Australian trip pays dividends

James Yodice

Monday, May 5, 1997 | 11:59 a.m.

Almost 10 years ago, a group of seven women professional bowlers traveled from the United States to Australia for a competition. For local Carol Gianotti-Block, that trip changed her life.

She was just 21 then, a promising amateur but unsure of how she could parlay her considerable bowling talent into a profitable career. There is no professional tour Down Under.

"I wanted to bowl full time," said Gianotti-Block. "I knew if I worked at it, I could make it over there."

She would make a friend during that American goodwill trip, a Californian named Wendy MacPherson. MacPherson, who later became Henderson's Wendy MacPherson-Papanos, gave Gianotti-Block the encouragement she needed to come to America and fulfill her dream.

"She wanted to give it a try, and I told her she could live with me and my family (in San Diego). And that's what she did," said MacPherson-Papanos, the 1996 player of the year on the Ladies Pro Bowlers Tour. "She bowled great (in Australia), and I knew she would definitely get better over here."

And so she has. Gianotti-Block, 29, blossomed into one of the tour's brightest stars. She won the 1989 Queens not long after starting her career in this country, and has added eight more titles to her r'esum'e. The last was the 1996 Sam's Town Invitational.

Gianotti-Block and 79 other pros and amateurs are back at Sam's Town this week for the $80,000 Storm Doubles. Qualifying begins this afternoon with eight games and continues with eight games Tuesday morning. The field is then cut for 18 games of match play.

The nationally televised finals are Thursday afternoon at 1.

Gianotti-Block, who married fellow Australian Neil Block last August, already has earned $17,700 in three events this year. She's third on the money list behind MacPherson-Papanos and Carol Norman and has earned nearly $500,000 in almost a decade on tour.

"This is always what I wanted to do," said Gianotti-Block, one of the tour's most friendly players. "It took me awhile (to adjust), but I was successful straight away and never looked back."

As a junior bowler, Gianotti-Block was quite accomplished. She even went to Seoul, South Korea, in 1988 and bowled in the Summer Olympics. However, bowling -- then as now -- is an exhibition sport only.

Because there was relatively no breaking-in period for her, she's been able to relax and enjoy herself.

"(The Queens win) gave me a lot of confidence, and I just went on from there," Gianotti-Block said.

She and husband Neil, a loan processor, now reside near Anaheim, Calif., but Gianotti-Block said their schedules keep them apart quite a bit.

"I'm living out of a suitcase 12 months a year," she said with a laugh. "But I'm living the life I want to live. It's worked out pretty good."