43
O’Grady scripts perfect ending to Hubbard Open
HUBBARD
Matthew O’Grady’s Sunday had a perfect ending, in both a bowling sense and otherwise.
The second-seeded O’Grady of Matawan, N.J., finished his 22-game weekend at Bell-Wick Bowl with a 300 against top-seeded E.J. Tackett in the stepladder finals of the 2016 PBA Trumbull County Tourism Bureau Central/East Open presented by Radical.
The conclusion to the championship match, in a sense, brought the house down as the 29-year-old O’Grady won his second career regional and first at Bell-Wick.
“This is the way bowling was mean to be,” O’Grady said following his championship game win over Tackett, 300-239, to win the sixth Hubbard Open’s $2,700 first prize.
“When you’re up against a great player like E.J. you’ve got to have all of them [12 strikes]. I expected him to have all of them so that [300] was my goal: to strike as much as I possibly can and look up at the scoreboard later,” O’Grady said.
O’Grady, who operates a pro shop in New Jersey and also runs a coaching company, won his first regional in 2013 in Port Jefferson, Long Island, N.Y.
“That’s almost three years ago,” said O’Grady, whose only other appearance at Bell-Wick was in 2014.
He returned to Bell-Wick because he wants to compete in all the PBA East Region events this year, so Hubbard was first on the calendar.
In addressing the Bell-Wick spectators, O’Grady said that his win represented a cleansing, of sorts.
“I’ve always had a problem with too many drinks and having too much fun, so, two months ago, I realized that I needed to reach my talent,” O’Grady said. “I quit smoking and drinking and I’m in a fitness regimen now. I’m just trying to treat myself like an athlete, thus my performances have been a lot better as well.”
O’Grady said he appreciated the crowd that watched Tackett and him in the title match.
“The reaction was fantastic and it was great that they were cheering for me all the way through,” O’Grady said,
Tackett, who rolled 299 in his seventh match-play game, stressed the day’s final 10 frames.
“I threw a couple bad shots and he threw a 300,” Tackett said of his nine-counts in frame 2, 4 and 7. “There’s nothing I can do about it, but I’ll definitely be back next year.”
To advance, O’Grady eliminated fourth-seeeded John Furey in the semifinal, 268-241.
Furey said that lane 18 wasn’t to his liking, and not just during his match with O’Grady.
“It got me a bunch of times, so I was aware that if I got it [the ball] to the right, it slowed down fast and hooked high [sooner than he wanted it to],” Furey said.
To correct, Furey had to throw the ball up the lane a little better.
“The left lane [17] had a little bit of hold to it,” he said of putting his ball where it rolled down the lane for some distance before hooking. “[On 18] I had to make the ball sit [hold in the pocket]. Instead of hooking high, I had to create roll and speed.”
Furey was stung by an open fourth frame when he knocked down all but one pin after attempting to pick up the 4-6-7 split.
Third-seeded Diana Zavjalova, a former collegiate all-American, lost to Furey, 288-234.
“Although I didn’t win, I’m still happy with my performance,” said the 24-year-old Latvian who has a PWBA national title to her credit. “He bowled really well and his ball reaction was really good,” she said of Furey. “It’s not easy to beat a 288. I hate to lose, but I bowled real well all weekend, so it’s just learning and moving on.”
Eugene McCune was the No. 1 qualifier heading into Sunday morning’s 12-game match play, then finished as the fifth seed entering the stepladder phase, during which he lost to Furey, 201-197.