Glover and Bell are area's top bowlers

Legendary local bowler Mark Glover and extraordinary bowler Tiffany Bell are not only the top male and female bowlers in Prince William County, but in all of Northern Virginia, Maryland and the District of Columbia as well. Glover and Bell do most of their bowling in bowling centers in the county and are longtime residents of Prince William. Both are already in the Hall of Fame of the Nation’s Capital Area United States Bowling Congress Association (NCAUSBCA).

Mark Glover

Glover set two records when he received the top ranking by the NCAUSBCA for the 2008-09 bowling season. The first is that this season is the 18th time Mark has been ranked in the men’s top 10. This would be achievement enough, but it becomes all the more incredible when you consider that, for 10 years during Mark’s career, the NCAUSBCA did not issue rankings at all.

One can only surmise that if rankings had been issued in those lost years, Mark would have been in the top 10 because he continued to bowl at a championship level during that period.

The second record is that Mark has won the top spot a total of nine times. This season, he averaged a 231 per game which translates into a 693 average series. Most bowlers never reach these scores even once, but Mark did it consistently over 591 games by knocking down 136,528 pins.

Mark’s closest rival in the rankings was Bobby V. Hall Jr. of Maryland, who averaged 230 for 446 games. Rounding out the top 10 were: Ervin M. Raines III (226), Kenneth E. Lowe Jr. (223), James C. Burt (222), Marcus D. Nelson (221), Johnny Gutridge Jr. (220), Ronald O. Smith (220), Gregory L. Turner (219) and Howard P. Ball Jr. (219).

Tiffany Bell

Bell started her bowling career in the youth leagues at the AMF Dale City lanes. She quickly developed into an outstanding youth bowler and is now is the top adult female bowler in the Nation’s Capital Area.

This season marks the fifth consecutive time Tiffany has been ranked No. 1. She has won the title six times overall in the last seven years. Bell does most of her bowling at Bowl America Bull Run and Bowl America Woodbridge.

She won her top ranking by averaging 222.9 over 216 games in which she toppled 48,167 pins. Bell barely beat out Dawn Fay for the title of best female bowler by only a few percentage points. Fay, also a Prince William bowler, averaged 222.1 for the season. She bowled 225 games knocking down 49,990 pins.

Rounding out the top 10 women were: Paige R. Martin (217), Quintana R. Jefferson (206), Charlynne M. Bowers (204), Dianne Pauza (202), Susan G. Allen (202), Sonja P. DeBrew (201), Kisha C. Hightower (199) and Karla L. Pereira (199).

How the rankings are calculated

The rankings are based solely on the bowler’s composite average. A composite average is calculated by adding the total pin fall in sanctioned leagues plus all pins in the NCAUSBCA Open Championship and dividing the total by the sum of all the games. Men must bowl in at least three bowling leagues in two separate centers with a minimum of 66 games in each league. Women must compete in at least two leagues in separate centers with a minimum of 70 games in one league and 50 games in the other.

Gil Sanchez is a freelance bowling writer for the News & Messenger. He is a member of the Bowling Writers Association of America and the United States Bowling Congress Advisory Council. Reach him at 703-587-6792 or at gsanchez@insidenova.com.