Corner Brook -
Troy Pardy and Karalyn Skanes may be a couple, but these days they are focused on singles.
A provincial singles fivepin bowling title to be exact.
Pardy and Skanes, both representing the Centre Bowl, find themselves in great position for a trip to the nationals after both finished in second spot during singles action at the 2009 Molson Open Bowling Championship Wednesday at the Centre Bowl.
Pardy finished in second spot in the men's singles bracket with a 10-game total of 2,643 for an impressive 264.3 average on Day 1 of the Provincial Open. Mike Maloney of Holiday Lanes of St. John's claimed top spot with a 287.1 average and 228 points ahead of Pardy over the 10 games he rolled before an appreciative crowd.
A 319 single in his eighth game was the highlight of the day for Pardy.
Skanes, who is a native of St. John's who moved to the city last year, finished second in women's singles play with a total pinfall of 2,514 and a 251.4 average over 10 games rolled. Melanie Bishop of Holiday Lanes earned the enviable top spot with a 283. 3 average over 10 games. Skanes, who was 319 points behind the leader at the end of the day, tossed a 346 single in her sixth game on the hardwood.
The top five bowlers in both the men's and women's singles action advance to Saturday's stepladder final, which will determine who wears the province's colours at the national open five-pin bowling championships next month in Saskatoon, Sask.
Chris Harris of St. Pat's Lanes of St. John's (253.1 average), Tony Legge of Centre Bowl (251.7 average) and Brad Glynn of Holiday Lanes of St. John's round out the top five for the men's singles stepladder final.
Tina Keeping of Centre Bowl (237.5 average), Genevieve Gillard of St. Pat's Lanes of St. John's (236.3) and Melissa O'Brien of Holiday Lanes of St. John's (235.2 average) round out the top five for the women's singles stepladder final.
The final tallies for the remaining keglers in the men's singles bracket saw Lee Escott of St. Pat's Lanes finish in sixth spot with a 246.3 average, which included a whopping 401 single - a tournament high - in his seventh game of the day. Keith Anstey of St. Pat's (243.5), Jerry Ryan of Holiday Lanes (233.4), Larry Curtis of Caribou Lanes of Clarenville (229.2) and John Brake of Centre Bowl (212.7) also competed in singles action for their respective lanes.
On the women's side, Michelle Maloney of Holiday Lanes (232.2), Karen Robertson of Centre Bowl (218.8) and Glenda Reardon of Caribou Lanes (185.3) didn't qualify for the women's singles stepladder.
Action in the team competition gets underway today 9 a.m. at the Centre Bowl.
