had the lone strike in the the ninth and 10th frame rolloff on his final ball, with Brown leaving a 5-pin on a crossover to fall 39-38. Rice shot 258 in Game 2 to defeat Zeke Bayt 462-461. No. 40 Zachery Smeal left a solid 9-pin in the 10th frame to fall to Scott 443-435.
NOTEBOOK: The top two from each shift Saturday shift received cash bonuses for their qualifying finishes, ranging from $500 for Gohagan to $200 for Varner (ranked one through four). Sword also received $400, and Gonzales a $300 bonus. … All bowlers who made the cut cashed, with losers in the round of 64 received $350 each off a $140 entry. … Tournament director Jody Boyd announced the event will return for its ninth edition at Station 300 in 2027, with the dates set for Aug. 28-29. The doubles satellite also will return Aug. 27, with the trio, which had its inaugural session this season with 35 teams, under consideration to return. Boyd also said Station 300 has upped its sponsorship from $5,000 to $6,000 next year, with the entry fee also being raised to $150 from $140. … No past champions made the cut to the top 64. The highest among the returning champions were Josh Jones (112th) and Kyle Mayberry (113th). Defending champ Zack McSwain finished 172nd in the 317-player field. Two-time champion Cassidy Schaub was unable to bowl due to injury. … Players began the Round of 64 on fresh oil, with four on a pair. The two winners then stayed on the same pairs for the Round of 32 — all at the low end of the center. The Round of 16 was moved to the high end of the center on fresh oil, again with four on a pair. The winners again met on the same pair for the Round of 16. The semifinals were also on fresh oil on Lanes 45 and 46. The championship match was moved to Lanes 25-26 on fresh. … The Station 300 house oil pattern was used all weekend. … The format will remain match play, but Boyd said their may be a few “tweaks” to the format in 2027. … The two finalists had to bowl 12 games Sunday to win the title or finish second. Qualifying was only six games Saturday. … Our thanks to James Hiles, Boyd and McKenna Boyd for all their assistance with our reports.
AKRON OPEN SINGLES
(Sunday, at Station 300, Akron)
ROUND OF 64
(No pinfall totals were available; two-game cumulative match play; losers each received $350)
Dustin Sword d. Michael Thewes; Jordan Nunn d. Jason Bowles; Terrance Mathis d. Matthew Richardson; Charlie Brown II d. Nick Kightlinger; Tuna Böncü d. Scott Miles; AJ McCoy d. Charlie Zelechowski; Dean Vargo d. Conrad Chapple; Lewis Stansbury d. LeAndre Thomas; T.J. Charles d. Andre Gonzales; Tim Jones d. Jesse Hawkins; Andrew Smith d. Chris Steele; Steve Pennington d. Michael Turiano; Aeron Meshew d. Phil Cooney; Meeco Walker d. Austin Robison; Graham Fach d. Ryan Speer; Frank Testa d. Daniel Robertson; George Gohagan III d. Tony Preston; Jeffery Scott Jr. d. Jordan Blair; Hayden Tarris d. Chad Roberts; Andrew Neuer d. Simon Mote; Mathew Zitnik d. Phil Drumm; Zachery Smeal d. Roger Adams; Shawn Curtis d. Brian Green; Brian McMahon d. Vicktor Varner; Zeke Bayt d. Itai Yancey; AJ Wolstenholme d. Trent Pektas; Blake Mushen d. Jarrett Buckenroth; Jacob Johnson d. Kyle Brooks; Johnny Priest d. Bryce Oliver ; AJ Rice d. Don Hipkiss; Elliott Gordon d. Russell Duck
ROUND OF 32
(No pinfall totals available; two-game cumulative match play; losers each receive $500)
Scott d. Gohagen; Tarris d. Jablonski; Zitnik d. Neuer; Smeal d. Curtis; Bayt d. McMahon; Mushen d. Wolstenholme; Johnson d. Priest; Rice d. Gordon; Nunn d. Sword; Brown d. Mathis; Böncü d. McCoy; Vargo d. Stansbury; Jones d. Charles; Pennington d. Smith; Meshew d. Walker; Testa d. Fach.
ROUND OF 16
(Two-game cumulative match play; losers each receive $700)
Scott d. Tarris 484-466; Smeal d. Zitnik 488-434; Bayt d. Mushen 485-437; Rice d. Johnson 501-442; Brown d. Nunn 467-421; Böncü d. Vargo 489-443; Pennington d. Jones 493-461; Meshew d. Testa 469-463
ROUND OF 8
(Two-game cumulative match play; losers each receive $1,000)
Scott (242-201) d. Smeal (233-202) 443-435; Rice (204-258) d. Bayt (214-247) 462-461; Böncü (236-218) tied Brown (167-287) 454-454 (Böncü won two-frame rolloff 39-38); Pennington (216-195) d. Meshew (201-171) 411-372
SEMIFINALS
(Two-game cumulative match play; losers each receive $1,600)
Böncü (278-268) d. Pennington (235-258) 546-493
Rice (238-203) d. Scott (211-203) 441-414
CHAMPIONSHIP
(Two-game cumulative match play; winner receives $5,000, loser receives $3,000)
Rice (257-235) d. Böncü (203-225) 482-428
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