Williams, Weber undefeated at USBC Senior Masters

Defending champion Walter Ray Williams Jr. of Oxford, Fla., and top qualifier Pete Weber of St. Ann, Mo., are among the 16 players in the winners bracket after the first day of match play at the 2015 United States Bowling Congress Senior Masters.

Also undefeated at the Ashwaubenon Bowling Alley are 2012 USBC Senior Masters winner Mike Edwards of Tulsa, Okla., and a trio of hall of famers, Amleto Monacelli of Aventura, Fla., left-hander Parker Bohn III of Jackson, N.J., and Brian Voss of Centennial, Colo.

In his second match Friday, Williams found himself down 38 pins after two games against fellow USBC Hall of Famer Rick Steelsmith of Wichita, Kan., but he battled back and sealed the win with a strike on the first shot of his final frame after Steelsmith opened the door with a pair of late opens.

In the opening round, Williams defeated Ted Staikoff of Black Hawk, S.D., 715-652.

For Weber, 52, his two wins Friday were just a continuation of the success he’s had in Green Bay, which includes leading every round of qualifying on the way to a third-place finish at the 2015 Masters in February and a dominating performance through qualifying this week.

Weber defeated No. 64 seed Bill Sell of Menasha, 664-616, and then downed southpaw Mark Abraham of Lansing, Mich., 650-588.

Match play continues today with all 16 winners returning to the lanes at 9 a.m. .

How area bowlers did Friday

Match play round: (1) Pete Weber, St. Ann, Mo., def. (64) Bill Sell, Menasha, Wis., 664-616; (9) Jeff Nimke, Oshkosh, Wis., def. (56) Thomas Ream, Temple Terrace, Fla., 648-545; (24) Darron Peters, Temecula, Calif., def. (41) Mike Thill, Oshkosh, Wis., 643-536; (46) Ron Boroff, Mansfield, Texas, def. (19) Scott Weber, Green Bay, Wis., 652-605.

Round 1 winners bracket: Peters def. Nimke, 555-548; Round 1 elimination bracket: Dias def. Sell, 589-520; Thill def. Ream, 529-523; S. Weber def. Mohr, 732-614.

Round 2 elimination bracket: Thill def. Harvey, 572-546; LeClair def. Nimke, 640-601; Abraham def. S. Weber, 645-615.