Lynda and Chris Barnes lead qualifying at SABC Mixed Doubles
By Bill Vint
PBA Communications
HOUSTON, Texas – Lynda and Chris Barnes of Double Oak, Texas, husband-and-wife teammates, doubles partners and occasional opponents since 1997, averaged a combined 214.6 over eight games to take the qualifying lead in the 16th annual PBA-PWBA Xtra Frame Striking Against Breast Cancer Mixed Doubles tournament Saturday at Palace Lanes.
Lynda Barnes, a member of the United States Bowling Congress Hall of Fame, and husband Chris, an 18-time Professional Bowlers Association champion, finished qualifying with 3,434 pins to take a one-pin lead over Jodi Woessner of Oregon, Ohio, and Dino Castillo of Highland Village, Texas, into Sunday’s four-game cashers’ round.
Anita Arnett of Richmond, Texas, and Tyler Jensen of Fort Worth were in third place with 3,417 pins followed by recent Robert Morris University-Illinois graduates and dating couple Jackie Carbonetto of Blauvelt, N.Y., and Matt Gasn of Laurel, Md., who were fourth with 3,415 pins.
Lynda Barnes, who gave the couple the lead with a 279 final game Saturday, said she and Chris have bowled together before with mixed results, “but we keep trying. We seem to get calmer every year. It’s a challenge to bowl with your husband, but I’d really rather not bowl with anyone else.”
Chris Barnes, who won the 2001 mixed doubles event with Amy Dillon, said he and Lynda have bowled as Team USA teammates beginning in 1997, as doubles partners and once in a while, against each other, but enjoying the success as partners is the best option.
“As you spend more time together, you figure out how to communicate and play together at the best level, which is the long way of saying I don’t talk anymore,” Chris grinned. “Today she had the better ball reaction and after watching some of the other guys at the time in the tournament when the guys start moving to play an inside angle, I was watching Lynda and she had a four-bagger (playing a much straighter shot), so I tried to play as close to where she was playing as possible.”
The Striking Against Breast Cancer Mixed Doubles event was founded in 2000 by Donna Conners as a tribute to her close friend, Luci Bonneau, who died of breast cancer in 1999. Since its inception, the tournament has become the nation’s largest high-profile mixed doubles bowling event, attracting dozens of PBA and PWBA Tour champions while raising in excess of $650,000 in the war against breast cancer.
The tournament, which is being covered live on PBA’s Xtra Frame video-streaming channel, concludes Sunday with the four-game cashers round at 8 a.m., followed by round robin match play at noon CT. The winners will be decided based upon a combined total of 20 games. The winning players, if they are members of their respective pro tours, will earn a PBA Tour or PWBA Tour title in addition to splitting the $15,000 first prize.
For Xtra Frame subscription information, visit pba.com and click on the Xtra Frame link. Fans also can follow game-by-game updates on pba.com under the Live Scoring tab.
PBA-PWBA XTRA FRAME STRIKING AGAINST BREAST CANCER MIXED DOUBLES
Palace Lanes, Houston, Texas, Friday