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New Year’s Eve bowling tradition at Rab’s Country Lanes a smashing success again

January 1, 2022 by Rab's Country Lanes Leave a Comment

St. Joseph by-the-Sea, the Alumni division winning squad, consisting of Kevin Buono, Anthony Pizzirusso, Robert Butler and Mike Cariffe, is flanked by current and former team coaches Melissa Kammerer and Raymond Laursen, Sr. and tournament director Mike Ruffe.

By Joe D’Amodio | damodio@siadvance.com
silive.com | Click here for the Full Story

Rab’s Country Lanes proprietor Frank Wilkinson loves New Year’s Eve for more reasons than one.

Although the day marks the end of one year and gets set to usher in another with high hopes, Wilkinson says Dec. 31 is special because it’s the day his center hosts the Battle of the Schools.

Started in 2004 as a brainchild of Terri Hart, the one-time high school-only tournament added an Alumni division four years ago thanks to the urging of Mike Ruffe. The latter division seemed to give the event new meaning and make it more successful than ever.

“We talk about it every year. We didn’t know what to expect and then 100 people showed up,” said Wilkinson. “It’s one of those events where you see people that you don’t normally see everyday all the time, that kind of come out for the same thing and I think the cool thing about it that makes this a great event is the fact that they’re not bowling for personal gain and not bowling for prizes for themselves.

“It’s more about bragging rights, representing your school in bowling with people you wouldn’t necessarily normally bowl with the opportunity to win some money for your alma mater.”

This year at the 18th annual event, more than 125 bowlers graced the lanes in the two divisions.

When the final ball had been rolled on Friday, Susan Wagner, consisting of Paul Cherry, Brandon Handog, Alex Santos and Steven Souffrin, won a second straight HS division title, beating out nine other teams, representing eight Island high schools. The same foursome also helped SW capture the PSAL city bowling crown two months ago.

Meanwhile, the Alumni crown was won by St. Joseph by-the-Sea, consisting of Kevin Buono, Robert Butler, Michael Cariffe and Anthony Pizzirusso. They earned $1,000, which was donated to the Huguenot school’s bowling program.

The Alumni division featured 76 bowlers across 16 teams, representing 20 schools from the five boroughs.

After a 10-game qualifying round (baker format), the top four teams competed for the title in a rolloff where top-seeded Curtis bowled fourth-seeded Sea and and second-seeded Susan Wagner faced third-seeded Petrides.

In the finals, the teams bowled two games with the total wood determining the winners.

In round one, Sea defeated Curtis No. 1, 416-358, while Susan Wagner defeated Petrides, 447-418. In the finals, Sea defeated Susan Wagner, 487-435. SW earned $500 that will go to the Sea View school’s bowling program.

In all, a total of $2,000 was awarded in grants and scholarships with funds matched by the Rab Wilkinson Foundation. Rab Wilkinson was the late former proprietor of Country Lanes.

Alumni Division

Champions: St. Joseph by the Sea High School (Kevin Buono, Robert Butler Michael Cariffe and Anthony Pizzirusso – $1,000)

Runners-up: Susan Wagner (Daniel Costantino, Mike Fiore, Matt Koplowitz, Sean McAuliffe and Tim McAuliffe, Jr. – $500)

High School Division

Champions: Susan Wagner – 1,903 pins (Paul Cherry, Brandon Handog, Alex Santos, and Steven Souffrin

Other event Notes:

  • Amongst the field, 29 athletes were recognized as either Advance All Stars or Staten Island Bowling Hall of Fame Junior All Stars during their HS careers, three of which were four-time recipients (Melissa Kammerer, Erin Schneider and Daniel Costantino)
  • 25 PSAL City Championship Teams were represented.
  • 7 Staten Island Bowling/Staten Island USBC Hall of Famers competed (Jeff Scire, Tim McAuliffe, Naz Laursen, Jim Episcopia, Roe Quattrocchi, Vin D’Ambrosio III and Joe LaBargo)

Filed Under: News Tagged With: bowlatrabs, bowling, nyc, rabs, staten island, tournament, youth sports

Bowling notebook: What’s Country Lanes’ pandemic status? A perfect game, New Year Singles Classic is off and more

November 25, 2020 by Rab's Country Lanes Leave a Comment

By Joe D’Amodio | damodio@siadvance.com
Staten Island Advance | Click here for the full story on silive.com

Rab’s Country Lanes’ proprietor Frank Wilkinson says it’s business as usual — for now — even with the threat of new pandemic restrictions being talked about by Gov. Andrew Cuomo.

