Anchorage Breezes Past Fairbanks to Defend Alaska Denali Cup

December 2, 2011

Team Anchorage (left to right): Chad Sherwood, Doug Morton, James Krafft, Joey Krison, Mark Eggleton (holding Denali Cup), Chris Clapper, James Riske, and captain Andy Morton

Anchorage retained the Denali Cup with a victory over Fairbanks on November 18th, 2011 at Arctic Bowl, in Fairbanks.  Anchorage won with a score of 8.5 points to 4.5 points in a race to 8.5 points.  Anchorage closed out the competition with a singles victory by Mark Eggleton 199 to 135 over Ray Lighthall of Fairbanks.  Eggleton, playing in the 5th of 8 scheduled singles matches, took an early advantage in his match and accumulated a lead that was nearly insurmountable by the 6th frame, all but securing the 2nd Cup victory for Anchorage.  The victory, which lacked the drama of the previous year’s event, secured another year of bragging rights for the city of Anchorage. 

Anchorage jumped out to an early lead in the competition by winning the first two team points of the night.  Fairbanks immediately responded by winning the next two matches to even the score at 2-2.  But that was the closest Fairbanks would get to having a lead as Anchorage won 3.5 of the next 4 possible points to give themselves the 3 point edge heading into singles. 

Needing only 3 more points in 8 singles matches to win the Denali Cup for the 2nd straight year, Anchorage was in comfortable position to close out the event without the dramatics of 2010 which required Anchorage to win 5 out of the 6 remaining singles matches for victory.   

While Fairbanks battled to the very end, they were unable to create their own epic comeback and claim the Cup.  Struggling to create any real momentum, Anchorage and Fairbanks split the first 4 singles matches 2-2, leaving Anchorage just one point from victory and 4 matches to get it. 

With Eggleton taking an early lead and Lighthall struggling to find a groove, Anchorage cruised to the victory and celebrated by hoisting the Denali Cup for the 2nd consecutive year.   

The 2012 Denali Cup is tentatively scheduled for November 9th, at Arctic Bowl, in Fairbanks and it will feature new captains and likely a new batch of bowlers.  As per the original agreement between the developers of the event, a new captain will be selected each year by the previous captain to select and lead the team in the competition.  While Fairbanks has selected Justin Unger, a two-year member of the Fairbanks squad, as their new captain, Anchorage has yet to select its.