“The Karyczak Pack” Packs a Punch at Caucasian Open
STATEN ISLAND, NY
The White Russian, in all it’s glory
A blustery winter storm set the scene for the 2026 Caucasian Open, the annual large group mixer commemorating the mixed drink of choice of the patron saint of bowling, Jeffrey “The Dude” Lebowski. With last minute cancellations and delayed due to weather, the event kicked off behind schedule as team captains were harangued as they arrived at the lanes to swiftly pick their teams from the leaderboard broken into pools of talent. In the end, 10 of 11 captains made their picks, while Paul Drozek, team captain #11 was relegated to those remaining in the pools due to tardiness.
Excitement of mixing and mingling carried the teams out onto the lanes (where the new season artwork is looking fantastic, by the way). Some had little meeting and greeting to do, as fates drew some familiar groups together. Captain Joseph Seluga, was able to select his frequent lanemates, (wife) Tanya Seluga and league czarina Hillary Scott for the event in addition to rookie Dava Jordet and sophomore Mike Vadola for his Team Secret Strike. Similarly, Captain Jon Marotte was able to pick his usual lane of bowlers who were perfectly spread throughout the talent pools, (wife) Jillian Marotte, Vinny Fabiani and Allyson Fabiani in addition to a pool two pick of Christine Beaton for his Team Captain Crunch and the Low Rollers.
Just look at those hi-res screens
As the games kicked off, it was clear something was a-miss on Lane 13, where Paul Drozek proved a no call, no show for his own team, in addition to pool five pick, Kate Rael. Katie Marks, Chris Coppa, and Bill Galiardi proudly christed themselves Team Aim for the Middle and bowled with the passion of a team that had lost two members before they’d even begun, emerging with a close to victorious 136.6 average by the end of the event.
Jan Fran’s secret…sauce
Leigh Jan Fran, returning from league maternity leave, and recruited by Captain Dan Derwin bowled a game one of 98 but found her stride in game two with a new technique of using pizza grease to lube up her fingers which yielded an impressive end to game two of 168. “That was nice-leigh done” Chris Taillie was overheard saying, which resulted in mass booing. However, the team embraced this strategy, naming themselves Team Grease Plate in hopes of securing the win but, even though Derwin’s 191 in game one was the highest of the day, the team would not secure the trophy with their 132.4 final average.
Meanwhile on Lane 17, George Karyczak could be heard berating teammate Alex Cihanowic, who he deemed responsible for his poor performance on the day. And while Kayczak’s performance did not improve much throughout the event (126 and 122 in games one and two), Cihanowic’s 169 and 146 helped round out Captain Sean Kuhl’s picks of Geoff Celis and Jess Kuhl who all threw solid and consistent games and successfully pushed Team Karyczak Pack to take the win with a 144.2 average.
Team Karyczak Pack for the win
Other notables for the evening include:
Less gutters than usual at this event! It only took 5 for the winner of the Gutter Trash. Bari Reiter and Tanya Seluga tied for gutters, and in an exciting tiebreaker (strikes, tied at 1, spares, tied at 1) came down to lower average of the event. With a 102, Seluga took the glory, beating (or rather…not beating) Reiter’s 113 for the day.
While Captain Kevin Rogers of Team Butterball’s Pinheads didn’t take away any hardware on the day, he could be heard coaching his team throughout the event. While they didn’t place with a 127.4 final average, Rogers ended the day with an impressive turkey and his pool five pick, Heather Tolan, threw her best game of the season, a 132.
Event Scores:
Event Winners: The Karyczak Pack (144.2 AVG)
Gutter Trash Award Winner: T. Seluga (5)
Highest Total Strikes: K. Rogers (8)
Highest Total Spares: J. Marotte (13)
Highest Total Gutters: T. Seluga, B. Reiter (5)
Highest Score: D. Derwin (191)
Lowest Score: B. Hamill (80)