“We’re getting a lot of inquiries about the status of our opening,” said Wilkinson. “It’s amazing, many consumers have assumed we, along with restaurants, are already closed and there is no indoor dining due to the zone change, which as we know has not happened yet.”

That, of course, may change over the coming days or weeks. Most of Staten Island is currently classified as a yellow zone, although some South Shore communities were elevated to orange by the state earlier today. If the Island’s pandemic infection rate worsens, other Island communities could be elevated to orange status and then red.

“IF, we are to move into the Orange Zone, and IF all the requirements remain, bowling centers remain open without indoor dining (just as we started the season.),” explained Wilkinson. “When we got the go to open back in August, bowling centers were moved to the low-risk business category. However, anything can change when the governor makes an announcement, which seems to be anticipated after the holiday. In the meantime, we are now closing at 10 p.m., which has altered our schedules in many ways.”

Victor Guastella, 17, rolled his first perfect game last month at Rab’s Country Lanes.

Youth bowler Victor Guastella rolls first perfect game

Seventeen-year-old Victor Guastella rolled a perfect game in the Country Pro Shop Juniors on Friday, Oct. 23. The perfecto came in the final game of a three-game set. He finished with a 678 series. His first two games were 197 and 181, propelling.

Avilez, Brod advance to Junior Gold Championships as Rab’s Gold Shootout champs

Youth bowlers took to the lanes on Sunday, Nov. 22 to compete for titles in the Rab’s Gold Shootout and their shot at advancing to the 2021 Junior Gold Championships to be held in Indianapolis, next summer.

When all was said and done, Maya Avilez and Gavin Brod were the big winners and punched their tickets to Indy.

Avilez rolled a 903 five-game series to claim the U18 division. Her games were 178, 155, 205, 164, and 201.

Meanwhile, Brod paced the 15U division with games of 159, 184, 184, 171, and 203, good enough for a 901 series.

Complete results can be found at bowlatrabs.com/tournaments.

The next opportunity for youth bowlers to compete and earn spots for the Junior Gold Championships will be the Rab’s Gold Challenge on Jan. 5, 2021.

Staten Island USBC Masters Championship set

The 12th Annual Staten Island USBC Masters Championship will take place on Saturday, Dec. 5 at Rab’s Country Lanes, where the Island’s top bowlers will compete for the elusive title. $100 entry fee, register online, siusbc.org to reserve your spot.

The reigning champion is Tony Everts.

46th Annual New Year Singles Classic Postponed

For the first time in the tournament’s history, tournament director Jim Elliott has decided to postpone the 46th Annual New Year Singles Classic due to the pandemic. Contact Jim for details. The event will return in 2022.

Catholic School bowling loop forging ahead

Wilkinson reports that the Catholic High School Bowling League will start on Dec.15 at Country Lanes.

This has been pushed from a projected start of the Nov. 24.

“A sign of normalcy in youth sports after a non-existent PSAL season,” said Wilkinson.

Filed Under: News Tagged With: bowlatrabs, bowling, high school bowling, high school sports, nyc, rabs, staten island, Youth Bowling, youth sports

SI Advance: League bowling returns to Rab’s Country Lanes: Proprietor Frank Wilkinson discusses details in Q&A

September 12, 2020 by Rab's Country Lanes Leave a Comment

By Joe D’Amodio | damodio@siadvance.com
Staten Island Advance | Click Here for the Full Story

The doors at Rab’s Country Lanes remind customers to Mask Up also provide the option to open the doors without having to touch the handles.

League bowling returned to Staten Island’s two bowling centers this past week and things looked a little different thanks to the pandemic.

Plastic partitions in between pairs of alleys are in place at Showplace Entertainment Center, while all bowlers must wear face masks in both centers, among other pandemic protocols mandated by the state during these uncertain times.

At Rab’s Country Lanes, proprietor Frank Wilkinson was excited to welcome his league bowlers back after an almost six-month hiatus because of the pandemic.

Here is a question-and-answer session with Wilkinson, son of former late Island bowling great and proprietor Rab Wilkinson.

How has it been going so with league bowlers returning last week?

“Our season officially started this past Tuesday (Sept. 8), so we’re still in the swing of getting the new season up and running. The start of the season is always an exciting time for us, as we get to welcome our bowlers back after not seeing them all summer long, with this season having much more significance, being off after a shortened season on top of the summer. While the season looks and feels very different in the start, it has provided our family and team some normalcy, seeing familiar faces, as well as new faces, back on the lanes with us. Bowlers are overwhelmingly happy to be back to their regular habits, seeing their friends and family while sharing the experience of bowling. The season looks very different, because we are operating at 50% and utilizing every other lane, many of our leagues are bowling in shifts so we can accommodate as many bowlers as possible. Historically, our league business uses most if not all 48 lanes at one time. On the business side, operating at 50% with no indoor dining (for now) is very challenging. We have many league bowlers who did not return, just yet, for understandable reasons.”

