Australian two-handed bowling sensation Jason Belmonte (right) is getting a lot of attention, but Long Island bowling purists are hoping one of their own will finally break through and win his first Lumber Liquidators PBA Tour title when the Bowling Foundation Long Island Classic officially gets underway Thursday at AMF West Babylon Lanes.

Belmonte, whose unusual two-handed delivery has led to a high level of success in the international arena, qualified for the Round of 64 field by a single pin during Wednesday's Tour Qualifying Round, but long-time Long Islanders were cheering loudest for Rudy Kasimakis, who grew up honing his skills on the island.

Kasimakis (pictured right), a PBA touring player off-and-on throughout much of his adult life, now resides in Baldwyn, Miss., but he turned on his fabled "Rudy Revs" power game and bowled like a hometown favorite in posting a 1,560-pin total to easily make the Round of 64 cut.

Jim Tomek Jr. (left) of Camp Hill, Pa., led the TQR field of 96 non-exempt players, posting a 1,572 total for his seven games. Kasimakis was 12 pins behind.

Also advancing were PBA members: P.J. Haggerty, Clovis, Calif., 1,537; Jason Wojnar, Chicago, 1,523; 2009 USBC Masters winner John Nolen, Waterford, Mich., 1,520; Norm Ginsberg Jr., East Meadow, N.Y., 1,512, Belmonte and Brian Ziesig of Levittown, N.Y., 1,509, who tied for the seventh and eighth PBA berths in the Round of 64.

The TQR qualifiers will advance along with PBA Hall of Famer Johnny Petraglia of Jackson, N.J., who is bowling in the tournament at the PBA's invitation, and Dale Aivaz Jr. of Yonkers, N.Y., who rolled a 1,492 total to top the amateur bowlers in the TQR.

The 64-player Bowling Foundation Long Island Classic field will bowl two seven-game qualifying rounds Thursday on the PBA's Viper and Shark lane conditioning patterns, respectively, before the field is cut to 32 for match play competition on Friday. After nine match games Friday morning, the top 16 will bowl another nine games Friday evening to determine the top four who will compete for the title in the ESPN-televised finals on Sunday at 2 p.m. Eastern.

 

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Jason Belmonte leads TQR field at PBA Bowling Foundation Long Island Classic

PBA Tour Qualifying Round

Top eight PBA members (places 1-8) and one amateur (12th place) advance to the Round of 64.

