PBA star set for first test with Champs

For the Sun- Times

Though Ryan Ciminelli will set the men’s target score for Beat the Champions for the first time, he already has experienced the Chicago area in a good way.

He is fresh off winning his seventh PBA title in October in Aurora.

‘‘ And every time I travel, I connect through Chicago, so I’m in the city pretty frequently,’’ emailed Ciminelli, a left- hander whose career PBA Tour earnings are $ 523,449.84.

As for the 56th BTC, the charity bowling event put on by the Chicagoland Bowling Proprietors Association, Ciminelli emailed: ‘‘ I don’t know much about Champs. All I know is that we bowl three games, and the league players try and beat our score.’’

That describes it well. Contest week for league bowlers in BTC begins Sunday. The top prize for the women’s and men’s champions this year is $ 7,500 in cash, not the usual car.

Ciminelli is familiar with Liz Johnson, who is setting the women’s target score for the fourth time.

‘‘ Liz and I go way back,’’ Ciminelli emailed. ‘‘ I grew up five doors down from her house in Cheektowaga, New York. Same street and all. I used to cut her lawn when I was a kid for a little spending money. And being around bowlers, especially of her caliber, was a nice bonus for me. She has always been sweet to me, and that’s why we are close friends now.’’

The target scores will be set at River Rand Bowl in Des Plaines. The target show will air at 7 a. m. Christmas Day on Comcast SportsNet.

BTC, for which the Sun- Times is the media sponsor, has raised more than $ 2.7 million for charity.

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