There are plenty of hand sanitizers at Rab’s Country Lanes.

Is everyone following protocol?

“For the most part, yes! Our regular customers certainly understand and appreciate that we need to follow the protocols in order to keep their favorite place to bowl open.”

Does Country Lanes have partitions in place in between lanes or pairs of lanes?

At this time we have not installed partitions between bowling lanes. We are operating to the guidelines utilizing every other, allowing for space for bowlers to physical distance between lanes. As always, our patrons come first and we want everyone to feel as comfortable and safe as possible being in our environment enjoying the sport we all love. There is 11 1/2 feet between each pair, so this allows our bowlers to utilize as much of the available space. The guidelines do not require partitions. However, the utilization of partitions potentially allows the use of additional lanes.

What about league bowling? How many bowlers are allowed on a pair of lanes?

“There is no restriction on the number of bowlers per lane/pair of lanes.”

Bowling is back at Country Lanes, but this sign covers all the new protocols patrons must follow during the pandemic.

Do patrons need to wear masks or when do they have to wear them?

“Yes, just like every other facility in the state, masks/face coverings must be worn at all times.”

Filed Under: News Tagged With: bowlatrabs, bowling, community, league bowling, nyc, rabs, rabs country lanes, staten island, Youth Bowling, youth sports

SI Advance: Kid Keglers: CYO bowling is a go and now accepting registration for fall season

September 8, 2020 by Rab's Country Lanes Leave a Comment

By Charlie De Biase Jr. | debiase@siadvance.com
silive.com | Click Here for the Full Story

The Catholic Youth Organization of Staten Island has been chomping at the bit to get back to business and announced it will now be accepting registration for its nine-week fall Bowling League.

CYO and Rab’s Country Lanes, in fact, will host its weekly outing each Monday beginning Oct. 5. The start time is 4 p.m. each week.

Teams of 4-5 bowlers will be permitted to represent their school or parish.

In addition, there will be three different divisions, including Kindergarten/1-2 grades), 3-6 grades and 7-8 grades.

All student-athletes will receive a jersey and recognition.

Entry fee, which includes shoe rental and bowling-ball use, is $130 per child.

To register, please visit www.bowlatrabs.com/cyo/.

 

Filed Under: News Tagged With: bowlatrabs, bowling, cyo, rabs, staten island, Youth Bowling, youth sports

Saturday Morning Junior Classic Program STARTS

September 7, 2020 by Rab's Country Lanes Leave a Comment

Register your child for bowling today! bowlatrabs.com/satamjuniors

Tagged With: bowlatrabs, bowling, nyc, rabs, staten island, Youth Bowling, youth sports

Country Pro Shop Juniors Program STARTS

September 7, 2020 by Rab's Country Lanes Leave a Comment

Register your child for bowling today! bowlatrabs.com/cpsjuniors

Tagged With: bowlatrabs, bowling, nyc, rabs, staten island, Youth Bowling, youth sports

CYO Bowling Fall Season STARTS

September 7, 2020 by Rab's Country Lanes Leave a Comment

Register Today: bowlatrabs.com/cyo 

Tagged With: bowlatrabs, bowling, cyo, nyc, rabs, staten island, Youth Bowling, youth sports

Vitelli and Mitchell claim 2018 Junior Masters Titles

October 14, 2018 by Rab's Country Lanes Leave a Comment

2018 Champions & Runner-Ups. L to R: Scratch Division Runner-Up & Champion, Harris Mirza and Francis Vitelli, Handicap Division Champion & Runner-Up, Mariano Mitchell and Joseph LaBarbera

Rab’s Junior Masters Tournament returned in 2018 for its 17th Installment.  Top youth bowlers from the area competed for the elusive titles and $4,800 in scholarship awards.

Francis Vitelli captured the Scratch Division Title for his second Junior Masters Title.  His first came in 2012 in the Handicap Division.

Francis made his way through the Winners Bracket, where he met Harris Mirza in the Finale.   As the winner of the Non-Winners Bracket, Harris needed to defeat Francis twice in the final match to claim the title.

In a nail-biter, down to the 10th frame match, Mirza defeated Vitelli 280 to 269, forcing one more match.  After another amazing show, Vitelli came out victorious defeating Mirza 247 to 231.

In the Handicap Division, a first time experience for both Joseph LaBarbera and Mariano Mitchell, Mitchell defeated LaBarbera 215 to 203 in the final game.  As the winner of the Non-Winners Bracket, LaBarbera forced  a second game after he won the first game 201 to 185.