Pos	Player	Hometown	Games	Total	Ave.	+/- 200
1.	Jim Tomek Jr.	Camp Hill, Pa.	7	1573	224.71	173
2.	Rudy Kasimakis	Baldwyn, Miss.	7	1560	222.86	160
3.	PJ Haggerty	Clovis, Calif	7	1537	219.57	137
4.	Jason Wojnar	Chicago	7	1523	217.57	123
5.	John Nolen	Waterford, Mich.	7	1520	217.14	120
6.	Norm Ginsberg Jr.	East Meadow, N.Y.	7	1512	216.00	112
7.	Brian Ziesig	Levittown, N.Y.	7	1509	215.57	109
(tie)	Jason Belmonte	Orange, NSW,Australia	7	1509	215.57	109
9.	Alex Cavagnaro	N.Massapequa, N.Y.	7	1508	215.43	108
10.	Johnathan Bower	Middletown, Pa.	7	1505	215.00	105
11.	James Wallace	Hicksville, N.Y.	7	1498	214.00	98
12.	Dale Aivaz Jr.*	Yonkers, N.Y.	7	1492	213.14	92
13.	Vinny D'Ambrosio III	Staten Island, N.Y.	7	1488	212.57	88
14.	Matthew O'Grady	South Amboy, N.J.	7	1480	211.43	80
(tie)	Troy Wollenbecker	Miami	7	1480	211.43	80
16.	Kevin Bandrowski	Speonk, N.Y.	7	1473	210.43	73
17.	Bobby Hall II	Landover, Md.	7	1465	209.29	65
18.	Adam Chase*	Seaford, N.Y.	7	1463	209.00	63
19.	Humberto Vazquez	San Pedro, Mexico	7	1458	208.29	58
20.	Amanda Fagan*	Oakdale, N.Y.	7	1456	208.00	56
21.	Michael Dioguardo*	Patchogue, N.Y.	7	1452	207.43	52
22.	Matthew Brockett	Clinton, Conn	7	1446	206.57	46
23.	Justin Warhol	Sound Beach, N.Y	7	1445	206.43	45
24.	Scott Newell	Deland, Fla.	7	1443	206.14	43
25.	Ray Edwards	Middle Island, N.Y.	7	1435	205.00	35
(tie)	Damon Brown	Amityville, N.Y.	7	1435	205.00	35
27.	Darryl McDuffie*	Floral Park, N.Y.	7	1418	202.57	18
28.	Bill Beck	Ronkonkoma, N.Y.	7	1417	202.43	17
29.	Chun Bae*	Cedarhurst, N.Y.	7	1413	201.86	13
30.	Thomas Bragg	Baiting Hollow, N.Y.	7	1411	201.57	11
31.	Stephen Gregg	Yaphank, N.Y.	7	1408	201.14	8
32.	Alex Medveditskov	Russia	7	1406	200.86	6
33.	Lonnie Waliczek	Wichita, Kan.	7	1405	200.71	5
34.	Paul Molnar	Commack, N.Y.	7	1398	199.71	-2
35.	Tom Hess	Urbandale, Iowa	7	1393	199.00	-7
36.	Steven Silverman	W. Babylon, N.Y.	7	1385	197.86	-15
(tie)	Robert Jette	Lisbon, Conn.	7	1385	197.86	-15
38.	George Lambert IV	Hamilton, Ontario, Canada	7	1382	197.43	-18
39.	Joseph Giampapa*	Lindenhurst, N.Y.	7	1381	197.29	-19
(tie)	Anthony Phillips	Elmont, N.Y.	7	1381	197.29	-19
41.	Bill Holota*	Bolton, Conn.	7	1378	196.86	-22
42.	Sean McAuliffe*	Staten Island, N.Y.	7	1374	196.29	-26
43.	Timothy West	Easton, CT	7	1373	196.14	-27
44.	Ryan Abel	Bel Aire, Kan.	7	1370	195.71	-30
45.	Eric Porter	Traverse City, Mich.	7	1369	195.57	-31
46.	Frank Villardi	East Yaphank, N.Y.	7	1367	195.29	-33
47.	Jesse Buss	Wichita, Kan.	7	1349	192.71	-51
48.	Robert Volk	Ridge, N.Y.	7	1344	192.00	-56
49.	Chris Paroly	Plainview, N.Y.	7	1341	191.57	-59
50.	Ryan Ciminelli	Cheektowaga, N.Y.	7	1338	191.14	-62
(tie)	Brian Valenta	Lockport, Ill.	7	1338	191.14	-62
52.	Jay Marine	Selden, N.Y.	7	1337	191.00	-63
53.	Brandon Robertson	Clinton, CT.	7	1336	190.86	-64
54.	David Sulzer	Holbrook, N.Y.	7	1329	189.86	-71
55.	Chris Liotta	Dix Hills, N.Y.	7	1323	189.00	-77
56.	Christopher Lucchese*	Fresh Meadow, N.Y.	7	1319	188.43	-81
57.	Robert Romeo*	Amherst, N.Y.	7	1306	186.57	-94
58.	Matt Freiberg	Somerset, N.J.	7	1303	186.14	-97
59.	Douglas Sass	Nottingham, Md.	7	1301	185.86	-99
60.	Chris Forry*	Bridgeport, Conn.	7	1300	185.71	-100
61.	Bryan Paul	Brooklyn, N.Y.	7	1291	184.43	-109
62.	Joe Paluszek	Bensalem, Pa.	7	1287	183.86	-113
63.	Frank Gallo Jr.	Cape Carteret, N.C.	7	1284	183.43	-116
64.	Jack Nealon	Bowie, Md	7	1282	183.14	-118
65.	Octavius Manning*	Central Islip, N.Y.	7	1270	181.43	-130
66.	Matt Traina	Farmingdale, N.Y.	7	1268	181.14	-132
67.	Peter Bruss*	Farmingville, N.Y.	7	1264	180.57	-136
68.	Shawn Harris	Queens, N.Y.	7	1260	180.00	-140
69.	Joe Biscardi	Wantagh, N.Y.	7	1256	179.43	-144
70.	Andrew Mangiapahella*	East Islip, N.Y.	7	1255	179.29	-145
71.	Steve Bova	Massapequa, N.Y.	7	1250	178.57	-150
72.	Joseph Costanzo	Plainview, N.Y.	7	1248	178.29	-152
73.	Walt Taormina	Oak Ridge, N.J.	7	1245	177.86	-155
74.	Mark Cise	Summit, N.J.	7	1232	176.00	-168
75.	Joseph Truchan Jr.	Ringwood, N.J.	7	1228	175.43	-172
76.	Derek James	Wyandanch, N.Y.	7	1227	175.29	-173
77.	Anthony Lupo	Bethpage, N.Y.	7	1221	174.43	-179
78.	Joey Serrapica	Lindenhurst, N.Y.	7	1217	173.86	-183
79.	Paul Smith*	Clinton, CT	7	1199	171.29	-201
80.	Ralph Ehrlich	N.Massapequa, N.Y.	7	1196	170.86	-204
81.	Darren Andretta*	New Hyde Park, N.Y.	7	1179	168.43	-221
82.	Brian DiCicco	Agawam, Mass	7	1165	166.43	-235
83.	Mark Fordin	Oceanside, N.Y.	7	1162	166.00	-238
84.	Joseph Parrinello*	Syosset, N.Y.	7	1160	165.71	-240