Gianotti takes title after opening way for her foe

Monday, Nov. 18, 1996 | 11:59 a.m.

Carol Gianotti overcame two open frames in the championship match and defeated top-seeded Leanne Barrette to capture the $102,000 LPBT Sam's Town Invitational.

Gianotti, of Perth, Australia, trailed Barrette by 14 pins going into the 10th frame of the final match Sunday and rolled three strikes to claim a 222-214 victory and the $17,000 first prize in the richest stop on the ladies' tour.

"Coming out here and winning a major like this ... it's the best feeling -- it'll probably go down as one of my best wins," said the 29-year-old Gianotti, who notched her second LPBT title of the season. "I felt really confident on the TV show, the reason (being) because I had very good ball reaction. I wasn't as nervous because I felt like I had nothing to lose so I got lined up pretty quickly."

Gianotti, the fifth seed who had to beat Carol Norman, Kim Adler and Kim Canady to advance to the championship game, was not as surprised that she won the final game with two open frames as she was missing the 10-pin for a spare in the fourth frame and the 9-pin in the eighth.

"I couldn't believe the 10-pin; I've been picking up 10-pins good all week," Gianotti said. "I walked to the left a little bit on the approach when I was going up there. As for the 9-pin, I thought I got it (but) it hit a bit of oil and just kept going. I missed a 10-pin two years ago to lose to Tish (Johnson) and I said to myself, 'Carol, don't do it again.' And then I went and missed the 9-pin."

Despite her two open frames, Gianotti held a 21-pin advantage over Barrette going into the seventh frame. Following the open in the eighth, Gianotti's lead was whittled to seven pins as Barrette struck out in the seventh, eighth and ninth frames.

Barrette, who led the tournament after every eight-game block since Tuesday, looked downright despondent following her loss to Gianotti.

"I'm going to have to take some time to try and find a positive thing in this ... I'm very disappointed," said Barrette, who earned $8,500 for second place. "I should be grateful, but I haven't been this disappointed in a while and I'm disappointed that I'm that disappointed.

"It's hard to explain because normally I'm a very good loser -- I'm certainly not being a bad loser, I'm very happy for Carol, she's my friend -- but I'm very disappointed because I felt this tournament was mine to win."

Gianotti stormed out of the gate by defeating Norman in the first match 247-194. In the second match, Gianotti deprived Adler of her third consecutive victory by striking out in the 10th frame for a 210-194 win. In the third match, Gianotti again struck out in the 10th and scored a 213-204 victory over Canady.

Although the Sam's Town Invitational marked the final stop on the LPBT's fall tour, the ladies will return to Sam's Town Bowling Center in three weeks for the Merit Mixed Doubles Championships. That event teams each of the top 30 ladies bowlers with their counterparts from the PBA Tour for a $200,000 purse.

Prior to the doubles event, Wendy Macpherson of Henderson will square off against Walter Ray Williams in the second annual "Battle of the Sexes," a three-game, winner-take-all showdown between the top-ranked bowlers from the LPBT and PBA.

ote "Coming out here and winning a major like this ... it's the best feeling -- it'll probably go down as one of my best wins. I felt really confident on the TV show, the reason (being) because I had very good ball reaction." Carol Gianotti