October 7, 2009 – Andover, Massachusetts – Seemingly regardless of tournament format, lane condition or level of competition, Chris Barnes is almost always in the mix at the end. It’s a testament to his work ethic, his preparation, and his overall level of skill. Recently in Puerto Rico, his talents were on display as he won Masters gold at the 2009 Pan American Bowling Confederation Championships.
In the Masters finals, Chris Barnes defeated Ernesto Franco of Mexico 2-1 to give the United States men’s team a clean sweep of all six gold medals – singles, doubles, trios, team, all-events and Masters. After taking Game One of their three game series 246-203, Barnes dropped the second game to Franco 233-208 before rebounding in Game Three 218-188 to take home the title.
“This was a week where I really just rode my teammates to gold medals,” Barnes said following his match. “I was just kind of in the background all week, but it feels good to help up come through and complete the sweep.”
The Masters match play competition featured the top 16 men and top 16 women from the all-events standings after 24 games of competition. Barnes was the only male bowler from Team USA to earn a medal in the Masters event.