Hellifino maintains first place with a split versus 76th MXW Published Feb. 5, 2008 By John E. Banks Tinker Public Affairs TINKER AIR FORCE BASE -- The top two seeds in the Commanders Trophy League bowling season squared off Jan. 30 at the Tinker Bowling Center. At the end of the evening, No. 1 seed Hellifino and No. 2 seed 76th Maintenance Wing each garnered two points, which allowed Hellifino to maintain the top spot in the standings. Both teams got off to a quick start in game one. Christopher Sweet, 76th MXW, and Daniel Girardot; Hellifino, each bowled three strikes in a row to begin the game. After taking the lead early in the game, the 76th MXW held a 754-703 advantage through seven frames. Hellifino team captain Dennis March predicted the game would come down to the last ball. He was right. Girardot knocked down enough pins in the 10th frame to seal the Hellifino victory. "The key to victory in game one was the ability to never give up," March said. "The bowling I displayed tonight was not that great in game one. My teammates' bowling prowess and a little bit of luck helped us prevail." In the second game, the 76th MXW quintet of Dawn Sweet, Andy Andersen, Jo Deathera, Robert Munroe and Christopher Sweet used their 111-pin handicap advantage to jump ahead 565-503 through the first five frames. Traci Applebee and Karl Dooley, Hellifino's first and fourth bowlers, kept their side in the match as they each bowled five consecutive strikes through six frames to trim the 76th MXW lead to 10 pins. Momentum stayed on Hellifino's side and they claimed a 13-pin win in game two. Hellifino held a slim 22-pin advantage heading into game three, but couldn't muster up the scores they'd bowled in the first two games to keep the lead. Christopher Sweet and Andersen -- who bowled 226 and 200, respectively -- led the charge for the 76th MXW and their team took the game and the total pins advantage. "Our team pulled together and got a split," Christopher Sweet said. "That is a great achievement because we did not bowl real well in the first two games." With the split, the teams kept the same positions in the standings. Currently, Hellifino is in first place with a 100.0-56.0 record, while the 76th MXW stays in second place with a 95.0 61.0 record. Hellifino Handicap 1 2 3 Traci Applebee 18 167 222 186 Scott Bagensie 0 233 222 181 Dennis March 0 189 200 247 Karl Dooley 0 224 289 212 Dan Girardot 0 278 183 170