Final Results with scholarship awards available: bowlatrabs.com/juniormasters

Here’s how the finals played out:

Scratch Division

Round 1
William Courtney defeated Tommy SanFilippo 268 to 256
Kenny Courtney defeated AJ Everts 246 to 187
Thomas Lettich defeated Harris Mirza 238 to 166
Anthony DeRosa defeated Steven Pasquale 201 to 167
Nicholas Palmeri defeated William Prout 220 to 187
Francis Vitelli defeated Lauren Ruth Sarreal 277 to 155
Nicholas Walker defeated Nicholas Hollywood 197 to 172
Maya Avilez defeated Jason Wichnovitz 202 to 182

Round 2
William Courtney defeated Kenny Courtney 235 to 202
Thomas Lettich defeated Anthony DeRosa 258 to 200
Nicholas Palmeri defeated Maya Avilez 190 to 184
AJ Everts defeated Tommy SanFilippo 236 to 178
Harris Mirza defeated Steven Pasquale 254 to 186
Jason Wichnovitz defeated William Prout 267 to 184
Nicholas Hollywood defeated Lauren Ruth Sarreal 205 to 183

Round 3
AJ Everts defeated Nicholas Walker 199 to 161
Harris Mirza defeated Maya Avilez 235 to 192
Anthony DeRosa defeated Jason Wichnovitz 226 to 216
Kenny Courtney defeated Nicholas Hollywood 200 to 171

Round 4
Francis Vitelli defeated Nicholas Palmeri 226 to 182
Thomas Lettich defeated William Courtney 224 to 209
Harris Mirza defeated AJ Everts 189 to 183
Anthony DeRosa defeated Kenny Courtney 246 to 149

Round 5
Harris Mirza defeated William Courtney 191 to 181
Anthony DeRosa defeated Nicholas Palmeri 214 to 205

Round 6
Harris Mirza defeated Anthony DeRosa 247 to 160
Francis Vitelli defeated Thomas Lettich 219 to 181

Round 7
Harris Mirza defeated Thomas Lettich 223 to 192

FINALS
Harris Mirza defeated Francis Vitelli 280 to 269
Francis Vitelli defeated Harris Mirza 247 to 231

Handicap Division

Round 1
Leo Iandolo defeated Angelia Lubrano 190 to 136
Anaya Martin defeated Yamil Sanchez 182 to 180
Samuel Zwiebel defeated Emily Wolff 243 to 186
Mariano Mitchell defeated Isaiah Perez 183 to 178
Bobby Pepe defeated Ciara Arcangel 193 to 162
Joseph LaBarbera defeated Edward Lubach III 165 to 110
Giselle Rau defeated Joshua Fylypczuk 262 to 197
Samantha Kelly defeated Yousef Dardier 200 to 173

Round 2
Leo Iandolo defeated Anaya Martin 225 to 166
Samuel Zwiebel defeated Mariano Mitchell 233 to 193
Joseph LaBarbera defeated Bobby Pepe 203 to 171
Samantha Kelly defeated Giselle Rau 195 to 170
Yamil Sanchez defeated Angelia Lubrano 200 to 188
Isaiah Perez defeated Emily Wolff 208 to 193
Edward Lubach III defeated Ciara Arcangel 169 to 167
Joshua Fylypczuk defeated Yousef Dardier 225 to 213

Round 3
Giselle Rau defeated Yamil Sanchez 214 to 155
Isaiah Perez defeated Bobby Pepe 228 to 196
Edward Lubach III forfeits, Samuel Zwiebel advances
Joshua Fylypczuk defeated Anaya Martin 236 to 162

Round 4
Mariano Mitchell defeated Leo Iandolo 213 to 184
Joseph LaBarbera defeated Samantha Kelly 212 to 172
Giselle Rau defeated Isaiah Perez 198 to 179
Samuel Zwiebel defeated Leo Iandolo 206 to 174

Round 5
Samuel Zwiebel defeated Samantha Kelly 183 to 177
Giselle Rau defeated Leo Iandolo 206 to 174

Round 6
Mariano Mitchell defeated Joseph LaBarbera 212 to 192
Giselle Rau defeated Samantha Kelly 191 to 157

Round 7
Joseph LaBarbera defeated Giselle Rau 196 to 174

FINALS
Joseph LaBarbera defeated Mariano Mitchell 201 to 185
Mariano Mitchell defeated Joseph LaBarbera 215 to 203

Filed Under: Announcements, Tournaments Tagged With: junior masters, Youth Bowling, youth sports

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