Thompson’s grand finale
Palatine woman rolls 1,002 to win finals
Stephanie Thompson filled her picture frames with memories Sunday.
The Palatinewoman bowled a 1,002 to win the women’s finals of the 56th Beat the Champions at Bluebird Lanes in Chicago.
‘‘ It was for my grandpa [ the late Joseph Nalley],’’ said Thompson, 25. ‘‘ He bowled in these all the times. We have a framed picture of him in a [ newspaper] story. They always said if I make it, they will frame mine and put it underneath. So this is for him.
‘‘ He was like my hero. He always took me out to eat, anything I wanted. I was grandpa’s girl.’’
Thompson, a freight associate at Home Depot in Glendale Heights, rolled games of 193, 258, 210 and 223 to go with 118 pins of handicap.
In the handicapped charity tournament put on by the Chicagoland Bowling Proprietors Association, with the Sun- Times as media sponsor, bowlers averaging below 210 receive 90 percent of the difference as handicap.
Thompson averaged 177 at the TNT League at Brunswick Zone- River Grove, which bowls at 2 p. m. on Sundays. Her phone was blowing up with texts from teammates. For more than one reason.
If the champion comes from a league with 100- percent entry in BTC, which TNT had, the prize fund receives a $ 500 bonus. All but one of the finalists came from100- percent leagues.
As to her big number, the $ 7,500 top prize, Thompson said, ‘‘ I need a new car. The rest I will probably just put in savings for use for my son.’’
In the finals, bowlers roll four games, jumping a pair of lanes after each game. Thompson bowled on the same pair of lanes as Sue Shelton, who was second with 953.
‘‘ I knew the score sheets were on the wall,’’ Thompson said. ‘‘ But I didn’t want to go over to look. Just one ball at a time.’’
Shelton, who has worked 38 years at the Ford plant on the Southeast Side, said the lanes suited her and it showed with an opening 245.
LeKetha Adams, whoworks in the religious services department of the Cook County Sheriff’s Office, used homecenter advantage at Bluebird to finish third ( 931).
Monica Biliskov, a manager at Cupid Candies, sweetened her day with a fourth ( 924). Jennifer Sloan, a domestic engineer from Libertyville, engineered games of 198, 234, 236 and 220 to go with only 21 pins of handicap to finish fifth ( 909).
NOTES: Six women made return trips to the finals: LeKetha Adams ( third), Monica Biliskov ( fourth), Velma Watson ( 18th), Mary Gamble ( 26th), CathyMatthews ( 31st) and Janet Kulovitz ( 32nd).
Liz Johnson set a target of 717, which explainswhy only 114 women earned ‘‘ I Beat the Champ’’ pens.
No scratch bowlers ( 210) reached the women’s finals. The closest was Kulovitz ( 207 average, 10 pins of handicap).